Log Cabin Style Interior Design
From LoveToKnow Interior Design
No longer relegated to weekend getaways and vacation homes, log cabin style interior design is coming to living rooms, family rooms, and even bedrooms throughout America. Based on the rustic décor of lake and mountain summer homes, log cabin style interior design is identifiable by its use of rough-hewn logs, both for home construction and for furniture as well as large, open spaces, paneled walls, and prominent fireplaces and cast-iron pot-bellied stoves. Aspen logs, birch logs, and cedar logs are transformed into stylish, yet rugged pieces of furniture, such as four-poster beds with tree limbs as the posts or desks with a planed piece of pine as the surface.
Cabin Home Furniture
Log home furniture stays true to its name with cleverly and expertly crafted log items, such as a sleek desk with branches as legs or a sofa constructed of rough-hewn logs. Rocking chairs, made from soft pine, sleek maple, or even birth or aspen tree limbs are a stylish way to enjoy an evening beside the fire. Useful items, such as pie safes and dry sinks, often adorned with punched tin, lend to the prairie feel of the log cabin room.
A traditional rustic, log cabin living room might include a sofa constructed of halved, rough-hewn logs with deep green, overstuffed cushions accompanied by a birch twig rocker and a table made from a leather chest. A typical bedroom might include a bed made from cut logs, dressed in a cheerful calico print, accompanied by a rag rug and sturdy pine side tables. The log cabin kitchen centers around the table, usually a thick, rectangular piece – beautiful and functional, at the same time. Wooden benches or simply constructed chairs accompany the table.
Textures of Log Cabin Style Interior Design
Log cabin décor is noted for its dramatic textures – bark, rough textiles, and log home furniture. Hardwood floors are a common theme in rustic cabin decor, usually covered partially by area rugs, often rag, fur, or braided rugs. Leather upholstery, cushions and pillows help recreate that rugged ranch look. Barnwood and roughly loomed fabric also add the prairie feel of the log cabin room.
Colors
Log cabin style interior design draws from the colors of nature – rich browns reflect the bark, leaves, and limbs of the forest, light moss greens mirror ponds and streams, deep greens depict the lush foliage of summer, and vibrant rusts and golds remind residents of the fading glory of autumn. Vibrant plaids and attractive nature prints, particularly those that feature ducks, moose, and bear are also popular, and help to brighten to often-paneled rooms.
Furnishing the Outdoors
Screened-in side porches and sweeping open front porches are staples in log cabin architecture and log furniture construction lends itself to stylish outdoor furniture. Porch swings, gliders, and rocking chairs made of sturdy logs or stylish saplings help blend the distinction between indoors and out. Bird feeders and birdhouses, often made of recycled barnwood, are ideal outdoor accessories for a log cabin house.
Accessorizing the Cabin
Log cabin décor emphasizes the functional as well as the beautiful. Items, such as fishing gear and household gadgets, find their way to the living room walls as decoration. Moose and bear themed-items, anything from a lamp to a bookend, lend a touch of whimsy and playfulness to a log cabin-themed room. Quilts, blankets, and woven throws are decorative as well as useful in keeping residents warm during the long winter’s nights. In addition, symbols of the Old West, such as leather saddles, wagon wheels, stirrups, and lassos make interesting wall hangings in a log cabin room.
Artwork runs to the rustic, also. Folk art, simple and primitive designs painted on old barnwood or simply forged metal works, complements a log cabin-style room. Textile art adds vibrant colors to the often dark, wood-paneled walls. Quilts, too, look festive and traditional when hung on the wall.
Log cabin style interior design brings a cozy and warm feel to any home. Friendly, rather than formal, log cabin décor invites guests and family alike to curl up on the sofa or pull a chair up next to the fireplace. It’s a uniquely American style that draws on the prairie and pioneer spirit and tenaciousness of the first Americans and quietly inspires all of us to be the best we can be.
Comments
We are decorating our house in rustic or log cabin style and could use some help deciding which we agree on and with a very tight budget
-- Contributed by: RebaCathy, we don't actually have catalogs, but hopefully you can find some useful info for your decorating in this article. I'm going to remove your address for your own safety.
-- Contributed by: Hlmcdonawe are decorating our home in the old country look and we neew help we have sheetrock on the walls and we want to make it look rustic with as little money as possible we are on a strick budget and we want to make our home as rustic as we can.
-- Contributed by: cathy mcintosh> See All Comments on this article
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