"When we bought the house, the house was completely abandoned," Zane says. "There was food in the oven, there were snakes and dead squirrels, but I could see the vision because it's got such a great basic structure."

Now, after almost five years of effort, the couple have successfully created a space they feel is comfortable, casual and true to their tastes.

They were lucky those tastes were similar, but for the most part they also held to this rule: the décor was Carter's realm and the renovation was Zane and his brother Jason's.

"He and his brother pretty much work as a team," Carter says. "They did the renovations and I've done the decorating, but we've done it together."

The Meadors wanted to remain true to their 1970s "Lincoln Log House," while at the same time, branch out from the typical cabin décor. The two say they will stay put for a while, and as for Zane's grandmother, she loved the house in the end.

"We live in a retreat," Zane says. "We come home every night and it's like going to a vacation home. It's very comfortable."

"It's very creative and very different," Carter says.