Beautify your log home
Decorating a log home emphasizes the home's unique architecture and its natural setting. Whether you have a mountain log cabin or a beachfront log house, celebrate the view with wide picture windows, wraparound porches and bedroom terraces. Draw from these views in your home decor, bringing in the colors, materials and patterns of the woods, mountains, ocean, rivers or meadows. Decorate your log home in a homey, rustic style that allows you to mix and match heirlooms, do-it-yourself projects, flea market finds, junkyard gems, natural items and favorite collections. Does this Spark an idea?
Architectural Elements
Classic log home architecture features bold elements. Exposed wooden ceiling beams, wall posts, logs and wood panels have warm, honey tones or a distressed, weathered finish. Wide plank hardwood floors complement the look. In the kitchen, living room or bedroom, a wood-burning stove or fireplace with a stone or brick back splash keeps the look rustic. Window seats allow you to take in expansive views. Keep floor plans as open as possible, to encourage the flow of natural light through the space.
Furniture
Log home furniture typically consists of natural materials such as wood, bamboo, wicker, straw, rattan, stone, brick and logs. Invest in pieces with large profiles and solid construction such as an armoire, sideboard, tall bookshelf, pie safe, farmhouse dining table, claw foot tub and four poster bed. A simple couch covered in nubby fabric or a canvas slipcover may sit behind a prominent coffee table with logs for legs. Metal accents often show up on log cabin furnishings. Look for details such as oxidized metal hardware, chunky metal drawer pulls, wrought iron shelf supports, brass knobs, galvanized steel vessels, dark iron key holes and whitewashed wrought iron furniture frames.
Accessories
Give log cabin decor light, color, texture and depth with accessories. An old wooden rocking chair on the porch sets the tone. Rag rugs, patchwork quilts, sheer curtains, vintage lace runners, mismatched throw pillows and plaid blankets soften wood surfaces. Bring in nature to complement your surrounding landscape. Use plant stands, rustic wooden shelves and terra-cotta planters to display vases of cut wildflowers, pots of trailing vines, and tall buckets of branches; use canning jars filled with leaves or seashells, tin plates holding acorns and pine cones, or clear dishes filled with sea glass.
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