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Twenty-twenty was a big year for Derek and Liz Strunk. Not only did they get married on Veterans Day, they moved into their new Honest Abe Log Homes custom cabin near Shiloh, Ill.

Working with Honest Abe Independent Dealers and general contractors Glen and Kenny Perrin of HH Log Sales, the Strunks designed a floor plan that incorporated ideas from several layouts they liked. The Perrins handled excavation of the site and “drying in” the house, which encompassed building the full-size basement, setting the logs for the top two floors and installing the heavy timber roof system.

Both are retired from the U.S. Air Force, with Liz having served 22 years and Derek retiring after 20 years. Each of them worked on C-130s, among other maintenance and logistics jobs, during their Air Force careers, so how hard could finishing out a 4,700-square-foot, three-level house be? They found that it was rewarding to work together to learn techniques, make decisions and create a place to retire that would serve them and their families.

“When we moved into the house in March 2020, we just had the bare minimums done that we needed for occupancy permit, like one bathroom, kitchen, electrical, etc.,” Liz recalled. “Then we went into COVID lockdown, and that gave us some flexibility to finish up a lot of projects during that year.”

The Strunks built a 5,000-square-foot shop and storage building before beginning the house, so there was ample room to keep materials and work on custom projects.

Among the handcrafted architectural details in the house are the staircase with its rebar balustrade, sliding barn doors made of wood from a barn on the Michigan farm of Derek’s great grandfather, and a mantelpiece made of a barn beam from the same structure salvaged decades ago by Derek’s grandfather. The couple incorporated antiques throughout the house, including a vintage oval-top screen door for which Derek built a custom door frame for the pantry.

They installed and finished the downstairs solid hickory hardwood flooring, upstairs carpet and hung every piece of wood wall covering, taking pride in the fact there is no drywall in the house. Since Derek works in a Civil Service position for the Air Force now, Liz spent many days working by herself on tasks she could accomplish alone so they could work on the larger projects together.

The pair laid manufactured stone on the fireplace and in the kitchen around the stove and island. Liz devised a method much like cake decorating to squeeze the grout between the rocks using a Ziploc bag as an applicator.

“I just piped it in,” she said, adding that she and Derek did the island first, reasoning that chairs around it would mask any imperfections.

With so much to do in 2020, coupled with COVID precautions, their first “real” Christmas in the house was in 2021. Liz’s 15-year-old daughter lives with the Strunks, while Derek’s 31-year-old son lives on his own. The foursome began creating traditions for the new blended family that they hope to carry forth as they age and grandchildren will someday be in attendance, including a day of baking sweets to eat and share.

Liz likes subdued Christmas decorations in traditional red and green. She found decorating to be a fun challenge. For instance, of the four Christmas trees, the one in the great room needed to be 12 feet tall to match the scale of the vaulted ceiling.

The Strunk home – which the family has dubbed “The Funny Farm” – will always be full of Christmas cheer, celebration, friends and family for holiday seasons to come.