The traditional log house plan originated in Northern Europe during the Bronze Age (around 3500 BC). When European settlers arrived in America, there was already a thousand-year-old tradition of using logs for houses, barns and other structures in the Scandinavian countries, as well as in Russia and Germany. These regions had large forests of softwood trees that could be easily crafted with hand tools. The log houses were built with logs stacked horizontally and notched at the ends so that the walls interlocked. When the Swedes and Finns arrived in New Sweden (the Philadelphia region), they imported their knowledge of log building with them, as did later settlers from Germany. Colonists in the British Isles had no such tradition in log building, but they soon learned the technique as log building was very convenient in eastern America. There were abundant softwood forests on hand and other building materials, including nails and picks, were unavailable, expensive, or difficult to transport. Also, log houses are easy to build – a working man can only build a log cabin in a few weeks. Using log skids leaning against the wall as inclined planes, it is possible to lift logs with ropes to build even a two-story log house.
However, typically, the plan for a log home consisted of a single room, perhaps twelve to sixteen feet square. There would be a door, but in most cases there would be no windows. When windows existed, they were covered with greased and translucent animal skins instead of glass. The chimneys were built of stone or clay and the chimneys of reed. Because this is not a very fire-safe mode of construction, stone or brick was used when obtainable. Fireplaces provided warmth and light, as well as a kitchen area. The interior walls of the log house were cracked with cloth or clay; and the floors were of plain rammed earth (although some log houses had a perforated floor, made of split logs laid flat side up). The taller designs had lofts that were used as seating and storage areas. Roofs depended on the material available, but cedar shingle roofs made from hand-split shingles were often laid on two-by-four beams.
Modern versions of log home floor plans share many of the advantages of bungalow-style home plans in the sense of being an inexpensive option for simple, country-style living. Modern log houses are built from milled logs that are generally manufactured in northern or eastern Europe. These ground logs are square and pre-cut for easy assembly. Log homes are a popular option in rural areas, especially in the western states, where log homes over 3,000 square feet in area are common. The style became popular during the Great Depression of the 1930s when the Civilian Conservation Corps built thousands of log cabins in America’s national parks; and many visitors to the park saw these buildings and adopted the style for their own homes. The largest log cabin in the world was built in 1930 in Montebello, QC Canada: the Chateau Montebello Hotel. In Europe, log houses are often built as summer houses in gardens, or as home offices or guest houses.