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STORY BY Amy Laughinghouse • PHOTOGRAPHY BY O’Neal Arnold

YOU CAN TAKE THE CITY OUT OF THE GIRL WHEN IT MEANSBUILDING A LOG HOME ON A KENTUCKY HORSE FARM.

Coming Hometo the Country

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“There’s no place else I would ratherbe,” Claudia Lauber says. When she’snot at work, her days are filled withcaring for her horses and canning thebounty from her vegetable gardens. “Itell everybody I’m living my dream,”she says.

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Thirteen years ago, ClaudiaLauber never could have pic-tured herself settling down in

a log home. “I was a subdivision-living,must-have-my-facial, must-have-my-nails-done kind of woman,” she says witha laugh. “I used to be such a priss-pot be-fore I met Marc.”

Marc is Claudia’s husband of nineyears, and, in a sense, Professor HenryHiggins to her Eliza Doolittle. Only, in-stead of taking an endearingly smudge-faced street urchin and turning her intoa perfect lady—a la Audrey Hepburn in“My Fair Lady”—he took a perfect ladyand turned her into an endearinglysmudge-faced country gal with her ownmanure spreader, tool belt and 3,000-square-foot pine log home in SpencerCounty, Kentucky.

“Marc just loves to be outdoors,” saysClaudia of her husband, a chiropractorwho put himself through school by work-ing construction. “He taught me how toplay basketball, how to play football andhow to use tools.” When he presentedher with her first horse on her 45th birth-day, she finally gave up on the manicuresand other city-girl trappings once andfor all. “As far as I’m concerned, noth-ing is too dirty or gross that has to dowith a horse,” explains Claudia, who nowcares for three “babies,” a half-Arab/half-paint, an Appaloosa and a draft horse gen-tle enough for her grandchildren to ride.

TOP LEFT: “Marc went down to thecreek with his tractor and got one rockat a time to lay out our walkway andour little garden area,” Claudia says.(They also used stones from theirproperty for their fireplace.) “We spenta year just landscaping.”

BOTTOM LEFT: The Lauber’s home isbuilt from 6-inch V-notch easternwhite pine logs with authentic dovetailcorners. Narrow wood channelsbetween the logs could be filled withchinking, but the couple preferred toforgo it.

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Claudia and Marc Lauber furnished their home with piecescollected on their travels around the Southwest, as well asfrom their favorite shops in Kentucky. The bureau of shal-low drawers to the left of the fireplace is an antique sur-veyor’s chest. Beside the armchair, a milking stool servesas the perfect spot to rest a cup of steaming coffee.

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Claudia and Marc Lauber furnished their home with piecescollected on their travels around the Southwest, as well asfrom their favorite shops in Kentucky. The bureau of shal-low drawers to the left of the fireplace is an antique sur-veyor’s chest. Beside the armchair, a milking stool servesas the perfect spot to rest a cup of steaming coffee.

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LEFT: Marc designed and built thekitchen cabinets, which Claudia thenpainted a cheerful green to contrastwith the pine log walls. The mis-matched trio of Tiffany lamps over theisland and the whimsical backsplashbehind the six-burner stove, featuringMexican tiles painted with farm ani-mals, conveys the home’s lighthearted,easy-going personality.

She’s a Country Girl“The more I got into nature, the more Iwanted to live in the country,” saysClaudia. So she and Marc bought a farman hour outside town, thinking theywould eventually build their retirementhome there. “Then we decided we didn’twant to wait until we retired to live ourdreams,” she explains. That’s when thecouple started looking for land closer toMarc’s office and the country store whereClaudia plies her public relations andmarketing skills.

In 2001, a newspaper advertisementled Marc to a 20-acre parcel 15 minutesfrom town. “I came out here and saw thewoods and the open ground, and it was thebest of both worlds,” he recalls. “I likethe woods, but we needed open ground forthe horses. There was a place to dig apond and a creek running through it. Icouldn’t improve on it if I wanted.”

Once they found this pristine prop-erty, the idea of building a log home thereseemed the obvious choice. “It’s so natu-ral and fits in with the environment,”Claudia says. “It was unique, and we coulddesign exactly what we wanted.”

Marc and Claudia were impressedwith the log packages that AppalachianLog Structures, based in Ripley, WestVirginia, had provided in their area, andthey liked the company’s willingness toalter its standard blueprints. “They werejust really wonderful to work with,” saysMarc, who added multiple windows, acovered porch, additional fireplaces andsquare footage to the “Richmond” plan.

While the company’s drafting de-partment labored over those changes,Marc and Claudia spent their weekends

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camping on the farm. “Marc brought histractor out, and we had a blast with my old-est daughter and her husband building abarn,” Claudia says. “When constructionon the house started, wherever there wasa piece of flooring, that’s where we wouldcamp that weekend. When they put ourplumbing fixtures in, Marc and I hauledwater up and threw it in the bathtub andtook a bath,” she recalls.

Even before the home was complete,the farm hosted some rollicking celebrations.“One night, Marc’s son had a party outhere with big bonfires, and one October,we had a birthday party for a whole bunchof family members. Everybody broughtinstruments they could play—or not,”quips Claudia, who accompanied the rag-tag band with her knee cymbals.

Making a House a HomeA year after breaking ground, the couplemade the log home their permanent res-idence. “We think the house really re-flects our personalities,” says Claudia,who decorated it herself in a style sheflippantly describes as “Cowboy meetsMission at the Ski Lodge.” Amber lightglows from Tiffany lamps and mica lamp-shades. Oriental and Native Americancarpets in rich jewel tones warm the wide-planked tongue-and-groove pine floors,which Marc and Claudia laid with thehelp of dedicated friends. Antiques aremixed with comfortable leather armchairsand the simple, soothing lines of Stickleyfurniture made of quarter-sawn oak,which Marc loves for the striking patternof the grain.

Ask him what his favorite feature ofthe home is, and without missing a beat,Marc replies, “My wife.” But he also loves

RIGHT: “Our bedroom actually lookslike a tree house,” says Claudia, whofurnished the balcony with a wickerchaise that beckons on lazy after-noons. Inside, furnishings blend withthe golden tones of the pine, which theLaubers covered with clear stain.

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the kitchen. “It has 25-foot-tall ceilings anddoors that open to the deck and look outtoward the pond and the horses. It’s justa bright, beautiful space,” explains Marc,who custom-built all the cabinetry him-self, with the help of his friend, trim car-penter Gavin Caster. “It was a good excusefor him to buy every tool known to man,”Claudia jokes.

Marc also built the splendidly de-tailed mantel for the see-through fire-place shared by the master bedroom andbath—the one amenity that Claudia saysshe couldn’t live without. “When it’s acold and dreary Saturday morning, weturn on the fireplace, fill that tub up andget in with our coffee, and it’s just thebest,” she sighs, adding that she has anewfound appreciation for the simplepleasures in life. “I used to get jewelry forpresents,” she says. “Now I get powertools. I really have changed my views onthe things I think are important.” Andjudging by the sound of her laughter,that’s just fine. ■

■ Square footage: 3,000

(not including basement)

■ Package price: $150,000

■ Log producer: Appalachian Log

Structures

HOME DETAILS

The master bath is a luxurious retreatcomplete with wall-mounted faucetsthat drain water into sleek copper vessel sinks and an enormous soakingtub for relaxing baths. A fireplacewarms the room on cold nights.

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