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!

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!

Craftsman Double Door

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

Reduce 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.

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°.

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.)

There 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A look at different log home stain options, from traditional to modern

When most people imagine the typical log home or log cabin, they no doubt picture the logs in some shade of brown similar to the natural wood color (like the log cabin shown at left).  And while log home stains in natural shades of brown continue to be the predominant choice for log homeowners, shades of gray have become more and more popular over the years.  Here are four examples of log homes which are finished in various shades of gray log home stain.

Energy Star® Log Home in Vermont

This log home, built in Vermont, achieved the highest Energy Star® rating possible.  An excellent log home package, combined with smart choices in window selection and appliances made this accomplishment possible.  As you can see in the photo, the homeowners also selected a log home stain in a shade of gray.  This stain happens to be a semi-translucent stain, so the wood grain and knots are visible through the gray finish.

Massachusetts Log Home

This log home was built by a dentist, and includes some unusual details for a log home.  The wood on the interior is finished in a bright, natural finish and the backyard has a gorgeous custom pool.  On the outside, this log home is finished in a lovely shade of gray.  This log home stain is opaque, and none of the knots or grain are visible through this finish.  The light gray color blends nicely with the granite and crushed stone used in the landscaping, and the modern black trim of the windows and front door.

Arkansas Log Home

This log home uses an interesting combination of log home stain and trim colors.  The log home stain is a light gray finish, and the window trim and metal roof are in shades of dusty, gray-blue.  The combination looks very classic.  This home is based off the standard log home plan called “The Ozark.”  You can see the floor plan at Real Log Homes’s website.

New Jersey Log Home

This log home embraces a unique shape, and a unique log home stain.  The finish is a warm gray with very little transparency.  Only a hint of the knots and grain of the logs show through.  The warm undertone of the gray log home stain looks nice next to the natural wood color of the deck and balcony.

So with log home staining season right around the corner, we hope we’ve inspired you to think beyond the brown and realize there are more log home stain colors to consider.  If you have any questions about the products used on these log homes, or questions about building your own log home, call 1-800 REAL LOG (732-5564) or email info@realloghomes.com.

What is Universal Design?

Universal Design (or UD) is an architectural design system that strives to allow people of all ages and levels of mobility to comfortably live in a home over many years.  Here are some of the considerations to think about when planning a UD log home.

Wider halls and doors

This log home hallway (shown above) is wide and well lit.  Sometimes hallways can feel dark and cave like, so keeping them wider not only helps those who need room for a cane or wheel chair, but it helps a log home feel more open and cheerful in general.

This log home dining room (shown above) is separated from the living room by double wide pocket doors.  As with wider hallways, wider doors allow for easier flow of traffic and make a log home feel more open.  Pocket doors are also a good idea because they take up less space.  Just make sure that they slide easily and that the handles are large enough for both young and old hands alike to operate.

Easy access kitchen

This modern style log home kitchen (shown above) has great function for people of all ages.  There are minimal upper cabinets, which allows for more windows.  Most of the lower cabinets have drawers which slide out, making access to cookware much easier.  The corner cabinet houses a lazy-susan  which rotates fully to make reaching everything inside much simpler.

Hard surface flooring choices

This log home entry (shown above) shows a combination of two flooring choices.  For the floor just inside the front entrance the homeowners chose a resilient and long lasting tile.  Beyond the entry area, the floor transitions to hardwood.  Both of these are good choices for designing a UD log home.  Not only will hard surfaces be easier to clean through the years, and promote healthier indoor air quality, they are also easier to traverse.

First floor master bedroom

This log home master bedroom (shown above) is on the first floor.  This has become a popular choice for many log home owners in recent years.  It is wise to avoid unnecessary trips up and down stairs.  And if you have a pet which might need to be let outside at night, you most certainly want to avoid climbing stairs in the dark.  So, a first floor master is a good choice not only for convenience, but also for safety later in life.  Often times, a downstairs room such as a den or library can be converted into a bedroom at a later date. (See all the standard log home floor plans at Real Log Homes)

Laundry and Other Appliances

This log home laundry room (shown above) is spacious and well lit.  It also happens to be on the same level as the master bedroom.  Walking up and down stairs with a laundry basket can be dangerous for persons of all ages, so having the laundry on the same floor as where the clothes are stored is a wise choice.  Also, a side by side washer and dryer set is easier to use than a stacked set.

