Great white warmth

After purchasing 155 acres just south of Calgary, Norm and Margi Castiglione decided to build their dream home, a 5,600-square-foot log house. During the early stages of the project, Norm met with Joe Strang of Showcase Home Theatre & Automation. "We were only going to go as high-tech as having a stereo, a couple of speakers here and there, and a 40-inch TV," Norm says. But what started as a plan for some basic security and a simple stereo system turned into a dramatic home theater in the log-trussed great room; whole-house audio and security; lighting, electronic heating, and ventilation control; and a barn with a themed sports bar. Even as the snow piles up in the winter and the winds whip down from the nearby Rockies, they can look out the 32-foot-high windows and fire up a warming DVD. See this slide show

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