The Basics of Log Cabin Interior Design

Creating Emotional and Physical Space

Good log home design blends both physical and emotional cues to help give a sense of inner space. Your home should express who you are and many of the values of how you live and what you like to do. To achieve this, you need to establish relationships within your home design between space, line and light. When you enter a room, and your field of vision extends beyond that of what you expected, you in turn experience both depth and spaciousness. The room is more than four walls, and by aligning those walls, windows, columns and doorways, you establish a visual axis or a reference point. Unless you create a focal point in your log house, your eyes will start to wander. The focal point in your log house design offers the eyes a resting place. The best example of this in a log home design is with a fireplace.

The Importance of a Focal Point

Quite often in a log house design or cabin building, the point of reference is the beautiful stone fireplace; you can't help but look at it, even without a fire, as it is such a strong feature in any room. Big stones that help make up the fireplace, along with the exposed log beams that help to hold up the log shelf which holds books and games. Most fireplaces anchor a room, in a great way.

Windows: Bridging Indoor and Outdoor Spaces

Then you also have the windows in the room, which offer a perfect view of the surrounding forest, these windows also anchor the room and offer focal points. Windows are also a way to help provide transparency, this not only allows you to see into the room beyond the room but brings the outdoors in, while also allowing you to experience the changes of daylight, weather, night, the seasons and the exterior landscapes. Windows give you something to do while you are in a room. A room without a window is a cell, whereas a room that has windows becomes a gallery of what is outside, and in turn, give you something to experience and to think about. When windows in your log house design are placed within a room, you want to consider where the windows are, and what effect they will have in the room.

Innovative Staircase Design

Staircases. Your log home doesn't need to be a luxury log cabin to have a great staircase. Using building materials in new and artistic ways to open the floors up and down makes for a space that is much more interesting. By adding landings, the stairs will be more comfortable to use. A bench on the stairs landing invites you to take a break. Windows in the stairwell help to provide light. The staircase can be spiral, straight, switchback or L-shaped. The combination of craftsmanship, building materials and light help to achieve a good design. Finishing touches. A good interior look doesn't need expensive building materials, but it does need excellent craftsmanship. This is the fit of one building material joining another, whether it be physical or spatial. These details also define the style of the log home. Details such as doors swinging in the right direction, sufficient storage, energy efficiency and more.