Home Improvement Information

Tips for Choosing Log Furniture


If you just love that rustic look, and are finally ready to finally buy log furniture for your home, there are a number of "rules of thumb" that can help you in making good choices.

Begin by considering the overall style of your home. Do you have a log home that is overwhelmingly rustic? Or are you seeking to add a rustic touch to one or more rooms of a more conventional home?

Size is Everything

Homes that feature large logs, spacious ceilings or are roomy in general require a different flavor of rustic furniture than their more conventional counterparts. If large logs make up the walls of your room, or you have a fireplace made from monster rocks from Montana, you'll need a massive log look for your furniture as well. Otherwise, your log furniture will seem dwarfed and insignificant.

Even if the home for your log furniture is a cabin with 8-inch logs, a few large pieces of furniture will look better than many small ones. Larger furniture makes a room feel full without being cluttered.

If your bedroom has a high cathedral ceiling, a log canopy bed can help fill out the dimensions. There is also much you can do with artwork and lighting to make the best use of your space.

Types of wood

A variety of wood types are used to create rustic furniture. Following is an overview of several which are available on our website:

Steam-bent Hickory

Hickory is a very durable, flexible wood. Many a child has climbed to the top of a green hickory sapling to ride it down as it yields to the weight without breaking. When heated with steam for a period of time, Hickory poles can easily be formed into various unique pieces of furniture. The steamed poles are placed in a jig and left to dry. They will become very rigid and retain this shape when dry.

Steam-bent hickory is strong enough to be used for tools such as hammers and axes, and unpeeled hickory accounts for one of the best-selling lines of log furniture. The Amish use steam-bent hickory to make dining room chairs, as the legs for dining room tables, coffee tables, and rockers.

Northern White Cedar

Northern White Cedar grows in Northern Michigan and Canada. It withstands the abuse of seasonal elements without breaking down or rotting like other woods. It is a beautiful light tan color when freshly milled.

It turns silvery-gray with age, but can be treated with a good quality finish to help retain its color. You will notice cracks- some small and some larger in your rustic furniture. This occurs naturally in the drying process and adds to the rustic look of our products. These cracks do not diminish the function or design of our furniture. They are not a manufacturing defect, just a natural part of seasoning, enhancing the beauty of the wood.

Red Cedar

The most surprising thing about Red Cedar (also know as Aromatic Cedar) is that it is not a member of the cedar family at all, instead belonging to the juniper family. Everyone knows the deep aromatic smell of the red cedar. The wood is heavy, and naturally insect and rot resistant.

Clothes stored in a chest made of red cedar will be protected from moths. Red cedar has tight knots that add character and beauty. It is sometimes purple, but most often a brownish red that will in time become browner even when preserved. Furniture built with red cedar will last a long time and can definitely be handed down from generation to generation.

Shopping for Quality

Not all log furniture is created equal-no matter how stylish or comfortable it may be. The quality of the materials used in log furniture, and the craftsmanship employed, vary widely-and this is often reflected in the price. While there are always some bargains to be had, it is quite true that you get what you pay for in log furniture.

With this thought in mind, buy the best furniture you can. It will look better and last longer if you do. In addition, look for all-wood or solid-wood furniture (as opposed to veneered plywood or particle boards). Solid wood furniture tends to show less wear at the joints and fittings, and also reacts better to seasonal moisture changes.

Look for well-fitted, carefully crafted connections. Dove-tailed drawers are especially known for holding together well. If you want your furniture to be finished, look for a long-lasting, tough and evenly applied coating. A word to the wise: unless you are experienced in applying furniture finish, leave the finishing up to the furniture manufacturer.

Choosing a Log Furniture Store

Let the buyer beware-there is a wide variety of customer service between log furniture stores. If you are looking to buy on line, look for a store where quality furniture and customer service are both top priorities. I have seen log furniture manufacturers and stores that always deliver late, and I have seen some who deliver on-time with shoddy quality.

Look for testimonials on the site you are considering. Call and talk to a salesman at the log furniture store. A word to the wise-log furniture websites that merely drop ship log furniture have a lot less control over quality than those who building, finish and/or ship the furniture themselves.

The ideal online log furniture store has many repeat customers who not only purchase again from their store, but recommend them to others. Quality stores are interested in more than a quick sale. They understand the value of delivering top-quality log furniture-furniture that will last a lifetime and add a truly rustic touch to your home.

About The Author

Cari Haus has been successfully selling log furniture on the Internet since 1997. Copyright 2003 by Cari Haus, website http://www.logcabinrustics.com/ Permission is granted to reprint this article, either online or in written publications, as long as the copyright information, this paragraph, and a link address or a link to the Log Cabin Rustics website is attached at the end of the article.


