Pamela and Don Emley of Auburn, California, will never forget the night they were awakened by the sound of gunfire at one in the morning. The sound was not, in fact, from a gun at all but rather from a fire that had broken out in their garage and was exploding the tires and gas tanks in their cars.
Minutes later, the couple escaped out the back door of their stick frame house just in time to watch it become engulfed, and soon destroyed, by that same fire.

Having already lost another home to a California earthquake, Don Emley knew that the only way he could get through the months of paperwork that lay ahead was to be a patient man. Luckily, he had adequate insurance coverage with a reputable company – Allstate – that turned out to be, as he says, nothing short of “fabulous.”
When the ashes cooled, the only structure that remained on the Emleys’ property was a barn, whose upper level they turned into a temporary living space.

“Believe me,” says Don, “it was pretty darn cold up there in the winter. There was no heat and sometimes you’d wake up to 38 degrees.”
“In the summer,” recalls Pamela, “it was often over 100 degrees.”

A small motor home parked in their driveway served as their kitchen and showers. Given their crude living quarters and the constraints of having to work within a budget defined by the insurance company, the Emleys were under a considerable amount of pressure to build a new home in a timely manner. Ironically, they had been reading Country’s Best Log Homes magazine prior to the fire in the hopes of building a remote cabin higher up in the woods, so the idea of owning a log home had already been planted in their minds.

“We both like the history of the era that spawned log homes,” explains Pamela, “and had previously owned a home in the Sierras, so we had already known and embraced the whole idea of mountain style living.”

With ideas firmly in hand, the Emleys scanned the local phone book to find log home builders in the area.

“The minute we met Ken and Jaye Payton of Real Log Homes® in nearby Colfax,” says Pamela, “we knew they were the ones.”

The Paytons, who designed and built a model log home for use as a type of “walk-in” portfolio for prospective clients, recall how discerning the Emleys were as buyers.

“They had everything very thought out,” says Jaye. “They were awesome to work with.”

The Emleys, in turn, found Jaye’s input invaluable when it came to the aesthetics of the design.
“This is the first house we’ve ever designed,” says Don, “so, although we knew what we wanted— which was to replicate our former home and its layout—the tricky part for me was being able to visualize it. When it came to the aesthetics, both Pam and Jaye were able to do that.”

“It was Jaye’s idea,” recalls Pamela, “to connect the garage to the house with a breezeway. She also suggested the stone walkways up to the wraparound porch.”

Ken Payton, the builder and general contractor, was equally impressed with the Emleys’ thoroughness.
“When they came to us, they wanted to build a log home with the same footprint as the home that burned. After seeing our model,” says Ken, “they decided to make a few changes, the most important of which was to incorporate a loft, which rises over the single story bedrooms, and to add a high cathedral log ceiling in the great room.”

The 5,000-square-foot cedar log home has 1500 square feet of wraparound redwood deck porch with pine log railings. The first floor measures approximately 3,400 square feet, while the loft, which houses Pamela’s office, workout equipment and guest quarters, is at 1,600 square feet. At one point, the Emleys were considering a spiral staircase for the loft, but when that was deemed impractical, they opted for a log staircase that features split log treads.

The Emleys’ former home featured non-functioning dormers that were simply blacked out. The addition of the second-story loft meant the log home dormers would be both functional and light producing.
Some of Pamela’s favorite features include the sunroom whose doors open onto the backyard and invite the sounds of the waterfall that blesses their bountiful garden, and the wall-to-wall bookcase in the den.

“I saw the bookcase in a magazine,” recalls Pamela, “and showed it to our cabinet maker, Andy Romo of Romo Cabinet Company, who was able to duplicate it in alder stained cherry.”

Ken admires the Emleys decision to blend some of the more rustic aspects of their log home with modern touches, such as the mix of granite tile floors in the master bath and dark slate floors in the sunroom with the very warm hickory hardwood floors that they chose to replace their former wall-to-wall carpeting.

In order to comply with California’s strict seismic regulations, the Emleys built their two large fireplaces—one in the great room and one in the unseen master bedroom—using Cultured Stone product, which is much lighter weight than real stone. “We’ve adopted Larry Nimmo of Larry Nimmo Masonry, who did all the masonry work in the house,” says Don, with a chuckle. “He’s been really good.”

Other amenities include a 1600-square-foot detached garage with bathroom and soon-to-be-installed sauna, an in-house laundry room with built-in sinks and folding area, two water heaters, and a split heating and cooling system with dual controls upstairs and down.

“We don’t even have to use the air conditioning,” admits Don, “because the house stays cool during the summer.” “We turned it on once out of guilt,” says Pamela, “just to make sure it worked!”
Not long after the Emleys moved in, their log home became the traditional gathering place for family members.

“It’s great for company,” says Pamela. “Everybody loves it. They’re just amazed by the comfort and beauty of it.”

The kitchen with its dramatic black granite counter tops and custom pine cabinetry is open to both the dining area, which features an 11-foot table, large enough to seat the whole family at holidays, and the great room, replete with comfy leather sofa and chairs and a new baby grand piano.

“I like the pure dramatic size of it,” says Pamela of the 30-foot tall ceilings, “and the challenge of decorating it.”

All in all, the Emleys consider themselves very lucky to have gotten through the trauma of losing their home. Now, they are ready to start reaping the rewards of living in their very first log home. After having shared their makeshift home in the barn with occasional visits from field mice and bats, that means a lot.