Stale homes
Vinyl siding, vinyl shingle roofing, vinyl roll flooring, vinyl ceiling tiles, vinyl sheet covered drywalls, plastic covered couches, vinyl record player and rubber chicken (what?). Now that is a formula for low cost but dull housing, unless you have all the colours of a rainbow, then we got hideous housing or ginger bread housing. Nobody wants to live in a ginger bread house, but that evil witch. Let’s take a look at something completely different.
Log walls (pine), pine wood shingle roofing, pine wood flooring, pine wood panel ceiling, pine wood panel drywalls, log stairs (pine), log railings (pine), wooden cabinets (pine), wooden doors (pine), wood frame windows (pine)… this isn’t that much different, is it? We got high cost but dull housing solution, but show some paint and rainbow colours you shall have.
That was bit harsh, wasn’t it? It is so easy to go overboard with this log dream that I often have to present some eye opening questions to my customers. If you are thinking to build a log home, no matter what everybody say, you have more options than… wood. One especially bad but common advice is that you can use textiles and other decorative items to make it your own. Please do think about materials first and after that decide on decoration. You’ll thank yourself later.
September 16th, 2008 16:09
Good point to bring up! We hate it when a customer doesn’t budget realistically and then has to scrimp on finishing their log home out.
One trend here in US is fact that people are going for less living space, getting smarter about their storage and then pouring extra $$ into their interior finishing.
And one of the best tips we give our customers is to consider utilizing recycled materials - flooring, cabinetry, doors, etc. Me personally, I’m an antique and consignment store junkie but have found some great bargains on things like brass drawer knobs, premium wallpaper, light fixtures, etc.
Renee in NC, USA
AmerLink & In The Woods Log Homes