It’s autumn, the leaves are falling, and you can smell nature slowly start to go to sleep, rocking us gently towards winter. It’s the freshness of early mornings, and coffee to warm our hearts. A season that inspires nesting, and the creation of warm and inviting decor. Our log and timberframe homes represent well the warmth and calm that come with a weekend retreat to the forest. Warm and inviting by nature, Scandinavian log homes leave no limitations when it comes to decor.
Here are just a few ideas for a decor that will make you say wow, and help you spend a restful and energizing fall and winter in your log home!
1. Dare to try a rustic chic white kitchen
My heart belongs to this kitchen, built by our team and installed in a timberframe home. The kitchen, composed of white painted wood, is elevated with glass doors and solid wood shelves, additions that make the space friendly and soothing. The room, both rustic and so chic, shows that contrast, while respecting the natural wood elements of the home, works very well.
If you have a log home, it’s possible to construct an interior wall using gypsum to accommodate cabinets and a ceramic backsplash. By adding this element, the possibilities multiply, and it’s much easier to add in wall cabinetry, offering more storage space and more layout options.
If you’re feeling bold, you can choose cabinets in colours like pale green, grey, or even dark blue–lively and surprising choices that are sure to make your kitchen the talk of the town!
2. Opt for a natural stone chimney
A log home screams warmth and chill nights in the living room by the fire. To wow your friends and family with beautiful rustic touches, opt for a natural stone chimney and give it as much space as possible. By integrating an element like this, made from such a high quality material and whose texture and cool composition contrast with the warmth and softness of the logs, the eye is drawn naturally to the space. Add in a square wood shelf and you’ll have a decorative element for all seasons.
3. Integrate lively, coloured furniture
One of our favourite design elements is this beautiful yellow wood dresser, which sits in the living room of one of our Timber Frame homes. Yellow is a generous and vibrant colour, used as an accent in this decor. The piece in this colour serves as a remarkable decorative element. Another idea would be to add in a rug in a colour that’s just as contrasting, in tones that inspire happiness. Colour is used in decor to inspire emotions, to assert oneself and to add tone to the space. As it’s not recommended that you paint the log walls (and what a task that would be), colour is brought in using accessories, fabrics, and of course, furniture.
4. Dress the walls of your log home with frames and canvases
Just because the walls are made from logs, doesn’t mean you can’t decorate with canvases or other works of art. Quite the opposite actually! By dressing up the walls with photos, posters and canvases that inspire you, you can personalize your home and give it life. The walls are less sad when you dress them up and you get to make the space your own.
That said, take the time to think about the placement of these elements, because each nail used to hang a poster or a canvas is a hole in the log or the wood, which means this placement is permanent. For trendy pieces or temporary expositions, opt for an easel or other piece of furniture that can be used to display these pieces.
To help choose the placement, we suggest using cardboard in the same shape and size as the piece you’re looking to hang, and to block out each piece using tape or sticky tack that can be easily removed. Leave them up for a few days or weeks to make sure you’re happy with the placement.
5. Mix it up by incorporating log and timber frame elements and adding accessories and colours that deviate from traditional styles
By marrying different styles, mixing different woods, textures, colours and materials, we can create a personalized interior and add unique touches that will give your guests something to talk about. Imagine a cement countertop in a round wood washroom. A modern and textured tile in the shower, which contrasts the classic round wood on the walls. We can also add modern light fixtures with clean lines to offset the curvature of the wood… Or bright teal, yellow or orange cushions on a classic leather couch in an all wood decor. Or even a colourful show with glass tiles that will add life and happiness into your day! What’s important is finding a common thread for your idea rather than mixing and matching just for the sake of it, and finding harmony when it comes to proportions.