My Idea Notebook goes everywhere that I go! It usually stays in the car, but I always have it handy should I need a measurement, a color, or a description for someone who’s helping us make this home a reality — such as a bank lender, blueprint designer, or cabinet installer. Or, if my friends & relatives have a question or make a suggestion on the fly, then I just grab the Idea Notebook and add it to my collection of great ideas.
interior decor and accessories
Cleaning Leather Rugs: How To Care For And Clean Cowhide Rugs & Other Animal Skin Rugs
If you have cowhide rugs or other animal skin rugs, you’ll find these DO’s & DON’ts for cleaning leather rugs helpful! Plus tips for using rugs as wall art.
Fireplace Design & Placement Ideas To Help You Answer The Question: Fireplace Or No Fireplace?
A tribute to all the fireplaces we never used… and the one we’re putting in our new log home. Fireplace design & placement ideas that helped me…you too!
New Home Design & Must-Have “Necessities”… If Money Were No Object
If money were no object, which posh amenities would be on your wish list? Here are the things that Jim & I have talked about including in our dream home…
How To Feng Shui Your Home… Room By Room
Here’s how to incorporate feng shui in the rooms of your home.
Looking For Green Log Home Products & Building Supplies?
Here’s a great list of environmentally-friendly green log home products and suppliers. So, if you’re trying to make your currently log home more green or you’ll soon be building your very own green log home, here are some companies that will make your life easier!
How To Make Basement Columns, Support Poles And Pillars In Your House Look Like Real Trees
The look of exposed trees brings a bit of nature indoors. And who doesn’t want to bring a little outdoors in, right? Especially in a log home! Here’s how you can create the look of real trees inside your home — particular around pillars, columns, and poles located in the basement, near stairways, and around kitchen islands & bars.
Should You Buy A Direct Buy Membership? Is There A Catch?
We’ve thought about joining the Direct Buy membership club for some time now. But I recently heard from a reputable source a whole ‘nother take on DirectBuy. I found this QUITE interesting…
Cleaning Tips For Artificial Plants & Silk Flower Arrangements
Some tips regarding silk plants, faux trees, fake flower arrangements, and artificial plants. First and foremost… here’s how to clean them!
Home Decorating & Remodeling Tip: How To Get The Look You Want
When it comes to finding good help when building or remodeling your home, there’s a fine line between getting a quality result and being able to afford the type of result you’re after. Here’s the secret to finding good, fast, and cheap help.
Painting Full Log Walls Inside…The Effect Painted Logs Might Have on the Resale of Your Log Home
The following pictures show some of the ways that you can still have a nice log home without necessarily having ‘shades of brown’ as your primary color scheme. Typically, you’ll see one wall painted to serve as a focal spot or an accent wall. I have no interest in painting ALL — or even most — of the log walls inside our house. Just 1, maybe 2 of the smaller walls instead. Like these…
How We Found A Log Home Designer… Eventually
Here are the steps we went through when looking for a home designer to draw up the blueprints for our custom log home. There are also some recommendations here if you’re looking for home designers in Williamson County, Tennessee.
I Found Some Uncommon Goods For Log Home Owners!
While searching for unique items made from twigs, sticks and branches, I found the best selection and most unique items at a store called Uncommon Goods. Things made from sticks will add a touch of ‘rustic’ to an otherwise modern log home.
FREE Home Design Tools To Help You Design & Decorate Any Room In Your House
Floorplanner.com and other online programs like this make it easy to design and decorate all the rooms in your house! They’re great because they let you to see exactly how things will look inside the rooms of your house without having to just visualize it in your mind. Most of these tools also permit you to enter your exact room dimensions. Some even allow you to draw in objects of your own choosing. Here are some free online design tools to consider.
Pine Logs And Birch Hardwood Floors Have Light, Natural Stain… What Color Furniture & Accents?
Should you mix things up a bit and use some light brown pieces and some darker brown pieces of furniture and accents? Or should you try to match all your browns with the color of your logs? Here’s my opinion…
How To Make Only One Room In Your House Look Like A Log Cabin
Whether you want to build an entire home that looks like a log cabin –on the inside — or you just want to decorate one specific room in log cabin decor, interior log siding is the answer! When used INSIDE a home, the terms ‘log siding’, ‘log paneling’ and ‘tongue & groove wood’ are often used interchangeably. Log siding tends to be raised and rounded — like a log… or a half log — whereas log paneling tends to be flat and narrow — like a plank of wood found at the lumber yard. When used inside a home, they are both applied using the tongue & groove method… generally speaking
Choose Paint Colors For Your Rooms With These FREE Online Color Tools
Now you can experiment with color on your walls, trim, ceilings and accents before even picking up a paintbrush! Try colors made by Glidden, Benjamin Moore, Behr, and Sherwin Williams.
Should You Pay Someone To Help You Design Your New Home?
If you are considering meeting with an Interior Designer, to help you fine-tune the details and features that you plan to build into your new home, here are a few things that we’ve learned along the way…
Blog Cabin: One Designer Blogs About The Choices YOU Pick For Her Log Cabin!
DIY designer, Amy Dewers is writing a log cabin blog called Blog Cabin. It’s an interactive site that includes lots of opportunities for YOU to help her design and build a log cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains. You design it. DIY builds it. You could win it!
Unique Peterboro Baskets For Toilet Paper & Kleenex Tissue Storage In The Bathroom
This my favorite toilet paper holder for the bathroom. I think it would look especially great in a log home bathroom. Baskets and logs kinda go hand-in-hand, right? Peterboro baskets are the BEST!
How To Turn A ‘Gift For The House’ Into A Special Gift For Your Loved One
Want to buy your loved one something special ‘for the house’? Here’s a fun & creative way to surprise your loved one with your very ‘special’ gift on that very special day. See how to package your ‘special’ gift… in a way that only a devoted homebuilder who loves you dearly could appreciate!
Log Home Trends
Here are some little-known facts about log homes, including a number of log home trends that are affecting the housing market today. Wondering what’s going on in the log home industry these days… check here first!
Where Should You Put Your Light Switches?
Wondering where to place all of your light switches in your new home? Light switch placement is determined by a lot of things. Here’s what you should know about placing light switching inside your home.
What’s Your Style? Decorating With A Theme In Mind
Are you going for classic and rich looking? Modern and hip? Smooth edges & curves or sharpe edges and fine lines?
What about rustic? Have you considered themed housewares? You’ll probably want to decide fairly early whether you want to decorate your log home in a particular theme or not. We did.
