This New Mexico Masterpiece Offers the Best of Both Worlds

Modern design plus traditional materials come together in this New Mexico masterpiece.

The large spans of glass encompassing the home are slotted into the posts — a construction detail that Robert Lockerby says makes all the difference. “It maintains the natural contour of the tree to allow the big panels of glass to be inserted into the wood itself,” he explains. “The tree wraps itself around the glass, so when you’re standing in the house, it feels like you’re looking through your own grove of trees into the forest outside.”

Photos courtesy of Summit Log & Timber Homes

Set atop a slope overlooking the rocky Sierra Blanca mountains of southern New Mexico, a log home offers refreshing front row seats to snow-capped peaks during sizzling desert summers. The juxtaposed views are fitting for a place founded on contrast.

In this 4,535-square-foot home (including lower level), traditional log post-and-beam construction marries contemporary West Coast style with aplomb. The home sits beneath a single shed roof rising overtop windowed wall systems that also speak to the original purpose of its design: “It was really built to take advantage of the beautiful view of the mountain range,” shares Robert Lockerby, who, as the owner of Summit Log & Timber Homes, spearheaded the project.

Continuing the mixed approach, handcrafted logs and clean, squared timbers play off one another, inside and out. On the exterior, rugged western red cedar logs stretch up at a slant from the decking to support the angled roof, punctuated by the Douglas fir rafters. “Giving those front posts about a 10-percent lean reinforces the contemporary feel,” says Robert. At the edge of the roof, the nearly 3-foot diameter root flares of the cedar logs peek out to impressive effect.

Inside, the rustic logs continue to steal the show at every turn, thanks to their imposing 16- to 18-inch diameters and special finish. “Most companies use a drawknife to remove the bark, but we use a water process that leaves the cambium layer intact, which has its own satiny sheen,” Robert explains. “It retains what Mother Nature has provided and showcases the natural beauty of the wood.”

But the logs are far from the only eye-catching element throughout the interior. Against the plaster-finish backdrop of the walls, undulating woodwork wraps around baseboards, doors and windows in place of traditional, straight-lined trim. Unusual wood details even show up underfoot, from the “river” of wood slices flowing throughout the log end flooring to the basket-weave wood and tile flooring in the kitchen.

“There are a lot of unique details in this house, but what’s really cool is that it shows the possibilities of what a log home can be,” says Robert. “Some people still have this idea of a log home being antiquated, and that’s just not the case at all. This house showcases that perfectly.”