Log Home Ideas

Okay, here’s my eBay find of the week (a brand new feature on the blog that started… about three minutes ago). These pine salt and pepper shakers are pretty corny, and yet I’ve been in log cabins where I could see these fitting riiiiight in. We’re not talking about accessories for your upscale stainless steel appliances and granite countertops kitchens; these salt-and-pepper shakers are destined for a warm cozy kitchen that probably doesn’t take itself too seriously. I have no idea where the original owner found these, but you just know that somewhere out there is a way-off-the-main-highway gas station still selling them to tourists. To whomever wins the auction: enjoy!

Fireplaces are the focal points of many living rooms or great rooms, whether residing in log homes or not, but something about a log home demands a little more attention to this important architectural piece. The fireplace has been an integral part of log cabins since the beginning, when they were the sole means of heating the house and cooking for the family. With all that history in mind, you mind want to create something special, especially if you’re building a high-ceilinged great room with a loft as is so common in log homes. You want a fireplace that stands out even amongst all that space. One way to achieve that is to get a special mantel.

These carved wooden mantels would look great above the fireplace in the home of a nature lover. The company does everything from frontier life scenes and bucolic villages to elk, bears, and wolves traipsing through the forest. They specialize in nature scenes, but from their FAQ, it sounds like they’re willing to try their hands at just about anything. A $250 design fee is required up front, which is then put toward the purchase price of the finished mantel.

http://www.loghomedoorsandmantels.com/

Looking for a way to add a touch of wilderness to even your bookshelves? (Well, you probably weren’t, but if you like bears, these bookends might turn you on to the idea). They feature a pair of mother bears and their cubs, placed just so to support your books and keep them from tipping over. The set will cost you $115 and is available from Anteks, a store with lots of Old West and wilderness-inspired furnishings for your log home.

http://www.shopantekshome.com

One of the first things you’ll notice when you become a log home owner is that you can’t put flat things on log walls. Logs aren’t flat, so it just doesn’t work very well. This goes for everything from hanging pictures to mounting shelves to installing outlet covers and light switch plates. Fortunately there are companies out there that cater to log home owners.

Atkinson Electric has a wide range of switch plates, outlet covers, and covers for cable and telephone jacks, all designed to work just right with log walls. Of course, you could get plates made from the typical white plastic, but this company is again thinking of your must-match-log-walls needs, so their covers come in wood. You can get anything from Alaskan yellow cedar to apple to birch to pine.

Atkinson Electric

So, you feel a log home needs a deer head mounted over the fireplace, but you’re not a hunter, and you don’t want any wildlife killed for your house decorations. No problem. No animals were harmed in the crafting of this carved wooden deer head from the Curiosity Shoppe. Life-like and life-sized, the faux heads are available for $450. If you want your fake head to look a little more realistic, you’ll have to paint it yourself (or hire someone to), but if you don’t mind the wood look, and you’re not trying to fool anybody, you can mount it as it is.

Curiosity Shoppe

Combining a mirror with a coat rack is a good idea (Hey, you want to check yourself out on the way out the door, right? Make sure there’s nothing hanging out of your nose and that your collar is straight…), and the etching on this mirror is a nice touch for a nature lover. Though this one features wolves, the Woolly Sheep Trading Company, where the mirror coat racks are available, has a number of other scenes too. You could get ducks, moose, eagles, bears, fish, etc. Each mirror has an oak frame with four hooks for hanging coats, scarves, mittens, etc. At $189, the nature-inspired coat racks seem like a good match for log cabin owners.

Woolly Sheep

Many log homes are just like traditional homes except made out of logs; they have all the same amenities and luxuries (and then some). But lots of people like to build rustic mountain cabins out in remote locations too. When you build “off the grid,” you don’t have access to power lines, so you either need to create your own power (generators are one way, but solar panels are increasingly popular) or do without. Most people have some means for power, but if you want to save on what you need to generate, you could do some of your lighting in the old fashioned way: kerosene.

Kerosene lamps work a lot like the oil lamps you’ve probably seen at some people’s homes, burning kerosene to create a flame. No electricity is required. This “Rio Grande” ceiling lamp is designed in a rustic style to remind visitors of centuries past. It’s available from Daniel Joseph for $261.

Daniel Joseph