Lake lodge

What would Tim Emanuel’s manual say?

“There’s more than one way to build a home.”

“We enjoy the challenge of different things,” Emanuel said.

His “mountain home” near Morse Bluff is a pinnacle of personal style.

A combination of old, new and old-looking materials.

Emanuel, a second-generation home builder, built his home on Wolf Lake. His son, Ben, an architect in Bozeman, Mont., drew the design. The plan was based on Tim’s previous home in Pawnee Meadows, but with one change - a lodge look.

“Rustic effects fit in with the lake,” he added.

“The shiny metal roof takes three years to oxidize - then stays that color,” Tim said.

A rough cedar siding is a work in progress, also.

Tim and his wife, Vicki, moved into the home on Dec. 15, 2007 - a few days after a MainStreet Tour of Homes open house.

A peek inside reveals a 22-foot-high ceiling in the spacious, warm residence with hand-troweled textured walls.

“You see this in the mountains almost exclusively,” Tim said.

Furnishings include not only family heirlooms, but antiques purchased locally and reproductions.

“We both had antiques - we built a home around them,” Vicki said.

The master bedroom is decorated with old family photos and quilts made by Tim’s mother, Etta Emanuel.

In the master bath, a clawfoot tub is a focal point. In the dining area - an antique table, a bench from the Clyde Catholic Church northwest of North Bend and a buffet from a great-aunt.

The main kitchen has an antique cupboard and a reproduction of a cast iron stove.

The brick behind the stove came from buildings that once stood in Omaha’s Old Market.

“We wanted it to look old, with patches,” Tim said.

Granite counters and island were designed for family entertaining.

“A honed-finish - we had them take the shine off,” Tim said.

An antique thermometer from the North Bend Hatchery adds to the warmth of the room.

“We were walking barefoot at Christmas,” Vicki said.

“There are vapor barriers under the concrete - two inches of extruded Styrofoam for insulation, two layers of half-inch plywood, then a three-quarter-inch wood floor,” Tim said.

A favorite area is the sunroom behind the dining room, with 15 windows and a northeast view.

“There’s a beautiful sunrise,” Tim added.

“I sit out here every morning on the swing,” Vicki said.

Besides natural light, the home has new cable lighting plus more than 20 fixtures from the old St. Patrick’s original schoolhouse.

There is a brick fireplace in the great room - 19 feet wide by 9 feet tall.

On an adjacent wall, a wooden entertainment center that Tim constructed.

Above the entertainment center, in a most unexpected place, hangs an old farm granary door from Vicki’s father.

A loft above the entry way is a walk through history.

There, visible from the entry, are a spinning wheel, vintage sewing machine and a 50-states quilt made by Vicki’s grandmother.

With Tim’s carpentry skill and imagination, little goes to waste.

In the home office, old tools are decoration.

In one bathroom, a barn door track is now a closet track.

Old barn wood has weathered the test of time to have new life as a medicine chest and photo frames.

On the upper level, a wood panel is prominently displayed.

“My great-grandparents donated the altar at the Clyde Church. When they closed, they had an auction. I bought the altar - it had six panels,” Tim said. “I refinished them and gave them to my five siblings for Christmas. Now each has a piece of history in their house.”

Each house he builds is hands-on and personal for his clients.

“It’s fun to take a big pile of wood that’s been dropped off ... and hand them the keys six months later,” Tim said.

Whether it’s barn wood or new lumber, Tim Emanuel doesn’t do it by the book.