home tour|Schomberg
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The main section of the home is all magnificent hand hewn white pine logs, with mortar chinking outside and in.”
22 | GoodLife • March - April 2016
“I really appreciate the quality and craftsmanship of the home,” says Giffin, who works in the metal fabrication and combustion business. “The full log construction, hand hewn beams. This is not a post and beam home. There’s no wood siding. No drywall in the interior, other than the ceilings. The main section of the home is all magnificent hand hewn white pine logs, with mortar chinking outside and in.” Ensconced by beech, white pine, hemlock and shagbark hickory trees, the home strikes an imposing figure on the crest of the hill. There is a discernible energy and hospitality in those grand wood beams. It is like the soul of the forest remains alive in the very structure. At the base of the stairs that climb to the main entrance, a great red granite millstone embedded in the asphalt driveway is your welcome mat. “It came from a mill in Belfountain,” Giffin explains. Flagstone steps take you up a level to the cedar wraparound deck that leads to the front door—the perfect spot for an evening nightcap when the tree canopy is lit. State-of-the-art, environmentally friendly landscape lighting was installed on the trees.
“They’re on photocells that trigger on when it gets dark. It’s a peaceful, easy feeling. People have actually stopped to say, ‘I can’t believe the lighting you have here. It’s magical.’” Once inside, you step onto handsome Spanish mission red terra-cotta tile flooring that winds through the foyer all the way into the powder room and then on to the kitchen and dining room. Quiet music plays gently in the background as you drink in the calming atmosphere. Industrial pendant lights hang from the soaring vaulted ceilings, providing evening light, though unnecessary during daylight hours. Premium European Sikora windows that tilt open from the top or swing open from the side are installed throughout the home. Two sport decorative etchings of wild geese and blue jays in the transoms above. They complement the wildlife art pieces Giffin has sprinkled throughout his home—including exquisite Walter Ruch bird carvings of Baltimore orioles, Canada geese and blue jays. “My mother and father collected them over many years,” Giffen says. He was a famous artist from Muskoka.”