Houzz Tour: Legacy Lingers in a Historic Log Cabin
Built in 1809 and remodeled for today, this Georgia cabin has both a history and a place in the lives of future generations
Becky Harris
October 20, 2012
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
When a woman spied a tiny ad in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that read, "Log Cabin: $25,000," it was kismet. She and her husband had dreamed of retiring to a log cabin in the mountains of north Georgia. The ad led them to Clyde Smith, a skilled craftsman with a knack for buying old cabins, carefully disassembling them and putting them back together on the new owners' land. The cabin from the ad was built in 1809 in Jasper, Georgia, just a few miles away from the couple's site in Talking Rock.
They snapped up the rare two-story dogtrot log cabin, which came with all the stone you'll see in the chimneys, piers and steps. While they were at it, they bought an old barn's worth of wood from Smith to use for additions. These included a new staircase, a large eat-in kitchen, a master suite, a guest suite and a music room. They needed a garage and wanted a deck off the back of the house, which drops down a steep hill and enjoys expansive Blue Ridge mountain views.
The clients had been collecting salvaged doors, fixtures, windows and all sorts of things for years, and they wanted them worked into the design as well. They found Atlanta architect Alan Clark, of Clark Zook Architects, who was well versed in historic architecture. Here's how he put all of the pieces of this giant puzzle together.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A retired couple
Location: Talking Rock, Georgia
Size: About 3,400 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms
That's interesting: The cabin's logs were hand hewn by Cherokee workers in the early 1800s.
They snapped up the rare two-story dogtrot log cabin, which came with all the stone you'll see in the chimneys, piers and steps. While they were at it, they bought an old barn's worth of wood from Smith to use for additions. These included a new staircase, a large eat-in kitchen, a master suite, a guest suite and a music room. They needed a garage and wanted a deck off the back of the house, which drops down a steep hill and enjoys expansive Blue Ridge mountain views.
The clients had been collecting salvaged doors, fixtures, windows and all sorts of things for years, and they wanted them worked into the design as well. They found Atlanta architect Alan Clark, of Clark Zook Architects, who was well versed in historic architecture. Here's how he put all of the pieces of this giant puzzle together.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A retired couple
Location: Talking Rock, Georgia
Size: About 3,400 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms
That's interesting: The cabin's logs were hand hewn by Cherokee workers in the early 1800s.
The cabin sits on a 57-acre wooded site that overlooks the Blue Ridge mountains. Clark designed the garage to have a barn-like hay loft on top. He used the reclaimed barn wood and some windows the clients had been saving.
"My clients had a lot of things they'd salvaged and saved for years that they wanted to use on this house," Clark says. "For instance, all of the interior doors are salvaged." While the directive was challenging, it also made the project unique and rewarding.
"My clients had a lot of things they'd salvaged and saved for years that they wanted to use on this house," Clark says. "For instance, all of the interior doors are salvaged." While the directive was challenging, it also made the project unique and rewarding.
This entry used to be the open dogtrot breezeway. When Clark was figuring out how to fit all the pieces together and incorporate everything the clients wanted, he decided to fill it in.
The clients found the front door, transom and sidelights at an architectural salvage yard in Atlanta. They were from the first house built in Social Circle, Georgia, after the Civil War. The couple stripped, sanded and finished them themselves, then had Clark figure out how and where to place them.
The clients found the front door, transom and sidelights at an architectural salvage yard in Atlanta. They were from the first house built in Social Circle, Georgia, after the Civil War. The couple stripped, sanded and finished them themselves, then had Clark figure out how and where to place them.
The lean-to porch is original to the cabin, but the railing was Smith's idea. "Clyde Smith is one of those rare people who can do this amazing quality of work," says Clark. "He approached me with the idea of creating the porch railing out of dogwood trees from the property, and I told him to go for it. He came up with very interesting ways of building things that I would not have thought of." The railing is one of the many ways the team connected the cabin to its new site.
When the stone craftsmen arrived, they were amazed by the amount of stone the couple had from their log cabin purchase, and the clients realized they had saved lots of money in stone alone.
"There are pieces of old tombstones within the stone mix," Clark says. "Back then if they had a damaged piece of tombstone or spelled a name wrong, they made sure to use that reject stone one way or another." It's similar to the approach the team took for the house, using whatever materials they already had in new ways.
"There are pieces of old tombstones within the stone mix," Clark says. "Back then if they had a damaged piece of tombstone or spelled a name wrong, they made sure to use that reject stone one way or another." It's similar to the approach the team took for the house, using whatever materials they already had in new ways.
This staircase, crafted from the reclaimed barn wood, occupies the former dogtrot space. The picture was taken from the edge of the new kitchen, which extends off the back of the house.
New pine floors were used throughout the first floor, one of the few items not reclaimed. Clark used the wood from the barn for the floor joists, stairs, porch, flooring and some ceilings throughout the new and old parts of the home.
New pine floors were used throughout the first floor, one of the few items not reclaimed. Clark used the wood from the barn for the floor joists, stairs, porch, flooring and some ceilings throughout the new and old parts of the home.
The clients love to have their kids and grandkids up from Atlanta, especially for big holidays like Thanksgiving. Thus they wanted a large kitchen where everyone could hang out.
Clark built the kitchen off the back of the house. It accesses a deck with spectacular mountain views.
Clark built the kitchen off the back of the house. It accesses a deck with spectacular mountain views.
The dining room retains the original feel of the log cabin. "My clients had beautiful, Williamsburg-esque colonial furniture," says Clark. "I'm glad they went with that rather than overdoing the mountain-twig-moosehead kind of theme."
If you look closely at the right side of this photo, you can see some notches in the logs over the secretary — the owners decided not to extend the original second floor over this part of the living room, resulting in a light and open room.
The clients already owned this antique dresser, which now serves as a vanity.
Repurposed barn wood gives the new master bedroom ceiling a sense of history.
Simplicity and a mix of old and new carry through to the new master bathroom. "The claw-foot tub is an old tub from the 1920s that the clients bought. They took it to a company in Alabama that reglazes old bathtubs, where it was stripped to the raw metal and refinished," says Clark. "The fittings/fixtures are all new, but the client always wanted a claw-foot tub. It's a shower and tub combo."
Because of the slope of the site, it was impossible to get a clear photo of the back of the house. To the left is the garage; off the back you can see the large kitchen windows and the deck; to the right is the master suite addition, which has its own covered porch.
"My clients not only built the house to enjoy their retirement and spend time with family," Clark says, "but also to leave as a legacy for generations to enjoy."
"My clients not only built the house to enjoy their retirement and spend time with family," Clark says, "but also to leave as a legacy for generations to enjoy."
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It's charming! We are "cabin" hunting in Colorado- anything as old as the 70s makes my husband shudder when he thinks of the plumbing and electrical. Were there great expenses involved with that?
Not really. The old part of the log cabin is on a crawl space, and the new part is on a large poured concrete foundation/basement. There was some drilling for the switch locations, but many of the plugs in the living room and family room of the log cabin section are floor mounted receptacles. Thanks for the great question! Good luck finding your cabin.
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