The log cabin: it’s one of the most quintessentially American home styles and has been since the first settlers started constructing colonies. Over the years, builders have improved upon this classic home to achieve the log cabins we still continue to inhabit today.
Still, with all of the history surrounding these dwellings, you may have questions about what it’s like to actually live in one. A lot of our knowledge of log cabins comes from this age-old time, anyway, so your visions of log cabin life may be a bit outdated.
To help potential log cabin owners understand what life’s like inside, here are some of the questions you need to ask yourself prior to moving in. You’ll find some are similar to traditional home buying, while others apply especially to this traditional housing style.
Location is everything
Here’s one that applies to just about any type of housing imaginable: you first have to consider where you want to live before you build or buy your cabin. For many, the image of a log cabin fits right into a natural, rural landscape.
Log Home Living magazine seems to agree, naming Wapiti, Wyoming, the top place to construct a log home. Situated near Yellowstone National Park, the town couldn’t provide more access to the picturesque great outdoors.
There are plenty of other examples of great places to build log homes, though, for resale, most tend to be placed in the middle of such rural, off-the-grid locations. Mountains, small towns, valleys, riversides… these are the locations that tend to attract log cabin builders and log cabin buyers down the line.
There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Floor Plan
If you haven’t been inside of a modern log cabin, you probably envision them to be entirely old school. Gone are the days of single-room dwellings with a single stove to keep the entire place warm, though. Instead, you’ll find today’s log cabins can come with the comforts of home — and even some extras to make it all the more special.
Those who plan to make their main residence a log cabin will probably want a log cabin that’s a bit more spacious. Two-story log cabins do exist, and many of them are reinforced by stone foundations and chimneys, for example, so they’re even more durable than usual.
Of course, some log cabins will serve more as vacation getaways than day-to-day dwellings. If so, you might go smaller — but spruce the construction up with a few architectural upgrades you can only enjoy in the great outdoors.
Perhaps the best example of this is a sprawling porch, which can play host to barbecues, morning coffees and lazy evenings spent in a rocking chair overlooking the landscape.
No matter where you build, be sure to open up extra-large windows so you always have a view to the outdoors. Not only will you love waking up to the views every day or on vacation, but windows are one of the best ways to add resale value to your home, should you ever leave your cabin behind.
Decorate in a Log Cabin-Ready Style
Finally, you might wonder just how to furnish your log cabin once it’s built. The process of decorating should be simpler than a normal home, since your space already has character from the materials with which you built it.
It’s your job to accentuate that with the right furniture and colors, but that’s easy to do with a few simple tricks up your sleeve.
Many log cabin owners design their spaces with an overarching theme in mind, especially ones like nature, the southwest or camping. These already go great with natural wood elements, and you can add more with a rustic kitchen table, chairs and other pieces of furniture.
A plush, cozy sofa in a color that goes with the wooden hue of your cabin is a must, too.
Another must: outdoor furniture. Your log cabin is in the middle of some beautiful natural scenery, after all, so it’s imperative that you furnish your outdoor spaces to enjoy them to their fullest potential.
Whether you prefer rocking chairs, outdoor sofas, or hammocks doesn’t matter — just make sure you have the furniture on hand to really take advantage of your outdoor space.
The most important thing you’ll realize is that your log cabin life is much like that in a normal home, except the traditional surrounds and tranquil location make it all the more special and memorable.
Whether you’re building it yourself or moving into an already standing home, you’ll be happy to find yourself in the heart of the great outdoors, just like the first log cabin dwellers.
