Making a Colorful Statement in Your Log Home

Using color in your log home sounds simple – of course there’s color in your home – but it’s how you use color that will really enhance the beauty already found there. There are a multitude of ways to exemplify the natural beauty of your log home by using color in thoughtful and specific ways. From kitchen cabinets to accent walls, lets uncover some great ways to add more color in your world!

Pop of Color

It’s a phrase I keep hearing related to design and aesthetic. The rustic Real Log Home bathroom (below) allows the beauty of the wood to do much of the work here. The indigo blue accessories and counter vase add wonderful pops of color against the log wall, antique finished cabinets and claw foot tub.

Accent Walls

Accent walls can create the illusion of space by drawing your eye to the point of color. In the Real Log Home hallway shown below, the home owner chose a cheerful green to display at the end of the balcony. The effect creates depth and interest and helps to display the beautiful custom Adirondack-style railings.

Bold Patterns

When you think of color in your home, you can’t overlook how much life a great pattern can add to a room. In the photo below, we actually have dual patterns working together to create a visual masterpiece! The boldness of the rug paired with the patterned wallpaper makes this dining area a joy to walk in to.

We can’t forget about bedrooms when it comes to adding color! I love the patchwork patterned comforter and window treatments here.

Colorful Kitchens

The log home kitchen (below) demonstrates that you can use your decorations to add splashes of color in your beautiful kitchen. I love the way this kitchen plays up all things blue! The candlesticks, tiled floor and framed photograph adds an array of different shades, shapes and styles.

The log home kitchen below is one of my absolute favorites! There’s something about red stained cabinets that really take this kitchen to a whole new level of fun! I love the way the color offsets the wood and allows the sun to do its job by enhancing the beautiful cabinets.

We hope we’ve helped to inspire some colorful choices in your log home! If you have questions about any of the log homes featured here, contact us at directly at info@realloghomes.com, call us 800- REAL LOG (732-5564) or ask us on our Facebook page!

Mom’s Favorite Log Home Features

This Sunday, we’ll be celebrating the amazing women who brought us into this world – our Mothers. If your Mom is anything like mine, she adores her log home and works hard to make it beautiful; from the flower beds outside to her amazing master bathroom. There are a multitude of features that people love most about their log homes, but in this post, I’ll be exploring the features in our Real Log Homes that make our Moms the happiest.

A Peaceful Office Corner

An office space (like the one below) seems like an afterthought, but in fact it’s an important space for any Mom who strives to be organized and craves a space to work while gazing outside. This particular home office lends itself to bird gazing and watching the kids playing in the yard. The stained cabinetry really brings out the warmth of the interior log walls while providing a classic take on the home office.

A Dream Mudroom

The below mudroom, with it’s precise shelving for organization, stacked washer and dryer and window-side folding table make this room one to be desired. Moms would rejoice if kids used the coat racks, kicked off their shoes and put them in their appropriate bins and threw their dirty soccer shirt directly in the washer. A mudroom like this one, from a design stand point, creates a space that serves dual purposes: it’s a stunning entrance that welcomes your family and guests, yet also doubles as your work space, where you arrange fresh cut flowers you picked from your garden and stay up to date on laundry duty. I must admit, with a room like this, I certainly wouldn’t mind folding laundry while checking on the yard outside the window. What wonderful afternoon light!

A Relaxing Master Suite

A master suite is a Moms sanctuary, a safe haven. Sure, the kids come in to snuggle on Saturday mornings and after a nightmare, but mostly it’s a place where Mom can relax after a long day. The master bedroom (shown below) is unique in that there is a bonus room: a LOFT! The corner wood stove on the brick hearth with winding gun metal staircase is a great juxtaposition to the natural beauty of the wood. The homeowners below definitely have the right idea.. breakfast in bed!

Few Moms would argue that taking a bubble bath this Sunday doesn’t sound enticing. The log home master bath (shown below) has features that most 5 star hotels strive for. Not to mention the fact that the marble  jacuzzi tub overlooking the private master deck means you can relax in complete silence (minus the birds chirping out of your window). This homeowner also had the ingenious idea of using kitchen fruit baskets for bathroom soaps!

A Beautiful Garden

It’s the time of year again when home owners begin planting new flowers, maintaining perennials and planting seeds for their vegetable gardens. A beautifully landscaped yard is something that brings my Mom great joy. It’s one of few hobbies where a tremendous amount of work is put in, and she can almost immediately see the fruits of her labor. The photo of the Real Log Home (below) has eye catching floral arrangements adorning the front walk way and natural  plants and shrubs on each side of the front entrance.

What aspect of your log home is your Mom’s favorite? You can leave a comment here on our blog, or on the Real Log Homes Facebook page. Happy Mother’s Day!

