Paint colors and log cabins may not seem to go together right at first, but when you are trying to convert a conventional home to a Log Cabin Style feeling home, they can play a very important role. They are important because they can set the mood of a room even though you don't really notice it right at first.
Since we don't have the natural look and color of the logs themselves as the background for everything else that we do, we need to give some serious thought to how we color that broad white sheetrock canvas that we now have to work with. Paint color choices can make or break a decorating scheme in any house and a Log Cabin Style home is no exception.
So where do we start?
For A Log Cabin Style Paint Job - Think Nature!
Without the natural look of the logs to bring the feel of nature into our projects, we need to utilize nature oriented colors in our decorating choices to take the place of it. We will spend a lot of time in other articles describing the importance of incorporating as much natural wood into our decor as possible to take the place of the logs themselves. When you thoughtfully combine lots of natural wood with nature oriented paint and stain colors, you can create almost the same atmosphere as in a real log cabin.
Tan
Fundamentally you can always begin with a natural and neutral light tan. That is always a safe bet as a background for your creation. Tan is a neutral color that goes with almost anything, but it is especially good in a Log Cabin Style setting because it is a very soft, warm and natural color too. Much of nature with all of it's many varied and sometimes bright colors has a vast abundance of tans and browns as an underlying background.
Keep in mind when choosing a shade of any color of paint, that the lighter the shade and the closer to white it is, the more light it reflects around the room. It makes the room feel bright, light, open and airy. The darker of a shade you choose, the more it tends to make the room feel smaller, and more closed in, which if done right can create a feeling of comfort and coziness. If taken to an extreme, it can be overpowering and confining. Where's the line? We really have no way of defining it. Just be aware of these factors when choosing colors and if in doubt, err on the safe side!
Now if you are a little more adventurous, let's consider what other attractive colors nature has to offer.
You may want to paint an entire room with a more defining color than tan or you might want to just create an accent wall or two with some darker contrasting and complimentary color. Here are some thoughts.
Green
Green is always a safe bet when working in a Log Cabin Style setting. That being said, after years of working in this industry, we are fully aware that many people can't stand this color for some reason. Personally green is our all time favorite color so we have to be careful not to forget that other people have different preferences.
Fortunately almost any green from a lighter sage color to a dark forest green will work well in a cabin style setting.
We will take a minute here to mention a principle that applies to many different colors. That is, be careful not to "pollute" the purity of your color in the wrong direction. What do we mean by that? We all know that green is not a primary color. It is actually made by combining varying percentages of both yellow and blue.
Interestingly, blue is one very natural color that does not work too well with a log cabin style home. It is probably because blue tends to be a "cool" color where the color of natural wood is a "warm" color. They don't really go too well together.
So when you are choosing a shade of green, try to stay away from "polluting" it with too much blue so that it tends toward a blue-green rather than a true green. It's not that you can't do it to some degree, but be careful. The same might be said with the yellow side of the equation, but to a lesser degree.
Gray
Another color that is very natural but which represents a danger zone is gray. Gray is an interesting color. It is usually considered a "cool" color and therefore not a good fit with our naturally "warm" cabin feel. However grays range all across the color spectrum and depending on their base colors can actually be a somewhat "warm" color and therefore be a safe choice in a cabin setting. Again, be careful here.
So for instance, if you are thinking green and want to move to a lighter shade of green, remember this is moving closer to gray. Be sure that you stay on the "warmer" side of the spectrum instead of the "cooler" side. That means moving more towards the yellow side of green and away from the blue side. This applies to almost any color we will discuss here.
Now, let's see here.
What other colors appear in nature that are pleasing to the eye and make good background colors?
Red Or Red/Brown
Think about the red/brown color of the west's famous red rock canyons or the beautiful iron red soil in some parts of the east and mid-west. Many people love those colors and associate them with the beauty of nature and therefore a log cabin feel.
These colors would work exceptionally well on an accent wall or in a lighter shade as the main color of a room. This is an area for caution. Getting the exact right color could be stunning, but if you are a little off in the shade you choose, you might really miss the boat. Be cautious on this one and maybe consult a decorator who knows exactly what they are doing.
As with grays and blues, be careful here not to go too far red ("cool") or too far brown (dark and old fashioned) in your choices.