Universal Design Conclusion

While nobody likes to think about getting older, it does happen to us all. The nice thing about designing a log home with Universal Design in mind, is that your log home will be more comfortable and easier to live in both now and later.  And once you move in to your custom designed, precision crafted Real Log Home®, we are confident that you’ll be wanting to stay for many years to come.  Give Real Log Homes a call to discuss your plans for building a log home at 1-800 REAL LOG (732-5564) or send them an email at info@realloghomes.com with any questions you might have.

Some log homes are big, and some log homes are small.  No matter the size, it’s really the layout that matters.  You can build a 5,000 square foot log home that ends up having less usable space than a 2,000 square foot log home if you don’t pay close attention to careful layout.  The Cedaredge log home plan is an example of how a well designed small log home plan can pack a lot of utility into a small package.

The Cedaredge log home plan is a three bedroom log home plan with 2 full bathrooms.  It all fits into two stories – the first floor at 1,120 square feet, and the second floor at 840 square feet, for a total of 1960 square feet.

The First Floor:

The first floor (shown above) has an open concept plan with the kitchen flowing into a dining space and into the living room.  The space feels larger than it is thanks to this open layout, and the use of cathedral ceilings in the living room to add height.  The bedrooms on the first floor are kept private and separate thanks to a short hallway.  It’s important to strike the right balance with hallways.  In essence a hallway is wasted space, but if you don’t have one, bedrooms might feel too open to the public living spaces.  The hallway in this log home plan is just right.

The Second Floor:

The second floor of this log home has a large master bedroom with walk-in closet and spacious master bathroom.  There is also a large loft space that can be used as an extra, more casual family room.  The loft space also has access to an elevated deck, making the space feel even more light and open.  A railing runs along the loft keeping it open to the living room below.

If you are interested in learning more about the Cedaredge log home plan, you can contact Real Log Homes directly by calling 1-800- REAL LOG (732-5564), emailing them at info@realloghomes.com, or you can fill out the online form to request more info on the Cedaredge.  And, as always, if you like this plan let us know by leaving a comment here on our blog, or on our Facebook page.

Spiral Staircases in Log Homes

Spiral staircases have the distinct advantage of taking up less space than a straight run, or a U-shaped staircase.  That can make a spiral staircase a good choice for a small home.  But many choose a spiral staircase not for space saving reasons, but because of the unique character it brings to a room.  Typically the treads have open rises making the staircase less obtrusive visually.  And, depending on the materials you choose for your spiral staircase, the look can be classic or quite modern, as illustrated below.

The spiral staircase on the left exudes a modern feel with its metal treads and banister. The spiral staircase in the log home on the right is made from wood and has a simple, classic look.

L-Shaped Staircases in Log Homes

An L-shaped staircase looks just like it sounds.  It makes the shape of an L with a 90 degree turn at the first landing.  While not quite as space efficient as a spiral staircase, the L-shaped staircase is also good for smaller homes.  As with other shapes of staircases, the L-shaped staircase can be built to reflect any style.

This modern style L-Shaped log home staircase has open treads and a metal baluster. The clean lines and geometric shapes of this staircase work well in this modern log home built in Quebec.

An L-Shaped staircase can be made to look rustic as well.  Materials used to create more rustic log home staircases include half round logs, hand scraped wood, log newel posts and knotty or natural curved pieces of wood.

This L-Shaped log home staircase has a more rustic feel with the treads being made from half logs. The newel posts are made with full round logs. The banister is made from hand-peeled small logs.

Straight Run Staircases in Log Homes

The straight staircase is the easiest to construct as there are no turns or curves to consider.  But, straight run staircases do take up a lot of space and can be tricky to fit into your log home floor plan.  As with the other staircases, the treads can be open or not, and made of various materials.  To lighten up a log home, many homeowners choose to use open treads.

