And what, you say, does this have to do with decorating a cabin? And, I say, give me just a minute…I’ll get there! We are going to be leasing some pasture land for our horse. We have to do a little work, for example, repair a section of fence as well as move some things around in the barn. Once that is done, we will probably have room for at least one other horse. (It’s about 7-8 acres with a spring-fed pond). If any of you that have summer homes in the area would like to bring your horse up for the summer, just post here or go on the Contact page and send me an email. The pasture is about 5 or 6 minutes from the intersection of Hwy 5 and 515 in Blue Ridge and on a paved road. Very convenient.
Now, as to the decorating part, I saw some neat junque/antique stuff in the barn…hehehe…If I find anything really neat to hang on the cabin walls, I will take a picture and post it here! A real treasure hunt awaits…..
Archive for April, 2007
I know that the generic style for decorating a log cabin basically rounds down to rustic/country. You know, ruffled curtains, ducks, braided rugs and the like…nothing wrong with any of that, but there are other options and after all, you don’t want a cookie cutter look in your home.
We have chosen to decorate our cabin in an eclectic/Pottery Barn/Arts & Crafts style….I think the essential element connecting all three of those types is the use of natural materials, textures and colors…that is something important to remember when you decorate by mixing styles…the styles need to have some “element” in common. By that I mean the general feel of the style..mixing and matching is not difficult but it does take some thought…there are plenty of good books on the subject.
Arts & Crafts style, Craftsman and Mission designs all have overlapping characteristics..the terms are often used interchangeably. A real purist would disagree with the use of the terms that way but we aren’t dealing with purism here….
Anyway, log cabins have a natural affinity for Craftsman style design. Many of the motifs of Craftsman are based in nature, such as the use of stylized leaves and acorns, copper accents, pottery with earth-tone glazes(and other uses of ceramics), earth-tone paints and natural textures in fabrics. The familiar “Tiffany” stained glass fixtures also originated during the development of the Arts & Crafts style(generally during the mid-1800’s as sort of a reaction to the heavy Victorian styles of the time). It isn’t hard to work these features into a log home in the mountains, is it? Here is a link to American Bungalow magazine
We just stained the deck last spring and the steps and the edges of the floor planks are already wearing off. They are the only part of the deck exposed as the rest is under roof. I am really not very happy with the brand of stain we used…I think we will try something different to re-do..I would really like to rock the steps but I think that might be very slippery when it rains, snows…oh, yeah..snow…what it is doing right now in Georgia on April 15. Go figure.
This is the longest dogwood winter I remember…I know the day I took my oldest home from the hospital was on April 17, 1982 and it was 55 and drizzly..just like today. But, this cool, miserable weather has gone on for a week and with a slight warm up this weekend it is supposed to get cold again on Sunday. Now, I know it is snowing in Chicago today and they are wondering what I am complaining about…but, I looked at the calendar and wore flip flops today…that is what I’m complaining about…
Update: The azalea buds are dead and the irises probably are too….very dull spring in the garden
Update update: The ferns are in the bedroom…
I’m glad I haven’t put the hanging plants on the porch yet since it is supposed to get down in the 30’s this weekend. Since the dogwoods are in full bloom we will be having “Dogwood Winter”. I guess it is the polar opposite of “Indian Summer”. The last two years I put ferns up. Since I have so many roses, I don’t need a lot of color on the house. I like getting creative with my plant combinations though, so I am trying to decide what combinations of flowering plants will work in baskets and last all summer….I wish I could do this..
Update: I went to Home Depot and bought 6 huge ferns for $6.96 each..I know..I chickened out, but the price was right…
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