Rustic Decor: It's A Matter of Taste!

There may not be two words as distantly removed from each other as 'rustic' and 'sushi', yet my personal reaction had been exactly the same to my initial encounters with each. My admiration as well as comprehension of 'rustic decor' and 'sushi' slowly progressed from aversion to surprise. Allow me to clarify...

Several years ago I had been hired by the American division of a big Japanese organization. Being a senior member of management, I had been required to take several visits to Japan, and entertain Japanese guests whenever they went to our facility. Regardless of the nation by which we found ourselves, sushi was the most well-liked carte du jour. Cost never was an object, however whatever the price of the food, my first experiences with the taste and feel simply served to make me consume a lot more Sapporo. I only didn't have a love-at-first-bite enjoyment for uncooked fish.

At some time after those very first unimpressive gastronomic introductions, something changed plus I can't tell you the reason why or exactly what was the cause, but I started to discover sushi good tasting. Eventually I found it amazing. To the present day, sushi is a favorite dish of mine and I'll frequently get out of my way to find a great sushi eating place. Without doubt you must be wondering what the fine-tuning of my taste buds related to rustic décor.

My first encounters with rustic furniture were comparable to my personal sushi encounters. The initial few instances I had been exposed to rustic furniture (stick chairs, twig tables, et al) I was not overwhelmed. My degree in furniture design was anything you may well call "classical", in that I had a significant admiration for the elegant lines of a Queen Anne chair with carved scallop shells on the knees of its cabriole legs. Thomas Chippendale's "Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director" was obviously a mainstay in my shop and I referred to it often for inspiration when building a fine piece of mahogany home furniture.

Rustic furniture however wasn't polished or perhaps sophisticated and didn't fill me up with admiration for the craftsman's expertise. Comparable to my personal encounters with sushi, as time passes I began to acquire a taste for rustic furniture's features, its interesting background and what the parts began to tell me. The entire process of bending and twisting gentle willow branches into an ornamental and attractive chair that could hold an adult's mass and was cool, cozy and resembled a woodlander's throne is an awe-inspiring demonstration of absolute genius. Initially my insufficient understanding changed into significant admiration and passion.

In the same vein, making use of rough-hewn logs so that you can create bed frames, desks, seats and some other practical products might not truly demand comparable fastidiousness employed by a master cabinetmaker, yet the adaptation and utilization of nature is what can make discover its beauty. It isn't the quantity of detail or even the intricacy of style that can make a rustic furniture exceptional. It's what the item says about by itself, its purpose and how it relates using the surroundings that produces its delightful aura.

A tree's intrinsic majesty is one of the factors why LOG HOMES and log home furniture are admired by many. A conventional home furniture maker might select saw planks in the trunk and carve elaborate styles, however a rustic craftsman will fashion an item that looks like it has grown up from the floor by itself. With rustic and log home furniture, form and purpose are complimented by nature's distinctive characteristics. Individuals wish to surround themselves with this kind of organic grandeur and rustic décor speaks to that wish inside a way that old Thomas Chippendale most likely could not comprehend.

Twenty years ago, I considered raw fish as bait, and gnarled branches from the forest floor more than kindling. Over the years I have learned that if something is different than I think it should be, I might need to take another bite or one more look before I decide to spit it out or savor the taste.

Visit Log Furniture Directory and the Log Cabin Directory for "human edited" directories of LOG HOMES and rustic furniture and related information for the United States and Canada.

Why is Log Furniture and Rustic Decor so Popular?

Log furniture and rustic decor in general is experiencing unprecedented popularity with the furniture buying public. Why?

Can anyone explain what makes a simple log table more appealing to many of us than a finely carved mahogany table? Is it merely a matter of style or preference? To be certain, some log or rustic furniture pieces do not blend well with every decorating theme, as few of us would place a skip-peeled log chair with a Chippendale kneehole desk, but in many settings log furniture has no equal. In fact, log furniture's popularity has never been as significant as it is today. The 90's and the new century have seen monumental growth in the log furniture industry.

To continue reading, check out LOG HOME FURNITURE.

