Testimonials

"My wife (Jenny) and I (Geof) had been living in the Lower Main Land of British Columbia (Canada). We enjoyed our work and our friends there but were really wanting to move back to North Western Alberta to own some land and enjoy the open spaces. My growing girls had always dreamed of having their own horses and this was something that was not going to happen in BC. I also longed to get back to hunting, quading, and snowmobiling, again things I'd not be able to afford in BC. A large draw was also to live closer, once again, to a favorite cousin who was one of my best friends--Robert. Robert had been a bachelor for many years and finally met the woman of his dreams. We were looking so forward to getting to know Robert and his new wife Katrin, as a couple.

Tragically, six weeks after we had moved and three days short of their one year anniversary, Robert died in his sleep. We were devastated and wondered if we had made a mistake. We almost moved back to BC, because we didn't know how we could move forward, having had such a huge loss. Slowly the healing began to take hold and we started to think again about building our dream home. Robert's widow, Katrin, told us that one of Robert's last wishes that he expressed to her was that he wanted to sell a treasured piece of land to us.

Robert and I grew up hunting, horseback riding, snowmobiling, and playing on this beautiful property. When Katrin told us she'd like to sell this land to us, we were moved to tears and happily bought it from her. Many years earlier, Robert had cleared out an area on this property that he hoped to eventually build a log cabin on. He started building the log cabin with large sruce trees that dominated the property. He never did complete it as he just got too busy farming, but he did move the logs to his residence, just in case he would have time to work on it further. Once he passed away and even before we knew what house plan we would build, we knew where we would build the house. It would be on the spot that Robert had always dreamed of building his log cabin.

Jenny and I are not log cabin people, so that was never a question, but we wanted to somehow acknowledge Robert's dream for this part of the land. We have built our dream house and to top it off we plan to use some wood from Robert's half-built log cabin to make a mantle for our fireplace in our great room. Through our grief, the excellent design and assistance from House Plan Gallery to modify our plan has helped working through our loss a little more bearable. Many of Robert's friends and family members who have seen our house, have commented that Robert would have been so pleased to see what we've done with this property.

When we found your plans, we knew we found what we were looking for... Some of our favorite features of this home design are the spacious great room, the beautiful dormer windows at the front which let in a lot of natural light, and an amazing master bedroom and suite.

This house is not just our dream house, it is a memorial to an amazing godly man who was everyone's friend and whose influence is still being felt in so many people's lives to this day. Thanks House Plan Gallery for a beautiful house plan, which has turned into a beautiful house, which has become our home, which has brought a lot of peace and comfort... "

House Plan Purchased:
The Shadow Lane - HDC-18002-1

Geof & Jenny C.
Valleyview, Alberta, Canada

"The house that we were renting was sold, and in the process of looking for a pre-built home to buy, we couldn't find anything we liked. We then decided to build a new one.

My husband and I, along with family and friends, have built this home from the ground up. It has taken a lot longer than we anticipated, but this is one family project we will never forget.

I love everything about the house. The bedrooms are all a nice size. The kitchen is great and has turned out to be my favorite part of the house.

After deciding to build the house, we built the shell of the home out of beetle kill pine logs. Since our family business is logging, it seemed like the most economical thing to do. After picking out and measuring every single log, we peeled them by hand. My husband and my father then carved every notch with a chainsaw or by hand. After several months the shell was complete.

We then finished the roof and the internal walls with regular framing materials. Almost all of the finishing lumber inside the house came from my uncle's sawmill. My husband is making all cupboards and vanities out of the beetle kill pine. This is also a very long process, but they look great with the rest of the house.

The house is not quite done yet. We started building in May of 2009 and will be complete by May of 2010. This sounds like a long time, but since we only work one to two days a week on it, but I think we are making good progress.

We're very happy with the way our home is turning out and would DEFINATELY recommend House Plan Gallery plans to anyone..."

House Plan Purchased:
The Morgan Ridge - HDC-24002-1

Jodie D.
Walden, Colorado