If you are the owner of an older log home or cabin, you often come face to face with a tough decision – should you raze your home and start all over, or should you go through the rebuild of a renovation?
If you love your property, and your town, and the home itself, it is a simple answer – renovate.
The first obstacle you will come across when choosing to renovate is to convince your local contractor that the house is something that should be saved. Many contractors will try to steer you away from this decision and will encourage you to tear down the home and start anew. If you are bent on saving your original log home, the answer to this is simple also – find another contractor.
One thing that a new log home can never offer you is the charm and history in the original. Make sure that you find a contractor, preferably a log home expert, who respects and understands the needs of a log home and its owners.
When renovating an older log home you must first check the health of the logs. You must check to be sure that any and all moisture is being kept away from your home. Maintenance of the health of the wood is certainly rule #1 when doing any home remodeling. Water and any moisture buildup will destroy the structural integrity and will need to be taken care of immediately. It is best to seek the advice of a local contractor or log home refinishing services company, who can help you to repair any problems you currently have. Although you can attempt to apply finishes and stains to the wood to protect it as well, you certainly need the advice of a building professional specializing in log homes who can best assess the log content and stains and finishes that will best protect your home. They can then advise you on what products you yourself can apply to moisture-proof your log home in the future.
Once a suitable contractor has been found and the health of the log home has been taken care of, it is time to redesign the floor plan. With older log homes, often it is the fact that the inside is very outdated that brings people to want to make some big changes. Simply changing the floor plan can make the cabin more comfortable or bigger for entertaining family and friends.
Another problem with log homes is that they often lack sufficient space. When you first moved to your log cabin it felt comfy and cozy, but with time that space has probably become much less clutter free.
You should check some basic elements to help you declutter and make changes to your floor plan.
First check your floor space. Are the hallways clear? Are the rooms free of “stuff”? If your floor is cluttered, you will need to revisit your floor plan to see what storage options you can come up with.
Next, you take a look at your furniture. Do you have excess furniture that could be moved elsewhere? Are there areas of the room that uses the space poorly? Particularly in an older log home, clutter can choke the small spaces and take away from the feeling of comfort you are looking for.
When renovating your log home, look to feng shui for some basic principles. Moving the furniture is a good option. There is most likely a better layout that will work for you. Your living room may seem too busy, however, if you turned some furniture at an angle, creating a better path to walk through, you are creating flow and energy, where before the room was cramped and crowded.
Once you have checked the outside of your log home to make sure that is it structurally sound, and you have altered your floor plan to give much added space, now it is time to take a look at making some decorating changes. Something as simple as making some color changes can go a long way in helping you to remodel your older home.
There are many colors that suit the warm browns found in a log home. It is best to use these tones to their advantage. Colors that are most agreeable to the log home are greens, blues, purples and some yellows and oranges.
When choosing accessories for your new design, look first at the pieces that you already own. What colors or fabrics for pillows would enhance the furniture you already have? What well-placed lighting might offset the blinds or drapes already used on your windows? At times furniture, drapes, and other furnishings are the exact elements that you want to change, but sometimes these are the things that you love in your log home and it would be wise and could save money and time working them into your home’s new look.
Most importantly, what colors do you feel good around? What fabrics are cozy and make you think of home? If you think of your own preferences, and not those of the latest trend, your remodeled log cabin will be the perfect fit for you.
Visit Ohio-Log-Home-Restoration.com for more information