THE MODERN TRADITION

Custom Wood Homes
Design Guide 2008

More about this home, including floor plans and additional photos, ran in the magazine

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Photos by Roger Wade • Styling by Debra Grahl

by Ronda Mollica

In 1972, Al and Kathy Nagy were married outside of the Nagy family vacation cottage on Marion Lake in Minocqua, Wisconsin. They returned often to the cottage for summer vacations and even other weddings.

Al and his sisters inherited the land, and Al and Kathy decided to establish a more permanent home on the property — one where the family could gather for holidays, while retaining some of the history and memories that the original cabin provided. The Nagys decided a unique hybrid home would create the perfect atmosphere for their new retreat.

“My wife and I wanted to recreate a cabin-like home using logs,” says Al. “However, the more we looked into these [hybrid] homes, the more we knew a mixture of materials would give us a more authentic look.”

The couple sought a traditional look — square logs and dovetail notching to reflect the craftsmanship of old. Stone was to be used on a few walls, as was cedar shake on gable ends.

On the inside, they wanted more plaster and less wood to allow for decorating options and extensive insulation. Their search ended when they discovered that PrecisionCraft Log & Timber could supply them with squared cedar half-timbers that could be made to look like full square hand-hewn timbers and could easily be affixed to 2-by-6 construction.

Before they were sold on the look and purchased the total package, the decided to visit PrecisionCraft’s headquarters in Meridian, Idaho, to tour the mill and visit a few finished homes in the area. They were impressed by the company policy that includes a site visit by a company technician to assist the contractor during construction of the exterior.

“The Nagy home was one of many projects where PrecisionCraft provided onsite technical assistance,” says Jim Banner, vice president of PrecisionCraft. “Today, we go one step further, providing full installation of log and timber products. From custom design to high quality manufacturing to construction, PrecisionCraft provides a Total Home Solution.”

Wickman Construction, of Minocqua, Wisconsin, has been building homes in the area for over 33 years and came highly recommended and was enthusiastic about the job. “We love people to ask, ‘Can you do it?’” says Ken Wickman. “We never say no. This type of custom work is what keeps our jobs interesting.”

The floor plan evolved over a period of months and took a bit of redesigning to satisfy the requirements of both the Nagys and the county ordinances. First, they wanted the doorway to be in about the same location as the original cabin (which had been moved to another part of the property), but set back from the shoreline. Then they wanted a buffer on the north side of the home to break the cold north winds. The solution came in form of a long corridor that doubles as an art gallery. The 40-foot corridor has two sets of windows for light, but plenty of wall space for their modern art collection.

Next came the need for every room to have a view of the lake. Being on a peninsula helped. The open floor plan and a few special openings also fulfilled the need. For example, in the kitchen (which has a view of the lake through the dining room), an arched pass-through was cut from the north wall to look into the art gallery and through one of the hall windows.

The layout and exterior was to resemble what looked like an old cabin structure that had been added onto over the years: a main rectangular “box” with many smaller “boxes” and porches jutting from each side. With the help of longtime friend and local architect Ed Carlson, they accomplished this aged look that even fools many locals.

More about the home ran in the magazine.