Log Home Decorating

Log home decorating is perhaps on of the more fun decorating projects. Using a cottage theme, log home decorating provides you an opportunity to draw from nature and implement some of your favourite objects. If you are a person who spends a lot of time at your cottage or log home, no doubt you’ve started a collection of treasures to display. Family photos and handmade ornaments are popular accessories for log home decorating. Any object reflecting family memories are great for a log home or cottage.

A log cabin is a home away from home. It is intended to be warm and cozy for all those who visit. Choosing earthly colors for paint and fabric would help create this atmosphere in log home decorating. This environment is meant to be welcoming and cheerful. Adding some vibrant colors and patterns in cushions and slip-covers will certainly brighten the space and enhance your log home decorating.

Usually people try to find used furniture for their log home or cottage. You many have some unwanted furniture at home such as a chair, a table or a couch. Instead of discarding them, why not take them to your log home. Flea markets and garage sales are great places to find amazing furniture to use in your log home decorating project. Remember, one person’s junk is another person’s treasure. Old wooden pieces of furniture are perfect for log cabin decorating. You may want to leave them in their original state or to give them a newer look, you may want to paint them or if it’s a chair, perhaps make nice slip-covers in a bright floral pattern.

Besides the mementos you brought from home, there are many accessories you can use in log cabin decorating. Trying to keep with a cottage theme, you might look for baskets made from natural materials that you can hang from the ceiling or place on a table, wooden bowls, galvanized tin pots and buckets, old jars or jugs, there are countless objects you could use to accessorize in log home decorating. Trying to create a feeling of warmth and cosiness, you could have handmade quilts in your log cabin. Handmade items make wonderful additions to log home decorating.

When choosing flooring for a log home or cottage, natural wood such as birch, cedar or pine, are great choices. You can leave your wood floor in its natural form, allowing it to age and remain authentic looking. You can also pick from many beautiful wood stains to use on your floor which will protect it and also compliment it. Area rugs are nice in log home decorating. Area rugs make a space cozy especially when laid on a wood floor.

Log home decorating allows you to be in touch with nature and all the wonderful materials it has to share. The very structure of the building is made of logs which came from the forest. The scent of the logs alone, add to the natural feeling in a log cabin. Log home decorating is a project that may never be completed. You’ll always find something special that can only be appreciated in your log cabin or cottage.

Home Decorating with Textured Paint

Textured paint and faux finishes have become more popular in recent years than at any other point in history. One reason for this is because so many home improvement stores are offering classes for those who are willing to pay the price for the paint so that the average Joe or Jane can recreate these fabulous finishes on their own walls as well. The fact is it is truly amazing what works of art can be created with the clever and creative use of textured paint.

Faux finishes can be used to create the illusion of anything from plaster or brick to leather and a few amazing things in between. Those who are skilled at applying faux finishes are in great demand for their artistic talents though most home owners can do a passable job if they are willing to take the time required to properly learn the technique. Even wood grains can be imitated through the use of a talented faux finisher and paint.

Using textured paints and faux finishes can be done in almost any room in the house though they seem to be most common in living rooms and kitchens as a major design feature. There are some ambitious homeowners who have decided to take this style of painting into every room of the home. While it may seem a good idea in theory there are some drawbacks to this as well.

First of all, textured paints and faux finishes are very time consuming. If you are hiring a professional to do the work their time is a lot of your money and this is something that really needs to be considered. Is the amount of time really worth the reward of the finished project as far as you, as the homeowner, are concerned? Most people find that it isn't worth all that much money and time but others really appreciate the look and feel that it is vital to their enjoyment of their homes. Whichever category you fall into it is important that you realize that this could become a costly proposition.

Another thing to consider is that many who manage to bring a texture or faux finish of some sort into every room of their homes often decide after a little while to remove some of their hard work. The reason for this is that in small doses faux finishes and textured paints are novel and spectacular. In large doses they can be more than slightly overwhelming and, more importantly, unimpressive. There is something to be said about the fact that sometimes less is more.

This doesn't mean that some homes do not wear faux finishes beautifully in almost every nook and cranny. Some homes are simply meant to be decorated from one end of home to the other end. These homes are simply lovely no matter how many new finishes are added to the walls, furniture, fireplace mantles, and bathroom cabinets. There never seems to be too much in these homes. There are some homes however that beg for moderation when it comes to designs such as this. Listen to your home when decorating and you should have a much better decorating experience overall without overwhelming either your home or your guests.

If faux finishes and/or textured painting is something you would like to incorporate into your home decorating plans you should be delighted to discover that there are many, many resources both online and offline that can assist you with your goals. The first and best choice is to check with local hardware and home improvement stores in order to see if they are offering any free workshops on faux finishes or textured painting in your area. If they are then you are set. However, if they are not your local library may prove to be a valuable source for videos, magazines, and books that offer step-by-step instructions. The Internet is also an excellent source. Do not forget the value of spaces such as YouTube and Google Video as they may have some actual demonstrations or how to videos to help as well.