Log Home Floor Plans: Choosing a Log Home Floor Plan that is Right for You

You have walked on those hardwood floors, gazed out from behind those oversized picture windows, cooked dinner, curled up by the fire, and even slept in that special home - using that vivid imagination of yours. Oh yeah, you've been dreaming about your log home for a long time, and you have finally decided to make your dream become your reality.

Got land? Before you spend too much time browsing possibilities, you need to know where that home will be built. Not all designs are suited for all building sites. For instance, a walk-out basement typically requires a home being built on a slope or recessed into a hillside. Additionally, some plans are designed to take advantage of the home's location relative to sunlight so even if you already own your land, you will want to know where and how your home will be positioned on your property. Once you have an idea of where those logs will be stacked it's time to figure out what that stack needs to look like.

Now the fun begins, and the first order of business is to choose the right floor plan that is consistent with the home you have pictured in your mind's eye - and the property on which it will be built. Odds are you'll probably not open a magazine by chance and stumble upon a floor plan that has occupied your dreams all these years. Choosing a plan and refining the design to meet your needs will require some research, self-introspection and creative inspiration.

By and large, almost any residential floor plan can be adapted to a log home, but there are substantial differences and considerations that need to be addressed. One such example is that of room dimensions as they relate to the diameter of the logs you will be utilizing. A custom handcrafted home made from 20" diameter logs will have a different footprint than one requiring 6" milled logs. If this is the first time you will be dealing with a log home manufacturer or architect, make sure you are comparing 'apples to apples' when discussing interior dimensions. If you want a room to be 14' wide, make certain that your designer knows that you want the interior of the room to have 14' of open clearance and not measured from the center of the corresponding logs. Using the example above, your 14' room could shrink to 12' if such presumptions are not understood.

A floor plan is about space deployment, or more specifically, the space you want (or need) for family members, guests, pets, entertaining and basic household operations (i.e. cooking, dining, laundry, storage, etc.). Furthermore, it is easy to overlook space requirements for many things we take for granted such as hobbies, displaying collections and other family activities. Try to anticipate as many of your family's needs as possible and expand your floor plan to accommodate your desires.

Once you have identified this all-encompassing 'wish list' you will almost certainly find yourself over budget. If money is no object - no problem, but if that Lotto jackpot has so far eluded you there are things you can do to bring that budget back in line. The most obvious and often least expensive way of doubling your floor space is to make use of the basement. A properly designed and finished basement is the perfect place to have a spare guest bedroom, home theater, hobby or play rooms, additional bathroom(s), laundry facilities or a home office.

Browse the most popular floor plans from leading manufacturers!One of the best tips about using a basement for additional living space is to raise the ceiling. Adding an extra foot (or more) in the height of your basement ceiling is much less expensive than adding an additional floor or expanding the overall floor plan, and the added height will eliminate that closed-in feeling you get with so many basements.

Adding or enlarging dormers is another way of capturing space from a second story or loft that is framed by a sloping roof line. You will be surprised how a well-positioned dormer can make a small loft appear much larger and provide vertical walls to accept seating, bookcases or tables that usually will not work with a conventional knee wall.

It is also a good idea to keep a list of things that you don't like; things you may have seen in a magazine or noted when visiting other log homes. Some of the most frequent complaints one hears about log homes, especially older models, is the lack of storage space and small closets or bathrooms. This is most often the result of poor planning or not taking into consideration the diameter of log walls and the lack of attics in most log homes. Refer to your list when discussing details with your designer and remember that in most cases you cannot build a closet or a bathroom that is too large.

These are just a few ideas that can help you choose and refine a floor plan to fit your lifestyle and accommodate your family's needs. Your log home company or architect will have many ideas that you may not have considered so encourage them to offer suggestions. Explain what you are trying to achieve and let their experience and knowledge guide you, but in the end, this is your floor plan.

Helping people design the log home of their dreams was the inspiration behind the Log Home Directory's "Floor Plan Showcase". Visitors now have an opportunity to browse as many as ten floor plans form each featured log home manufacturer without visiting dozens of different websites. These leading manufacturers display their most popular floor plans with descriptions, photos or renderings and links to additional information on their individual websites.