Log Home Ideas

What better way to celebrate nature than with a tile mural that highlights a favorite scene? This pine-loving landscape is from Motawi Tileworks, a company that specializes in, you guessed it, tiles.

This particular mural was done for a public library, but it should give you some ideas of what would be possible in your log home. A tile mural might be hard to integrate into log walls, but it could work as a kitchen backsplash or on any interior (read: flat) wall in your home. It could also be framed and simply hung as a piece of art work.

Motawi

Last week, I pointed out house plans for a log mansion (or pretty darned close), but it’s a foregone conclusion that such a giant home isn’t in the cards for many (and really… who’d want to be responsible for keeping something that big clean, anyway?). So this week, we’ve got a picture of a smaller log home. It’s not as tiny as the original log cabins, but at just under 1,500 square feet, it’s probably manageable (and affordable) for most families.

This one is called the Westbrook, and it’s available from Lincoln Logs (no, not the toy logs we all had as a kid… this is a log home company by the same name). I like this one because it looks like a cute little barn (I’ve always dug homes built out of converted barns) with 1.5 stories, 3 bedrooms, and 1.5 bathrooms. Information on buying the floor plans are available at the company’s web site:

http://www.lincolnlogs.com

For obvious reasons, wooden doors are popular choices in log homes. And more so than with traditional stick-built homes, log home lovers enjoy putting some extra special touches on their doors, especially the front door. You probably want it to evoke feelings of rustic, custom workmanship. A carving on the door may be just the way to say this home is something special.

Woodmax Doors does custom work, including carvings of animals, patterns, wilderness scenes, or just about anything else you can think up. If you’re into the whole rustic, wilderness theme, you could try one of the animal scenes, such as this one. I don’t know about you, but I love the touch of the hoof marks trailing through the lower section of the door.

Woodmax

One thing about living in a log home is figuring out what kind of hardware (for doors, windows, cabinets, drawers, etc.) look good next to those big logs. For instance, you really don’t want to go with small and delicate when it comes to a door latch or door knob. It would look a little out of place. Instead, try something solid and sturdy made out of metal. This rectangular thumb-latch entry set from Rocky Mountain Hardware is a good example of something that fits well. It’s even pictured in a log home, as you can see in the background. The thumb latch set is made from silicon bronze with a medium patina. Nothing too dainty here!

What kind of stained glass window would be perfect for a log home? Why, one that features a bear fishing in a river of course. You’ve got to have that nature connection when you’re living in a log home (well, you don’t have to I suppose, but if you don’t, you’ll get kicked out of the Log Living Coalition).

This is one of several rustic, nature-inspired stained glass windows available over at The Cabin Shop, a store that specializes in accessories for log home owners. Some of the other neat nature windows they feature are ones with pine cone themes, ones with birds and ducks, and ones with old-fashioned snowshoes. This particular window, entitled “Catch of the Day,” will cost you $365.

What better way to welcome a visitor to your rustic log home in the woods than with a bull moose door knocker? (It ought to match nicely with the moose head towel ring you’ve already installed.) I know, I know, you’re thinking I have some kind of moose obsession, at this point. I don’t. I don’t think. Anyway, I’ll pick another animal for the next log home accessory I feature. I promise. Maybe.

Anyway, if you are interested in the moose knocker, you can find it over at the aptly named Doorknockers.com. The 2 1/2 pound, solid brass knocker will cost you $144.

Maybe it’s just me, but I think a big part of the fun of owning a log home would be shopping for the kind of house accessories that would just look odd in your average suburban house or urban condo. Who but a log home owner could get away with having a moose head towel ring on the wall in the bathroom? (I wanted something like this as a kid, but my mom forbade it…) This particular cast iron moose is from Cabin & Lodge Hardware and Fixtures, where it sells for $25. The ring has a 6″ diameter, which should be big enough for even the fluffiest of towels.

Cabin & Lodge Hardware and Fixtures