TL;DR
Apartment Therapy featured Liz Schultz’s 1989 log chalet in Winona, Minnesota, where she and her family have lived for two and a half years. Schultz says she chose to keep the home’s wood unpainted and work with its 1980s character while making it more comfortable and personal.
Liz Schultz has chosen to keep the wood unpainted in her family’s 1989 log chalet in Winona, Minnesota, according to a home tour published by Apartment Therapy. The report describes how Schultz and her family refreshed the three-bedroom house while keeping its original wood and 1980s character central to the design.
Schultz, her husband Max, their children Sam and Vera, and three cats have lived in the house for two and a half years, Apartment Therapy reported. The home is about 1,500 square feet and sits in a wooded valley in Minnesota’s Driftless Region. Schultz describes its atmosphere as peaceful and comfortable, with a fireplace for colder evenings and open windows and doors in summer.
When the family moved in, Schultz said the interior felt “dated, bland, and uninspired” and somewhat tired. But she told Apartment Therapy that it did not need extensive work to feel alive again. Rather than cover the wood with paint, she chose to build the home’s look around it, combining vintage, newer and thrifted pieces.
Schultz said the home’s age informs her choices: because it was built in 1989, she leans into its 1980s era rather than trying to make the interior look like a different period. She also described the house as a lived-in family home, where comfort and function take priority over keeping furnishings or rooms too precious to use.
Keeping the Chalet’s Original Wood
The tour offers a specific example of a homeowner treating a prominent existing finish as a design feature instead of automatically replacing or painting it. In this house, keeping the wood helps preserve a visible connection to the building’s 1989 construction, while furniture and decor provide ways to make the rooms feel more personal.
For readers considering changes to an older home, Schultz’s approach illustrates a lower-intervention option: assess what can be kept, then make other updates around it. The report does not establish that preserving wood is right for every home, nor does it describe the material’s condition or maintenance needs. It records one owner’s decision and the aesthetic she says she wanted.
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A 1989 Home in Winona
The house tour was published by Apartment Therapy, a home and interiors publication, and is based on an interview with Schultz and photographs credited to her. The article presents the property as a family residence rather than a renovation project report, and its details reflect the homeowner’s account of the house and her design choices.
Schultz said the family left city life and a colorful bungalow before moving to the wooded Minnesota property. She described the log home’s high ceilings and substantial wood surfaces as features she appreciated from the start. The source gives no account of major construction work, a restoration timeline or a professional assessment of the home’s condition.
““I love the wood and would never dream of painting.””
— Liz Schultz, speaking to Apartment Therapy
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What the Tour Does Not Establish
The published account does not specify what repairs or upgrades the family made, how much the work cost, or whether the wood had required cleaning, sealing or other treatment. It also does not provide details about the home’s construction, energy performance or the condition of its logs. Those points should not be inferred from the decision to leave the wood unpainted.
The article documents Schultz’s preference and presents the home’s appearance through a tour; it is not an independent inspection or a guide to maintaining log homes. The supplied source also does not identify a further renovation plan, a sale, or another scheduled development involving the property.
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No Further Project Is Announced
The immediate development is the publication of Apartment Therapy’s home tour. The supplied material does not report an upcoming renovation, follow-up interview or other milestone, so there is no confirmed next project to track. The home is presented as the family’s current residence and as an ongoing, functional space for daily life.
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Key Questions
Where is the log home?
It is in Winona, Minnesota, in a wooded valley in the Driftless Region, according to Apartment Therapy’s tour.
How old is the house?
The house was built in 1989, Schultz told Apartment Therapy.
Why did Schultz keep the wood unpainted?
She said she likes the wood and would not want to paint it. She also said the house’s age guides her design choices, leading her to work with its 1980s character.
How large is the home?
The home is approximately 1,500 square feet and has three bedrooms, according to the published tour.
Did the family undertake a major renovation?
The source does not describe a major renovation. Schultz said the house felt dated when they moved in but did not need a great deal to bring it back to life; the article does not detail specific repairs or costs.
Source: rss