Log Home Front Door Options

First impressions are not only powerful, but long lasting.  And when someone comes to visit your log home for the first time, your front door will play a big part in forming the first impression.  So, there is a lot of pressure to get it right.  Luckily, there are a lot of great options available for log home owners.  We’ve chosen some different styles that our clients selected for their homes.  Enjoy!

Craftsman Double Door

log home with double front doors in craftsman style

The log home front door (or rather doors) shown above are a beautiful addition to this log home.  A double door makes a big impact, and can also help to differentiate the main entrance from other entrances like mudrooms.  It’s also very useful for moving large pieces of furniture in and out of the home.  To distinguish which door guests should open, you can opt to put an exterior handle on only one of the doors.

Old World Rustic Front Door

old world rustic front door of log home

This log home, built in Colfax, CA, has an old world rustic front door.  The iron cage covers what is referred to as a ‘speakeasy.’  This small operable door allows you to speak to someone outside without having to open the door.  It’s a fun historic detail that harkons back to the castles and abbeys of old Europe.

Divided Lite Glass Front Door

divided lite front door on a log home

The front door shown above is actually a “Simulated Divided Lite” (SDL) door.  It is a relatively new option when looking for French and Sash doors.  The single glass unit provides for better energy efficiency while maintaining the appearance of a true divided multi-lite door.  While this type of door lets a lot of light in, it can also be a privacy concern for those who live in a high visibility log home.  This is definitely a better choice for isolated homes that won’t have passers by peaking in.

Painted Door with Sidelites

green log home front door under front porch

Beyond the standard wood front door, a painted, or colored fiberglass front door is also a nice option for log homes.  It can help to provide some nice contrast with the wood color of the logs.  The log home above has a green front door which matches the green color of roof shingle.  The front door has sidelites on either side of the door to help let in more light.

Custom Carved Front Doors

carved wood front door with pine tree nature scene

One final style of front door is the custom carved front door.  This door, shown above, has a beautiful nature motif with pines and birches.  It is a great choice for a lakeside log home getaway, or even a small log cabin in the woods. If you choose a front door like this for your log home, be sure that you protect it from the direct sun by only using it under a porch or overhang, or by re-applying a protective finish every few years.  A door like this is something you’ll want to keep for a long time to come.

We’d love to hear which style of front door is your favorite.  You can also let us know if there is a style of door that you love which we didn’t show.  You can leave a comment here on our blog, or on the Real Log Homes Facebook page.

Celebrate Earth Day with Real Log Homes

As you probably know, Earth Day is this weekend on Sunday the 22nd.  Earth Day is a relatively new phenomenon, dating back to 1970.  Through the years it has meant different things to different people, and each year it makes us ponder our role in promoting a sustainable and ecologically-friendly method of building.  Below are three aspects that we’re pretty proud to talk about.

log home with solar panels on roof

This Energy Star certified REAL log home built in rural Vermont has solar hot water panels on the roof.

Energy Star® certified Real Log Homes

To earn the ENERGY STAR®, a home must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20–30% more efficient than standard homes.  A REAL LOG HOME® home can easily exceed the minimal requirement to achieve an ENERGY STAR® rating.

Energy Star Rated Log Home

Read more about one of our Energy Star rated log homes, by visiting one of our previous posts >>

real log home covered in snow

Computer controlled precision makes for a tighter fitting log home, which means you'll stay warm. snug and energy-efficient even when your log home is covered in snow.

Wood is a Natural, Recyclable, and Renewable Resource

Wood is a natural, recyclable and renewable resource. It grows on its own with no man made inputs, just solar energy, soil nutrients and rain.  And although it must be harvested and transported, the overall use of non-renewable energy is far less than concrete or steel. Most of all, wood is a durable building material. With sensible protection from the elements, wood buildings, including log homes and log cabins, have lasted centuries.  And thanks to our state-of-the-art manufacturing process, your log home is precisely cut to ensure a tight fit, and less waste.

pre-cut logs stacked and ready to build a log homeReduce and Reuse

Cut-offs from our manufacturing process are recycled locally, and made available at no cost to people who use them for fuel and a variety of crafts and other projects. The sawdust from the process is provided free to local farmers. Metal strapping and other materials are gathered and recycled. Our tools are cleaned with citrus-based cleaners that won’t harm the environment, and most of our shops’ trucks and forklifts are powered with biodiesel fuel.

Flooring Options for Log Homes

Quilting room in log home with quilt pattern floor

A quilting room in a log home has a fun pattern of linoleum on the floor to go with the quilting theme of the room.

