Rustic Decorating Tips For Cabins and Lodges
Having a gorgeous rustic cabin takes planning and work, moose heads and elk antler lighting is not easy to work around without it looking tacky. Then, there’s getting it past your wife, but that is a different article. Hopefully these tip put you on the right path to the cozy cabin of your dreams.
When choosing paint for rooms, keep to earth tones, and stay away from any sort of blue, in anything other than trim items. You will really be disappointed in anything harsh looking, soft greens that are very light are good, but any chosen color must be a warm inviting shade. I like walls on the lighter side, but bold crimsons can be pulled off in a room with enough windows. Stay away also from wood paneling; it looks cheesy in a house that isn’t actually a log cabin.
Don’t overdo the antlers. Seriously, they look great, but too many are distracting and you don’t want your living room looking like the ungulate house of horrors. If your dining room has a huge antler chandelier, don’t distract from that beautiful piece by cluttering your walls with them. If you have a large dining hall, a mounted head can complement the piece well but the room had better be substantial to keep it from crowding you out. You absolutely must have high ceilings for this to work out, or it looks terrible.
Carpet, if you must, go dark colors in larger rooms. Chocolate wears well, and if you are into this style of decorating, chances are you are fairly outdoorsy. I think eggshell looks great, for the first week. Then it’s a mess. Forest green is a good pick too, although some lighter greens look nice and wear okay as long as you’re not trying to match the walls. Pergo is a good pick, and I like the darker stains in hardwood on the floors, it is appealing to the eye. Honey colored stains are okay too, but they don’t draw the eye like the darker stains do.
Couches and easy chairs are best in leather, don’t try to match say the walls or floors in color, they should look like separate pieces in and of themselves. Distressed leather is a good pick, and I like them to look comfortable and inviting to my guests, with an overstuffed quality to them. Make sure and invest in quality goods, I know it is pricey but I once bough a leather couch that was so poor in quality that the leather was cracking open within the first year it was purchased. As it was a gift for my mother, it was even more tragic, and it wasn’t too much more for the nicer couch, I think it is always worth it to buy the better quality item.
Pictures. Don’t run right out and have your family done up in saloon attire for your family portrait. Wildlife paintings are appropriate, and won’t spoil the mood for the room, or actual black and white of your family from times past look great and natural.