People Want This Cozy Log Cabin With Rustic Interior

Take a look inside this cozy rustic cabin built from local timber using a combination of styles including round-hewn logs to imitate the ad hoc approach of the 19th-century cabin builders. The cabin looks like a restored relic from the, completed in 2019, and boasts state-of-the-art energy-efficient technology. A log cabin sits at the entrance to the headquarters of Peachey Construction near Montana’s Canyon Ferry Lake. At first glance, you would swear that it is one of those 200-year-old, adze-hewn structures that someone dismantled back East and had shipped out there for its reclaimed charm, dovetailed corner joints, and all. But you would be mistaken as the owner of Peachey Construction, Menno Peachey, crafted the log cabin himself on the site just a few years ago, combining Old-World aesthetics and time-worn techniques with cutting-edge, energy-efficiency technology. All the wood in the log cabin including the walls, the flooring, and the beams came from within 20 miles of the site.

Peachey sourced the flagstones that make the lavatory floor and skirt the front porch from a quarry near Harlowton. The lichen-covered boulders from which the chimney is composed came from a ranch outside of Great Falls. The shower and the kitchen backsplash tiles were made by Kim Loftus, a Helena-based potter. Against the backdrop of a Western Montana landscape that’s exploding with new construction, Peachey’s craftsmanship stands out. The log cabin is a humble showcase for his practice of integrating raw building materials with the landscape in a way that harks back to a time when people carved their living and working spaces out of stone and timber that lay close to the building site, the craftsmanship constrained by the technology of hand tools.

Just a few yards away from the log cabin, Peachey is putting the finishing touches on his 3,000-square-foot shop, a massive timber-framed building that features log rafters that are cunningly dovetailed into 8-by-10-inch beams, many of them involving compound miters that would stump even a master geometer. He is a master of the compound dovetail, and every tread on the flight of stairs in the middle of the shop, too, is dovetailed into the stringers so snugly that glue would be superfluous.

Nowadays, almost all new construction involves several subcontractors with one crew to pour the foundation, another doing the framing, and a roofing crew to cover the build-up for every team that comes afterward including the electricians, plumbers, sheet rockers, and more. But Peachey is known for completing building projects on his own, from the foundation to the last of the trim work, all of it guided by his commitment to using the centuries-old techniques of builders in Europe and the Eastern United States. His company Peachey Construction Inc. is known for its quality craftsmanship, and quick turnaround. Sometimes their customers don’t want a new home, but they do want an upgraded kitchen, a new bathroom, or maybe some additional living space. They have a dream, and the builders make that dream a reality. They are pros at making sure that your family enjoys the experience, even while dealing with all the challenges of renovations.