MORE RESOURCES:

Avoiding home repair scams focus of Powder Springs seminar
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Homeowners and future homeowners are invited to a seminar to learn how to avoid home improvement scams. Powder Springs Mayor Pat Vaughn and ...



Silverthorne council OK's Lowe's
Summit Daily News
... Council voted 4-2 to approve the final site plan for a Lowe's Home-Improvement Warehouse at the corner of Buffalo Mountain Drive and Wildernest Road. ...

and more »


Ladies rule: Free Martha Stewart home improvement workshop at Home Depot
WalletPop (blog)
Even if you don't get the organizer, the home improvement workshop is free. It features (read: is soft pitch for) Martha Stewart Living products and will ...

and more »


Majors Home Improvement Ranks 140th in Remodeling's Top 550 National List
PR Web (press release)
Majors Home Improvement is named for the prestigious distinction of top 550 Replacement Contractors nation-wide. Majors Home Improvement, a leading Milton, ...



Public Records
Southern Pines Pilot
A Affordable Home Improvement Restoration Service LLC, Justin White, Randy Tracy and Chesley Kennedy (owners) in Moore County. Cupcake Bar, Elizabeth Paul ...



Lowe's 2Q Net Up 9.6% But Sales Growth Light; View Cautious
Wall Street Journal
(LOW) fiscal second-quarter earnings increase 9.6%, though sales disappointed and the home-improvement retailer's results and outlook added evidence that ...
Lowe's Profit Rises 9.6% to $832 MillionNew York Times
Lowe's Reports Second Quarter Sales and Earnings ResultsMarketWatch (press release)
Lowe's Comes In LowForbes
The Associated Press -Automated Trader -Financial Times
all 523 news articles »


Home improvement boosts property efficiency
lets-do-diy Ltd
Tony and Pat Almond have undertaken home improvement projects to boost the energy efficiency of their property and will exhibit their work on September 11th ...

and more »


Home Depot prices $1 bln debt in two parts-IFR
Reuters
NEW YORK, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Home improvement chain Home Depot (HD.N) on Tuesday priced $1 billion of debt in two parts, according to IFR, a Thomson Reuters ...

and more »


3News NZ

European Stocks Extend Four-Month High as Automakers Advance
Bloomberg
Home Retail, the UK owner of Argos catalog stores and the Homebase home-improvement chain, sank 2.8 percent to 215.2 pence after saying it expects full-year ...
European Stock-Index Futures Fall; Axa, Swiss Prime May MoveSan Francisco Chronicle

all 223 news articles »


Database helps consumers track licensed tradespeople
TheDay.com (blog)
Want to know if a home improvement contractor or medical doctor you might consult is operating without a license in the state of ...
Are They Licensed? Connecticut Residents Have New Online ToolsConnecticut Watchdog (blog)

all 6 news articles »

Google News

// ******************************************************************** // Paste this block of code on your web page where you would like text // links to be displayed. This code will dynamically add and remove text // links on your web page according to your BackLinks.com settings. // ******************************************************************** // The following variable defines whether links are opened in a new window // (1 = Yes, 0 = No) $OpenInNewWindow = "1"; // ******************************************************************** // Please DO NOT modify anything below // ******************************************************************** $BLKey = "XLLR-V044-KFSV"; $QueryString = "LinkUrl=".urlencode((($_SERVER['HTTPS']=='on')?'https://':'http://').$_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'].$_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']); $QueryString .= "&Key=" .urlencode($BLKey); $QueryString .= "&OpenInNewWindow=" .urlencode($OpenInNewWindow); if(intval(get_cfg_var('allow_url_fopen')) && function_exists('readfile')) { @readfile("http://www.backlinks.com/engine.php?".$QueryString); } elseif(intval(get_cfg_var('allow_url_fopen')) && function_exists('file')) { if($content = @file("http://www.backlinks.com/engine.php?".$QueryString)) print @join('', $content); } elseif(function_exists('curl_init')) { $ch = curl_init ("http://www.backlinks.com/engine.php?".$QueryString); curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_HEADER, 0); curl_exec ($ch); if(curl_error($ch)) print "Error processing request"; curl_close ($ch); } else { print "It appears that your web host has disabled all functions for handling remote pages and as a result the BackLinks software will not function on your web page. Please contact your web host for more information."; } ?>
Fatal error: Cannot redeclare class TNX_l in /home/wwwdoct/public_html/ifoundacontractor.com/inc/bottom.inc on line 53