Floors are one of those components of a log home that can sometimes be an afterthought.  We like to think of them as a great opportunity to show off your style and add extra beauty to your log home.  Four of the most important factors to consider when choosing flooring options for log homes are:

  • Durability
  • Comfort
  • Looks
  • Cost

We’ll take a look at four different materials and how they perform with respect to these four factors.

Hard Wood Floors

Hard wood floors continue to be the most popular choice for our log home owners.  With a wide variety of wood species, stain colors and board widths, you can achieve many different looks with a wood floor.  In an open floor plan where one room flows into the next with no real separation, wood floors can be used to help define where one room stops and another starts.  Take the photo below for example.  Where the dining room ends and opens into the great room and entry, the direction of the floor boards changes by 90°.

log home dining table with front door

While hard wood floors are very beautiful and blend nicely with a log home, many homeowners are often concerned with the durability of wood (especially those who have large dogs, whose nails can scratch softer woods.)

Janka Hardness testThere is a scale that measures the hardness of different wood species so you can research ahead of time how durable the species of your choice might be.  It’s called the “Janka Hardness Test.”  The hardness of the wood is measured by how much force is required to embed a steel ball halfway into the wood.  The more force required, the harder the wood.  To see a listing of how each wood species scores, check out this Wikipedia article.  We are particularly impressed by the scores that “Brazilian Walnut” or Ipê received (and how nice it looks – though it can be pricey).  See photos of “Brazilian Walnut” at Lumber Liquidators.

Of course, one nice thing about hard woods is that they can be a showcase for beautiful area rugs.  Area rugs are a great choice in bedrooms (like the log home bedroom photo shown below) so you don’t have to put your bare feet on a cold floor in the morning.  Rugs can also be used in a high traffic area to protect softer species of wood flooring – such as a rug inside the front door.

log home bedroom with area rug and brass bed

Flagstone Floors

No matter how hard the species of wood you choose, most stone used for flooring will be harder still.  So for areas that will receive a lot of foot traffic or wear and tear, flagstone can be an attractive solution.  However, the hardness of stone can also make it less comfortable to stand on for long periods of time.  The look of a flagstone floor is natural and solid, with a hint of the rustic – a good match for a log home.

flagstone entry in log home

This log home entry (shown above) is the perfect application for a flagstone floor.  The entry is exposed to a great deal of foot traffic, moisture and dirt.  Flagstone is a relatively low maintenance material, though more porous varieties of stone may require sealing every few years.  The grout used between the stones can also become dirty and discolor over time and benefits from regular sealing.

flagstone floor in log home kitchen

This log home (shown above) highlights two of the flooring options for log homes.  It has a hard wood floor in the dining room, which transitions into a flagstone floor in the kitchen.  The grout used for the flagstone floor in the kitchen is a dark colored grout which blends nicely with the color of the stone and will not show dirt as quickly as a white grout.

Tile Floors

Much like flagstone floors, tile floors are one of the more durable flooring options for log homes.  We often see log home owners use tile floors in entries, mudrooms and bathrooms.  Tile floors can be inexpensive and come in a wide variety of colors and sizes.

log home entry mudroom with tile floor

This log home (shown above) has a long mudroom with coat storage and a bench for putting on and taking off shoes.  This high traffic area will be exposed to a lot of moisture, and the homeowners chose their flooring accordingly.  The tile is a ceramic tile with coloration very similar to slate.  Tiles like this make the look of stone possible, with lower costs, and lower maintenance.

log home master bathroom with tile floors

This log home master bathroom also has a ceramic tile floor made to look like stone.  It is wise to make sure the tile selected for a bathroom has enough texture to make it slip resistant.  A perfectly smooth, high polish tile is not a safe choice for bare, wet feet.

Carpet Floors

Finally, carpet is a popular choice for log homeowners to use in bedrooms.  It can be very cost effective, and of all the flooring options for log homes, carpet is certainly the most comfortable.  It’s soft on achy feet, and less chilly on bare feet than a hard surface floor.  The downside of carpet though is its propensity to attract and contribute to allergens.  And, when it comes to durability, carpet will not last as long as any of the hard surface flooring options we’ve covered.  That is why carpet is best suited for lower traffic areas where comfort is important – like the log home bedroom shown below.

log home bedroom with carpet

We hope we’ve got you thinking more about what a fun and important task it is to pick the right flooring options for log homes.  If you would like more information on any of the log homes pictured in this post, please feel free to contact us and ask for some more info.

And, we’d also love to hear what kind of flooring you prefer.  Is there a species of hard wood floor that you’re in love with?  Do you like a log home with more carpet, or less carpet?  Or, do you go for something completely different like cork or stamped concrete??  Just leave us a comment, or share with us on Facebook.