By Gretchen A. Peck

A log-style home has a unique proposition for residential buyers. They are rustic by design, as well as practical and comforting—like a warm embrace on a cold winter’s day. Somewhat uncommon in this southern region of New England, a log home is a special find in a market replete with other architectural styles.

Erin McNamara, a Realtor with the Bowes Team at RE/MAX On the Bay in Niantic, is the listing agent for 5 Cedars Road in North Stonington—a log home currently offered to the market for $470,000. McNamara introduced Welcome Home to her clients, Matt Collinson and Shannon Collinson, PhD, who spoke about their time owning and living in this home.

The couple acquired the property in 2021, fully intending for it to be their “forever home,” they explained. However, a job opportunity is leading them to a new home and new state.

“We love this home, and we fell in love with this property, no doubt about it,” Matt Collinson said.

“We’re not cookie-cutter people. We like more unique, quirky homes, and log cabins have always been high on our list,” Shannon Collinson said. “I came across this property and thought it was super cool, not just the 4 acres but also the inside. It’s an open concept and has a really cozy feeling.”

The three-bedroom, 2,118-square-foot log home is situated on 4.26 acres. About an acre of the property around the house has been cleared, making room for perennial gardens, pathways and outbuildings. An electric fence makes that acre of the property ideal for buyers who may be coming with dogs. Beyond it, the property is mostly mature woodlands, the couple explained.

The double front doors open into a dining area, which is open to both the kitchen and the high-ceilinged living room. There’s also a reading nook, bathroom and guest bedroom on the first floor.

Two additional bedrooms are on the second level—one, the primary bedroom, and the second they used as an expansive walk-in closet.

The house has a finished basement, as well, with a second bathroom and two bonus rooms that might be leveraged as a playroom, workshop, family room, home office or even another bedroom, they suggested.

During their time here, they made a number of improvements that the buyer may appreciate. They painted some of the interior rooms and the brick fireplace surround. They added wallpaper, including in the kitchen, for color and textural intrigue. They removed some of the upper cabinets in the kitchen to make it feel less cluttered and brighter.

The existing cabinets are hardwood craftsman style, with granite countertops. They installed a new Samsung microwave and stove when they bought the house. The dishwasher is made by Frigidaire, and the refrigerator is Maytag brand.

The owners also installed radiant heat flooring in the first-floor bathroom.

But the biggest improvement was removing an old oil furnace in favor of a geothermal heating and cooling system. Installed by Dandelion Energy out of Mount Kisco, New York, the system’s design is based on a well drilled 300-feet down. It circulates at a constant 55 degrees, allowing for any supplemental heating or cooling to begin from that baseline temperature.

The system regulates temperature in the home’s basement and first level. Because there isn’t duct work in the log home’s second level, there’s a split system for heating and cooling there.

“It’s a really modern, efficient system, and it’s worked incredibly well,” he said.

Though they haven’t needed it for a heating source, a soapstone wood stove sits at the heart of the first floor in the living room. It has a glass-paned front, allowing you to see the flames inside.

“It could be used for heating if the power went out, but we strictly use it for mood setting,” he explained. “But it gets cranking, and you definitely could heat the whole house.”

For outdoor seating, there’s a pavilion in the yard, tucked away from the view of the road. “You can sit out there and entertain or just relax,” he said.

One of the outbuildings on the property is a large woodshed, which he estimated can store more than two cords of wood. There is also a detached two-car heated garage steps from the house, with a finished loft space they’ve used as a home office.

Asked about the location of the property, he said, “The neighborhood is phenomenal. The people are phenomenal. They were incredibly welcoming to us. It’s a supportive neighborhood, where everyone gets together for a cookout and helps each other. It’s a great group of people who stay here. People don’t seem to leave this neighborhood. It’s where people come to stay.”

“We’re within a 10-minute drive to the state forest in Voluntown,” he added. “We’re also just 10- to 15-minutes away from downtown Mystic and Watch Hill. So, while the location can feel very rural—in a good way—and you only see one neighbor from our house, you have access to all of the best of New England right here.”

Property: 5 Cedars Rd., North Stonington

Bedrooms: 3

Baths: 2

Square Footage: 2,118

Acreage: 4.26

Asking Price: $470,000

Listing Agent: Erin McNamara, the Bowes Team, RE/MAX On the Bay; Mobile: (860) 912-3820; Office: (860) 739-0888; erinmcnamararealtor@gmail.com