What did you decide?? Stone on the outside, or even stucco, is a great idea and would add to the presence of the overall look. There is too much un-matched wood. If you stone the turret, you could also stone (or stucco) the bottom half of the newer building to break up the space, add dimension, and an updated style.

Hi pjfee2...thanks for your ideas. Have to admit I have not
given the reno in MT much thought this summer, here!! Actually been finishing our
beach house re-build down here and a bit 'reno'd out' to be honest. BUT we head
back in just over a month so it’s time I did give it some serious thought, so
your comments very much appreciated. Already got builders organized so that’s a
start LOL

I love the idea of
adding stone on the outside to the turret part – but guessing that is as far as
the budget would stretch. The siding is in good shape so need to stain it to
work. Love the idea of pulling a color from the turret stone to do this. Will
get a stone that has some of the log house gingery color in it and then stain
the newer part of house a tone of this??

So far I’m sure we will

·
Rebuild the deck to run across the front of the house and form the
roof over the front door entryway

·
Make the entry way wider and mud room inside bigger

·
Replace the small window to the bathroom with a door off the
deck, matching the French doors.

·
Replace the tiny window in the turret with a longer one.

·
Cover turret with schist or stone cladding

Not sure about
replacing the windows under the deck. Added a picture of them from the inside.
This living space is the hardest to figure out how to furnish in this house. It has quite a
lot of light from a large window on the left wall - out of this shot - and across the back of the
room through a wide door way to the room at the back. Thinking of opening up this wall? And from the inside they seem pretty well
balance? Big problem in that room is that there is not a lot of places that we
can use to create a sitting area. Need to get a couple of sofas in there and
push them around to see what will work. It has 4 doors leading off and as you
can see large log posts dotted about!! ANDd a stairwell going down to lower
level and garages. Not a lot of space to play with.

OK time for another coffee...its 7.30am down here!!

I see you have the endless summer plan going! I love NZ! A bit like Montana...with ocean! (Depending on which island you're on, of course!)

Looking at your picture above, larger windows would definitely help this room. But I wanted to share that I saw recently that someone had used refinished barn doors (or made new ones) and hung them as movable room dividers. They can be hung from the logs, opened or closed as needed. Might give your space multi-purpose?

If you can, add a wood-burning or pellet stove. Baseboard heat can be very expensive! Unless you don't plan on staying when the cold arrives!

We are just finishing a redo of the exterior of our log home in Colorado. It is a challenge and not like a traditional house! Good luck and enjoy your time--

http://www.houzz.com/photos/sliding-barn-doors-room-dividers-/p/24

Hi pjfree2.....It is lovely down here. And not just the enviromnent; lovely people. We're on the north island on the Kapiti Coast, just north of Wellington the capital. Where did you travel to?

Love barn doors, Good idea. I will definitly give that some thought when i get back and can stand in the space and assess size etc. Here are a couple more pics of the room. Issues it has is the cieling is very low but will have to live with that. Too much wood for comfort. A step up to the room beyond (will be my home office) and carpet speaks for itself!!

And yes - a wood burning stove is on the list. We will winter over some years so that's a must.

Thanks for helping me brain storm. Not going to have a lot of time when we get back before builders arrive to do the sturctural piece of the reno so want to have a pretty clean picture in my head of what to do!! And its kind of fun trolling through Houzz :-)

Can you send pics of your Colorado log home? before and after would be good if you have them and like to share?