Cabin Decor

Log cabin décor is welcoming, comforting, honest, and without airs or arrogance.

Cabin and lodge decor elicits a sense of safety, security, and simplicity. These sensations in the rooms around us can be easily achieved even by those not fortunate enough to own log cabin homes in the middle of the woods. In past times, everything that made log cabin decor was hand made, forged, or fashioned.

Smaller pieces were borrowed from nature (think birch bark picture frames), woven from wild grasses, or decorated with accents from the fields and forest. Cabin curtains, table runners and bedding - all hand made.

Light fixtures of copper, hammered steel, or iron, were topped with shades of birch bark, glass or mica. Twigs and branches were used for patterned work, framing for windows, stair railings and furniture.

Accent colors were always from nature or muted to blend into the environment. Chunky cabin furniture fits right into this atmosphere - this reproduction of rustic cabin décor - looks right at home with log walls. Bed frames, rocking chairs, and tables made of hand-peeled, waxed branches.

Some might call this 'lodge' style, like the old hunting camps of the past.

Others consider it to be cowboy or western themed decorating. It all adds up to rustic cabin decor. It barely matters if the logs are round or flat, milled or hand-hewn. It matters less if the home is timber-framed Adirondack or a small home in the city owned by country living enthusiasts.

Any room can be made to look like the log cabin homes of earlier times. It has been speculated by top designers that the reason for this new found love for log cabins and log cabin décor is that modern times do not 'work'. We are struggling as a society, as two working parent families, as consumers.

Log cabins sheltered and protected pioneers and facilitated close knit families. A capable man could build a log cabin with his own two hands and his wife could make that house a home with minimal expense. Life was simple, comfortable, loving - a harsh contrast to today's economic forecast.

Decorating an actual log home presents challenges not found in a traditional house. Furthermore, traditional or contemporary decor doesn't always balance in a log home. With a careful eye and dedication however, either task can be overcome and the result can be stunning.

Here are some of the challenges associated with having and decorating a traditional log home before moving into various ways of creating the look of a cabin in a more modern house.

Consider first the wall space in a cabin - often limited by the shape of the logs as well as the stain and hue. Another decorating challenge is the limitation of high vaulted ceilings. If you struggle with both, you will need more decorating panache on the floors and with the cabin furniture you choose.

Floors and wall space are best when defined first through the arrangement of larger items, then accentuated through accent pieces.

Should you have the opposite situation - a contemporary room or home that you would like to refurnish in a rustic cabin decor theme - start with the walls, the most restrictive aspect of a traditional cabin.

Faux painting techniques, cabin wallpaper, or barnboard planks can give you the look you love without the hardships and restrictions of a traditional log home.