Lecompton ? Getting there is half the fun.

After the city pavement ends, the gravel country roads begin, rolling past meadows, stone fences and tangled brush. Farm animals peacefully graze against a backdrop of trees made barren by winter.

A large upright log encases the mailbox that marks the driveway leading to the log home of Robert and Kim Daniel Richey. An expansive sign reads “Creek Stone” above the property’s entrance. The road to the Richey house snakes through trees and climbs the hillside until their home is in sight. And what a sight it is.

The impressive log structure stands majestically near the top of the hill, one of its sides burrowed into the land, the three remaining sides overlooking the vast horizon. Colorado River rocks color the lower level of the home and spill into the landscaping.

A decorative glass front door welcomes visitors. The concrete floor of the foyer has been painted to look like rich, red marble or stone. Water trickles over a tall slab in the entryway sending the soothing sounds throughout the house.

Roberta Richey generously guided me through her home. Each room displays uniqueness in some design element, each room is decorated skillfully and tastefully and most rooms are bright with Christmas.

“It’s been fun (decorating it) for Christmas,” she said. “I’ve been teased about how many decorations I had. This house just swallows them up.”

Yet, no matter the room or its decorating style, the most notable features are the huge logs that form the exterior walls, serve as interior posts and make up the stairsteps within the home.

“The logs are Englemann Spruce,” Richey said of the handcrafted log home. The logs were harvested five years after a fire swept through a forest. Because the wood was naturally seasoned, it was a perfect choice to use in the construction of the log home. “We didn’t kill any trees to build our house,” she added.

Richey spent a couple of years developing the plans for the home before sending the customized plans to a company in Montana. The logs were cut and the home was built in its entirety on site in the Bitterroot Valley.

Then, the logs were numbered and the home disassembled so the logs could be sent to the Richeys for reconstruction.

“We reassembled them,” she said. “We hired a superintendent from the construction company to supervise. The actual construction took about a year and a half.”

The diameter of the logs is 18 inches. To hold their immense weight, 2-by-10-inch walls were used in the stick construction instead of the standard 2-by-6 frame. A chinking material fills in the space between the logs, acting somewhat like caulking. The logs were treated with a chemical pesticide and sealed. The sealant contained a warm tone coloring agent, producing a finished look that is inviting, cozy and beautiful. Ten and one-half foot walls and 8-foot doors are standard in the home.

“We wanted a massive scale look,” Richey said.

The 5,800-square-foot home features four fireplaces. Gas logs of three of the fireplaces are run with remote control.

“The house could be heated by the fireplaces, if needed,” Richey said.

Two patios, a screened-in porch off the dining room and porches off the master bedroom and living room areas provide plenty of access to the outdoors.

“We have lots of outside areas to use,” she said. “You just see forever. One thing we found out about this land is that there are hundreds of redbud trees on the property.”

Richey wanted every area to be unique.

She accomplished that with certain design elements. The small guest bath features a hand-painted and specially crafted bowl that serves as the sink. The exercise room in the loft above the master bedroom contains a guard rail made of hickory posts and rails and swirls of bent willow. Handrails along the staircases are made from forged iron with decorative trim. Lampshades feature animal silhouettes and antlers decorate hanging lights.

“In a home like this, you get to do fun little things that you don’t normally get to do,” she explained. “I do have access to a lot of sources.”

Richey is an interior designer for DGN Interiors. Although she mostly works in commercial interiors, her business is expanding to include Lodge Looks for clients interested in the “lodge-style feel without the log home.”

I ended my tour of this amazing log home and traveled back down the winding road, over the gravel county roads until I was back on city pavement. Leaving was not nearly as much fun.

— Carol Boncella is education coordinator at Lawrence Memorial Hospital and home and garden writer for the Journal-World.