Visit
any well-stocked magazine stand and you'll find
a variety of log and timber frame publications.
Among these are the following:
Log Homes Illustrated
Log Home Living
Log Home Design Ideas
Country's Best Log Homes
[ For highly discounted subscription prices -
only $19.95 year - on Log Home Living,
Log Home Design Ideas, and Country's
Best Log Homes, we recommend Magazines
of America.
Look in the Home & Garden category.]
These magazines contain beautiful photographs
of real log homes, owned by real people, which
helps to create an inspirational "I can do
this too" kind of feeling. It's pretty clear
from the articles and photos that many log homes
aren't just quaint vacation cottages anymore.
Some of the featured homes cost millions of dollars
and have the most modern amenities.
Most magazines, however, are careful to present
a wide variety of home types, sizes, and costs
that appeal to a wide range of reader tastes and
budgets. They also present homes from different
areas of the country, because styles and building
practices can vary from one part of the country
to another. A log home in Florida will likely
be different from one in Wisconsin where snow
load is a primary design consideration.
We especially like Log Home Living's
Resource section in the back of each issue. For
homes featured in articles, they provide the names,
addresses, and contact information for the log
home company, contractor, builders, furniture,
appliances, and decorations used for each home.
Where did they get that wonderful rustic bed?
No problem, the information is there.
Log home magazines also frequently contain helpful
"how-to" articles related to financing,
decorating, and building tips. For this reason,
most readers keep their old magazine issues handy
for future reference. Some even create their own
index of articles to make them easy to locate
later. If you are interested in an article in
a previous issue that you don't have, most log
home magazine companies will sell back issues
for a reasonable price.
And then there are the advertisements. The ads
in log home magazines can be as inspirational
and educational as the articles. Log home companies
put on their best face to get your attention.
Many include sample floor plans. Dealers and furnishings
companies advertise in the classifieds. Mortgage
companies who specialize in log home financing
advertise here. Window companies, door companies,
stair manufacturers, flooring providers, roofing
material companies, and wood stove makers all
promote their products here.
It is important to note that, because log home
magazines make their money selling ads from a
variety of competing product and services companies,
you won't find much in the way of really objective
comparisons of these products and services in
the magazines' articles. You won't find, for example,
a good answer to which wood type is best for log
homes, or which log joining method is best, or
which brand of exterior stain lasts longer, or
which log home companies have the best customer
satisfaction ratings. These magazines are not
Consumer Reports.
Visit
any well-stocked magazine stand and you'll find
a variety of log and timber frame publications.
Among these are the following: