Jason's Log Furniture Reviews

As enthusiasts of log furniture, we love home accents that are so unique and one-of-a-kind they can’t be found anywhere else.  Sure, there are similar methods to constructing log furniture.  Finished pieces may be comparable in appearance but, because of the individuality of the logs used to construct them, no two look exactly alike.

Some log furniture fans are more adamant than others about their taste in rustic home furnishings.  These are the people that go out of their way to find pieces that are so different, so unconventional that absolutely no one else has something remotely similar.  They are attracted to custom-made furniture that exudes extra special character.  Often these are pieces created with mixed media in an effort to stamp them as truly unique in both appearance and personality.

The above piece began as the True Blood Extremely Gnarly Aspen Log Bed.  The original namesake for this piece played a supporting role in the HBO television series True Blood.  This is a bed that stands out from all others, even as it rolls off the artisan’s bench.  Its extremely gnarly logs are handpicked for each individual bed.  If that’s not enough individuality, you can opt for a personal effect like you see here.  This bed has the name of its inhabitants burned into the wood of the headboard, almost like a tattoo or a carving.  I am sure that Les & Chum certainly gave this one-of-a-kind beauty their stamp of approval and a place of honor in their master bedroom.

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I have a toddler in my house.  He has the tendency to be a very picky eater.  I am constantly on the lookout for new recipies that will whet his appetite while providing him with a healthy dose of fruits, vegetables, and lean meat.  Some concoctions are successful and he eats them almost as good as a bowl of mac ‘n cheese, but others cause him to turn his nose up and look away to instead point at the trucks going by the window.  It’s a frustrating process for me, as it is for most (if not all) parents of toddlers.

In order to bring some good times, fun, and happy smiles to the dinner table, I get the crayons and watercolors out for us to enjoy some art projects.  This eases the frustration he and I experience when seated at the table for mealtimes and makes happy memories that (hopefully) overshadow the more challenging times.  The dining room table is becoming the centerpiece of our family times together, which is exactly what I want to happen.  Once our youngest son is in his own high chair, all four of us will sit at the table together for meals and spend some quality time exchanging smiles and sorrow, laughter and tears.  Not only is it a place for meals but a gathering place for craft projects, creative outlets, and eventually homework central.

Our dining room table is currently a modern-looking piece with metal legs and a glass top.  I have been not-so-secretly wishing for something a bit more rustic and woodsy, but once my son starting using crayons I immediately discovered that glass is a godsend.  Colored wax, ink, and paint wipes right up off the glass and it looks as good as new after a damp paper towel or two.  I began to rethink the desire for a solid log dining table until I happened upon the Cedar Lake Cabin Log Dining Table.  This impressively sturdy table displays all of the natural beaty of cedar logs and will certainly stand up to the rigors of two little boys.  It is a fitting family centerpiece.  But, best of all for a mother like me, the top can be coated with a liquid glass finish that will essentially give this tabletop all the easy care qualities of the glass one I currently have.  The liquid glass evens out the wood and allows all it’s natural qualities to show through, including beetle tracks, hollowed-out ant colonies, and even the natural rot that was affecting the tree.  Such characteristics can become part of tabletop stories with us and the boys.  Now, if it could only get them to eat their vegetables.  I guess I’ll just have to keep searching for a solution to that dilemma.

Before having children, my husband and I would frequently take our motorcycle out on rides through the countryside and sometimes across entire states.  He would captain the iron horse and I rode behind him.  Never did I have the desire to have my own motorcycle and be the quintessential “biker chic”.  I enjoyed the relaxing ride I had from the back of the beast, watching the scenery pass us by and enjoying the fresh air that enveloped us.

On nearly every ride I fastened a point-and-shoot camera around my wrist and had it at the ready.  It can be quite difficult to get quality pictures while traveling down the road at 60 miles per hour, but I wanted to capture the essence of rural America from the seat of a motorcycle.  Most of the shots I took were of barns.  The foreground of those pictures was nearly almost blurry, but if I aimed the camera just right and acted quickly, I was able to train the autofocus on the structure and end up with a shot that had clarity in just the right areas.

As anyone who wields a camera yearns to do, I selected some of my favorite photos and had them printed to display in my home.  Each of them has a lot of sentimental value to my husband and me, so I wanted something special on which to display them.  What better way than on the Cottage Barnwood Bookshelf…barn pictures situated on a bookshelf made of reclaimed barnwood.  This log furniture’s structure is crafted of Red Oak planks taken from 1800s tobacco barns.  I cannot think of a more fitting tribute to my favorite symbol of American agricultural history.

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None of us are perfect.  No matter how hard we may try, even the best of us make bad decisions from time to time.  That is particularly evident in election years, when the “perfect” politicians that are running for office are publicly called out for anything they have ever done that could be considered distasteful.  Of course, most of us don’t lead lives that are anything similar to those of a politician, but we are all human.

In fact, it is the experiences of our past, both good and bad, that contribute to the person we have become today.  It gives us character and makes us unique.  Hopefully there are those in our lives who love us for who we are and wouldn’t want to change us into something different.

Rustic log furniture has similar properties.  It is rough and distinct, showing the effects that Mother Nature has bestowed upon the trees that make up the piece.  The Cedar Lake Cabin Log Sofa Table above shows how the hand peeling process leaves bits of cambium, the darker areas on the logs where the bark used to be.  Knots and beetle tracks are visible throughout the legs and braces, and the cracks and checking give the illusion the logs are drying and adjusting.

Some people spend hours of their time converting a piece of humdrum furniture into something that looks like it has been well-used and has had a lot of “life experience”.  I once spent endless hours refinishing a boring oak baker’s rack that I had rescued from a curb, painting and crackling and staining in order to instantly age it.  I am so proud of that rack now, and the best thing about it is my kids can’t do anything to mar its finish and it barely shows any dust.  It is such a carefree piece, and it has loads of character.  Why go to all of that work when you can purchase a piece that already has character, a rustic finish, and a lifetime of experience already?  The perfect rustic furniture for me is the pieces that proudly show their imperfections.  And if I don’t have to slave for hours in order to make them look that way, well…that’s all the better.

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