This straight run log home staircase has a decorative banister with geometric shapes. The stair treads are half logs with curves that contrast nicely with the straight lines of the banister decoration.

Finally, one other feature that can be used to add extra style to log home staircases is the use of large tree trunks as posts. Their natural form and organic shape add a feeling of enchantment and whimsy to a log home – transforming a log home into a veritable tree house.

This straight run log home staircase has half round log treads, and a magnificent tree trunk as one of the posts. The tree trunk posts are used throughout this log home, providing a consistent "tree house" feel.

Conclusion

So, while log home staircases can take you down to up, and back down again we hope you’ve seen how they can bring much more to a log home than just that basic function.  Feel free to share with us your comments, as well as photos of your log home staircases on our Facebook page.

Putting up treatments on a moving door can be tricky.  You don’t want to impede the opening and closing of the door, and ideally the window treatment will allow for views when you want it, and also provide privacy when desired.  A true french door is any door that consists of glass in the center that hinges open. Many times, there are two doors which open to provide a double wide entry, but that is not always the case.  We’ll talk a bit about window treatments for true french doors first, and then we’ll discuss window treatments for sliding glass doors.

Window Treatments for French Doors
(True French Doors)

One of the most simple treatments for a french door is a sliding curtain, be it tab top, grommet top or otherwise, which can be drawn across the doors (shown in the log home dining room photo above).  Shutting these treatments is fast and easy, but it does hinder the ability to go in and out of the doors.  So, if you have a high traffic french door that you’d like to enter and exit with or without the curtains drawn, avoid this treatment.

One alternative window treatment for french doors is the use of roman shades on each individual door (like the log home great room shown above).  With the roman shades all the way up, the view is completely unobstructed.  However, should the log homeowner want some privacy or light control, the roman shades can be lowered completely and they will still not interfere with the opening and closing of any of the doors.

This sumptuous log home bedroom (shown above) has an alternative to the cloth roman shades.  This french door has a traditional venetian blind on it.  It provides much the same function as the roman shade in that it will provide privacy and light control without getting in the way of opening or closing the french door.  On the plus side, slats made of wood or vinyl are easier to dust which is great for allergy sufferers.  On the negative side, depending on the blinds, quickly opening and closing the french door could be noisy, especially with metal slats.

Window Treatments for Sliding Glass Doors
(Not French Doors)

A sliding door is never a french door, despite how similar they can look when closed.  Sliding glass doors do however often serve the same function as french doors, and they require similar considerations when choosing an appropriate window treatment.  So, we will also take a look at some options for window treatments for sliding glass doors.

The sliding glass door in this log home great room (shown above) has a very similar look to the french doors.  And it also has a similar window treatment with venetian blinds over each pane of glass.  (Some sliding glass doors are actually available with the blinds in between two sheets of glass, so they never get dusty or damaged.)  With the countless varieties of positions and angles, the venetian blinds offer a great degree of flexibility in choosing just the right amount of light and privacy.

This log home dining room (shown above) has a wonderful double glass sliding door that opens onto a beautiful patio.  Here roman shades are used again, but this time not on the individual panes of glass, but instead running the whole width of the doors and the sidelights.  Since the doors slide in their tracks, the roman shades have a low risk of getting stuck or interfering with the movement of the doors.

Finally, this log home bedroom (shown above) has a sliding glass door leading to the deck beyond.  The homeowners here chose a grommeted curtain and hung it from a curtain rod running the full length of the sliding door and window.  Unlike with the hinged french door we showed earlier, this curtain is not as likely to get stuck when the door opens and closes.  Therefore, a window treatment such as this works quite well, especially in a bedroom where one wants to quickly convert a window treatment to provide privacy without having too many cords to pull.

We hope you’ve gotten some ides from this posting.  Whether you have true french doors, or you have sliding glass doors, you will no doubt realize the benefit of having extra light and views.  But you’ll also be aware of the desire to provide privacy and block light when necessary.  So, if you have experience with picking out window treatments for french doors, or sliding glass doors, do share with us.  Leave us a comment, or post your ideas on our Facebook page.