Dave Cutrell
A young man's dreaming of living!

When Dave Cutrell was a young man dreaming of living in his own log home, he never thought a root canal would lead him there. But fast-forward a few decades and Dave, now a dentist, was performing the procedure on David Allaire, owner Mendon, Massa-chusetts-based C.M. Allaire and Sons Inc., a local dealer for Hart-land, Vermont-based Real Log Homes. They got to chatting about Dave's log home dream, and the next thing you know, construction had started on a beautiful 4,800-square-foot log home built with round eastern white pine, complete with separate living spaces for Dave and his adult son, Andy. 'It's the most expensive root canal I've ever done,' Dave jokes. Going through years' worth of file folders, chock full of notes and sketches that he had collected, Dave determined that his home should have an open and light-filled atmosphere, which Dave achieved through spacious rooms, large windows and a light-colored stain both inside and out. 'I wanted the house to be very bright, because the first thing people think about log homes is that they're dark,' he says. 'But even on a cold and gloomy winter day, my home feels cheery inside.' And it's warm and cozy, too, thanks to the in-floor radiant heating installed beneath the ceramic-tile floors found throughout the house. Dave's home is a modified version of one of Real Log Homes' stock floorplans. 'The challenge was to take two houses and turn them into one, making the house work for both men,' said David, who also worked as the general contractor for the home. Dave's side of the house is 3,200 square feet; Andy's is 1,600, which gives them both the privacy they need while sharing the same lot. Dave's other design priority revolved around his need for some R&R, an area where he clearly succeeded. 'I am not a lonely man,' he laughs, speaking of the friends and family who love to visit. From the pool and hot tub out back to the seven-hole golf green to the regulation-sized pool table in the entry hall, guests of this spacious log home always find something to keep them busy. Dave is a big fan not only of log homes themselves, but of the log home lifestyle. 'You don't merely build a log home, you live a log home,' he says, referring to the time and care maintaining his home requires. 'If you aren't prepared to do that, you shouldn't build one.' Clearly he is happy with his choice, since he loves to spend time at David's showroom telling people about his wonderful abode. 'I can't think of anyone who was more enthusiastic through the whole process than Dave,' recalls David. 'He's one of those guys, that no matter what came up during construction, he'd just roll with it. Now he comes to the model home and I'll say, 'Hey Dave. How's that house doing?' And I just let him have the floor. My customers love him!' Seems as though Dave may have missed his calling. Though dentistry brought him to his beautiful log home, maybe a career in log home sales is something he could sink his teeth into.