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PARK RAPIDS — Standing in the great room of her log home on Elbow Lake near Itasca State Park, Kay Miede can’t help but be pleased. Kay and husband Rick, of Andover, are seeing the final touches completed on their Golden Eagle Log Home, built by Best Properties, Inc.

“This home is the culmination of years of planning,” Kay says. “Now we’re at the point where we can enjoy it.”

The Miedes developed several different floor plans over the years, but they knew they had found “their home” when they attended the Golden Eagle Tour of Homes at the company headquarters in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. “We walked into the Double Eagle model and immediately knew this was what we wanted,” Rick says. “Once we saw that house, all of our other plans went out the window.” 

Soon after, they connected with Mary Best, owner of Best Properties and a Golden Eagle Log Home dealer in Park Rapids. As a licensed general contractor, Best worked with the Miedes in completing their dream home.

“Building a log home is truly about a feeling, an ambience,” Best says. “It is very much a lifestyle. Having that ambience and atmosphere come through is what we’re all about.”

And that careful planning is on display throughout the Miedes’ 2,600+ square foot second home in the woods. The home is set back down a hill with a gorgeous view of the island on Elbow Lake. A great deal of excavation was done, moving the house further down the hill, in order to give the house the best vantage point from every window.

“We help our clients recognize the contour of the building site and what view they want from a particular room at a particular time of day,” Best says. “Building a log home is a commitment to a certain lifestyle. We want our clients to maximize the natural environment.” 

While the Miedes selected the floor plan for the Double Eagle, one of Golden Eagle Log Homes’ best sellers, the couple added many of the amenities of the Double Eagle Deluxe. One of the added benefits of Golden Eagle Log Homes is the ability to modify home plans, Rick says.
 After receiving the building permit on July 5, 2005, the Miedes and Best were ready to go. Excavation was completed in September of that year and full construction began in mid-October.

Best is a “hands-on” general contractor and oversaw construction throughout the winter; the home was completed at the end of August 2006. Because it is a second home for the Miedes, the process was more relaxed, allowing the couple to add just the right touches to the home.

A welcoming entryway provides the first glimpse of the Miedes’ little slice of heaven. The floor-to-ceiling windows are framed by comfortable, lodge-style furniture from Home Furniture of Wisconsin Rapids and a huge stone fireplace created by Burton Construction of Park Rapids. The inviting earth-tones of the room invoke a sense of calm and relaxation.

“Since this is really the room we will spend most of our time in, I wanted it to feel comfortable,” Kay says. “Above all, this is a home, not just a house on a lake.”

The dining room and kitchen are just off of the great room, allowing perfect views of the lake from every angle. Custom hickory flooring offers a unique blend of colors that enhance the main level of the home. Granite counter tops from Designer Stone in Randall are framed by the U-shaped kitchen, highlighted with specialized lighting above and below the cabinetry done by Red Willow in Grand Rapids. The cabinets, featuring solid doors as well as glass fronts and hideaways, were built by Golden Eagle Log Homes as part of the Miedes’ package.

A lakeside deck that runs the length of the house is accessible from the dining area by a sliding glass door; a sliding glass door also opens from the master bedroom, and French doors provide an additional access to the versatile deck.

Just off the great room is the master bedroom. Featuring toe-warming carpet, the bedroom is highlighted by hand-made furniture from The Lonesome Cottage in Pequot Lakes. 

“I was completely amazed by how well everything came together with our furniture,” Kay says. “There are some very interesting looks involved, and I am very pleased with it all.”

The master bath is off of the bedroom and features a dynamic ceramic tile pattern by Jeremy Chase of Park Rapids. A whirlpool tub is tucked away in a bump-out section of the room, and double sinks and a shower complete the room. A large walk-in closet is also off of the master bedroom, providing plenty of room for the couple’s belongings.

A large log-tread stairway off the entryway leads to the upper loft level, and another stairway opens to the lower level of the walkout. Two bedrooms are upstairs, each with large dormer windows and gentle carpeting to continue the warm atmosphere of the home.

Some aspects of the Miede home were specialized just for them. The inverted dormers in the great room had logs hewn to fit and feature handcrafted full logs. The king post truss system over the deck is another upgrade the Miedes selected.

“Golden Eagle Log Homes provides everything in their packages,” Kay says. “That was such a help for us because it took the mystery out of building and allowed us to focus on our home instead of the minute details involved. We left that up to Mary and Best Properties.”

At no time during the home’s construction — from the selection of the lot to the planning of the layout to the log peeling and building — was the need to integrate the entire living space forgotten. Wandering floor to floor and room to room, everything flows in concert with all the other elements.

“We’ve dreamed about this for years,” Rick says. “It’s been exciting to watch the process unfold, see our ideas being built. We’re looking forward to enjoying our home for many years to come.”

Mary Weaver is a writer who lives on Pickerel Lake. Photo courtesy of Lake and Home Magazine.

This is the last installment of Mary Weaver’s cabin series courtesy of Lake and Home Magazine.