A log home (or log house) is structurally identical to a log cabin (a house typically made from logs that have not been milled into conventional lumber). The term «log home» is preferred by most contemporary builders; a «log cabin» generally refers to a smaller, more rustic log house such as a hunting cabin in the woods, or a summer cottage. Log houses are especially popular in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia, where straight and tall coniferous trees, such as pine and spruce, are readily available.
There are two types of log homes: Handcrafted: Typically made of logs that have been peeled, but otherwise essentially unchanged from their original appearance as trees, Milled (also called machine-profiled), made with a log house moulder: Constructed of logs that have run through a manufacturing process which convert them into timbers which are consistent in size and appearance.