Everybody's Talking About... The Color of the Year
Soft, almost translucent “Peach Fuzz” — Pantone’s color for 2024 — bridges precious pink and showy orange. According to the Pantone team, the color conjures up a healing air of calm, offering us a space to be, feel and heal.
“In seeking a hue that echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection, we chose a color radiant with warmth and modern elegance,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “[It’s] a shade that resonates with compassion, offers a tactile embrace and effortlessly bridges the youthful with the timeless.”
“To arrive at the selection each year, our team of global color experts comb the world looking for new color influences,” shares Pantone’s vice president Laurie Pressman. “The emotional aspect of color is also a large aspect of our decision making. We want to ensure that the colors we select reflect what is taking place in our global culture at a specific moment in time.”
Used as an alternative neutral in drywalled spaces or as a subtle accent color for fixtures and furnishings, Peach Fuzz brings an understated warmth to a space and is perfectly connected to log and timbers’ natural undertones. And you can go softer or bolder, depending on your taste. Try one of these suggested shades in your log or timber-framed home.
Everybody's Talking About... The LTHL YouTube Channel
Wood home enthusiasts everywhere are flocking to the Log & Timber Home Living YouTube channel. Listen to editors narrate inspirational home tours; watch informational videos explaining unique elements of the log/timber design and construction process; learn tricks of the trade via industry interviews and more.
Check out more of our most popular content, including:
- What Are Engineered Logs? - Tour a premier laminated-log production facility.
- Log Homes vs. Timber Frame Homes - Learn the similarities and differences of these houses with our side-by-side comparison.
- Tour This Fire Tower Retreat in the Rockies - Enjoy this audio tour of a truly unique timber home and many others!
- How to Build a Cabin … with No Experience! - Follow along as the DIY Cabin Guy shares his cabin-building chronicle.
- Plus log & timber eye candy, our Dirt-to-Done series, budgeting info and more!
Everybody's Talking About... Mass Wood
The idea of using “mass wood” timbers in residences and commercial structures in lieu of traditional lumber or even steel may not be well-known, but it’s been steadily gaining momentum. So what does this term mean?
Mass wood refers to a family of products that includes cross-laminated timber (CLT), nail-laminated timber (NLT), glue-laminated timber (glu-lam) as well as several other methods used to manufacture structural wood building components.
“Cross-laminated timber is a technology that developed in Europe and has made its way across the pond,” says log and timber home consultant Rob Pickett, who’s also involved with the International Mass Timber Alliance (IMTA). “There are several methods of connecting the consecutive layers to build the CLT — glued, nailed, doweled, joined, etc.”
Advocates of the material argue that CLTs, glu-lam timbers and other types of mass timbers are comparable in strength to steel. Plus, they can be a more Earth-friendly choice since wood is biodegradable and steel and concrete are carbon intensive to manufacture. However, some groups have raised environmental concerns related to off-gassing and VOCs from the adhesive some manufacturers use. One thing is for sure: They are less prone to warping or twisting than other wood construction materials.
So how does all this relate to log and timber-framed homes? Rob says: “This young cousin to log building offers shorter assembly time on the building site, greater floor, wall and roof spans, minimal joints for potential infiltration and other advantages of panelized building systems.”
For now, certain types of mass timber are more commonly used for log and timber homes than others. Glu-lam, often referred to as engineered timbers, is leading the way, as it can provide the strength and stability of mass-wood timbers while preserving the traditional log home look.
The International Mass Timber Alliance
The IMTA is a not-for-profit, charitable organization that promotes mass-wood construction and sustainability, energy efficiency, low embodied energy and carbon sequestration. It also works to identify barriers that challenge the use of mass wood in residential and commercial applications.
Everybody's Talking About... Smart Home Tech
Remember when they invented lights that could turn on or off with a simple (albeit effortful) clap? Today’s home technology has come a long way since then. Now, all you need is a tap — and the right app.
“Smart” home technology refers to devices that are connected to the internet and therefore controllable by a smart phone or tablet. This opens up a world of possibilities, from the mundane, like setting your lights on a schedule or controlling your HVAC system from your phone, to the space-age, like egg trays that tell you which ones are closest to expiring.
According to the Swedish consulting and analysis firm Berg Insight, which specializes in the “Internet of Things” (aka, the network of internet-connected devices), 39.2 percent of all households in North America had at least one smart-home device as of 2022 — that’s 57.5 million smart homes! They estimate that by 2027, 88.1 million homes in North America will be smart, or about 58 percent of all homes on the continent.
Whether you’ve joined the trend or you watched the 1999 movie “Smart House” and have kept your distance, these three technologies prove smart devices have something to offer for all (beyond expensive egg storage).
Cut the Hassle Out of Curtains
Smart shades, like those from the Serena line by Lutron, offer the ability to raise or lower your window coverings from the Lutron app, smart remote or voice assistants including Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri. The shades are quiet and require no cords, making them safer for kids and pets. They come in a variety of materials, from honeycomb and roller shades to wood blinds that automatically adjust based on the sun’s position.
Make Any Device Smart
“Smart Plugs,” like the Kasa Smart Plug Mini, streamline the smart home experience. Simply plug it in to the wall outlet, then plug any electrical device, like a lamp or fan, and control it from the free Kasa app or by giving voice commands through Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant or Samsung SmartThings. Now, you can control the device from anywhere and even set up automated schedules.
Optimize Heating and Cooling
Smart thermostats have been around for a minute, but the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium proves they’ve only gotten wiser with age. The Ecobee stands out, as it can receive voice commands directly without the use of another device or app (though it is compatible with Alexa or Siri). With incredibly precise sensors, it can monitor your air quality, and it takes humidity into account when adjusting the temperature. Convenient for remote getaway homes, it provides alerts for sudden temperature changes and can be paired with additional sensors for security.
