Leah Kerkman's Blog (8)

I absolutely love working for a design magazine. Everyday, I get to pick the brains of interior decorators, architects, homeowners and log home providers about their favorite things, from a nifty new window treatment to the best way to make a small home feel spacious.



One of our oft-repeated mantras in the pages of… Continue

Behold, a new design from Peachtree Doors and Windows:



Cool, huh? The new Rustic Collection line features entry doors in a plank-style, knotty alder design. But there's a twist—it's actually made of durable fiberglass!



I think it's a great solution for log homeowners who want the rugged look of wood with the low maintenance qualities of fiberglass. After all, fiberglass doors are stronger, more durable and… Continue

Recently, I was working on a story all about how to design and decorate a smaller log home. I spoke with a ton of designers to get the best possible info, straight from the experts’ mouths. Well, Dave Joiner, chief designer with Barna Log Homes, passed along one of the neatest products for small rooms that… Continue

Everywhere you turn, people are talking about “green.” Maybe it’s because Earth Day was Tuesday, but I’m noticing it even more lately, which I why I’m so excited about our new green-themed issue of Log Home Design. In fact, I got the chance to interview the granddaddy of all environmentalists, Ed Begley, Jr., for our “Chat” department. And, no—I… Continue

My husband and I have spent a couple recent weekends house hunting around Northern Virginia. We’re not yet in a place where we can build a custom home, but we’ve still compiled quite a lengthy wants-and-needs list for our prospective home. My husband’s No. 1 must-have is a sizeable kitchen with tons of storage, an island or breakfast bar and gas cooking fuel. The features topping my list? Walk-in closets and a roomy master bath, preferably with a jetted soaking tub.



So when I had the… Continue

Last summer, the editors of Log Home Design, aka "the Designing Women," made their way down to lovely Madison, Virginia, for a video tour of catalog giant Plow & Hearth's first shop, called the Country Store.



There we met with Donna Bedwell, product manager of Plow & Hearth and an all-around knowledgeable lady. She told us all about the new innovations in outdoor living and how to create the… Continue

Spring has sprung. It happens the same way every year: I see a lone robin on an early-morning walk with my dog, I spy tiny green buds on the barren trees, and I come down with a month-long cold.



Except it's not really a cold in the full-blown achey-head-stuffy-nose-hacking-cough kind of way. It's seasonal allergies; I just seem to forget that I experience them now. You see, I grew up in Wisconsin, the land of six-month winter weather. Pollen, spores, and the rest of their… Continue

It's been my burden to bear all of my life—I'm the daughter of a crafts maven, whereas I break out in hives at the thought of glitter glue and macaroni art. So you could say my mom was a bit doubtful when I told her that I wanted to create a series of do-it-yourself craft projects for the readers of Log Home Design. And her eyebrows raised a bit higher when I added that they should be fun, easy, affordable and elegant.



But, being… Continue