Reds can work to a degree with moderation and caution. Browns the same way. Be careful and go easy with them.
Yellows, Oranges And Autumn Colors
Yellow is a color that can work well in a cabin color scheme if chosen carefully. With yellow the caution is not to go too bright. Yellow can really lighten up a room in some respects, but the lighter and brighter the yellow, the more of a "cool" color it becomes. Actually leaning more toward a gold brings about a "warmer" feel that is a better match for the natural wood look in the room.
Oranges tend to fall into similar categories as yellows. Lean toward the "warmer" tones with them too.
A caution about autumn colors. Many people really love them and they work well with natural wood and the feel of a Log Cabin Style Home. However, you need to remember that autumn colors are real mood setters. When you are finishing up a long winter and really looking forward to spring, will being surrounded by too many autumn golds and oranges lift your mood or tend to be somewhat depressing? It really depends on how much you love those colors. Just a factor for your thinking processes.
Flower Colors?
While you would think that natural flower colors would fit right in with our nature theme, interestingly, they almost never do. Why? Good question.
Reds, pinks, purples, lavenders, blues and bright yellows are gorgeously stunning natural colors for the wildflowers we all love, but think about it. While they are truly stunning, they all fall into the category of "cool" colors. Remember, "cool" colors don't work well with natural wood as wall paint colors. That's just a pretty safe general rule to follow.
A Word About White
We could get into a very long winded discussion here about the scientific aspects of the color white, but there's really no point in it. While white is one of the most common colors of house paint, in a nutshell, it just doesn't work well as a wall color in a Log Cabin Style Home.
At a fundamental level that is because white, in whichever of the its thousands of shades that you choose, is still basically a "cool" color. It just doesn't work well with the natural wood colors, at least if you are trying to convert the feel of a conventional home to a more rustic ambiance.
While white is a very bright and lightening color, it carries that feel too far to capture the warm woodsy feeling that we are trying to develop in our transition.
So while you may want to keep your color choices on the lighter side in order to brighten and open up the feel of your rooms, at least make sure that they are a "warm" tone with some real color in them in order to enhance the illusion of being in a true log cabin.
Faux Painting
Don't forget the power of faux painting either. We are talking about the combining of colors and textures to create some really stunning effects for the walls in your home. Some of the techniques are very Log Cabin Style friendly and can be a great enhancement to your home.
However, this is an area where we don't personally have any knowledge or experience. All we can say is that they work very well when done properly. We suggest doing some more research if this idea is attractive to you.
Stains
Now let's talk a little bit about stains for the wood components of your home.
Stains come in many different colors and densities, from ones that almost don't change the wood color at all to what are called "high solids" stains which give basically the same effect as paint where they completely hide the natural colors of the wood itself.
For the purposes of our discussion here, we are going to suggest that you only use the "high solids" types for the exterior of your home. Their purpose is to give more protection from UV rays and also to hide imperfections and discoloration in older exterior woods.
A Slight Warning Here
As far as the exterior of your home goes, here is a general rule of thumb that will seem to go against everything that we are recommending on this website! So why do we bring it up? Because we want you to go into this process with your eyes wide open and aware of some potential problems ahead of time.
One of the reasons that we choose not to live in a real log cabin or rustic wood home ourselves is a great big word called MAINTENANCE!
Anytime you put a piece of wood on the outside of your home, whether it be logs, trim, posts, decks or handrails, etc, you are committing yourself to a program of regular and time consuming maintenance in order to keep it looking nice.
While we don't mind building these types of homes for other people because they are beautiful, we always have this discussion. For ourselves, on our own personal home we always choose to go with as many maintenance free materials as possible on the exterior of our house. We have found that there are many ways to bring a pleasing rustic and Cabin Style look to the exterior by choosing the right colors and styles of materials.
So back to the stain discussion, just be aware that if you do choose to use natural wood anywhere on the exterior of your home, you need to use the best stains that your paint store representative recommends and then plan on restaining it every two to five years to keep it protected and looking nice. This may vary according to your climate. Just know that rain, snow, sunshine and temperature changes are all equally damaging to exterior finishes.
For a point of reference, restaining the exterior of an all wood home is a very labor intensive process. It could cost you anywhere from $2000- $10,000 depending on the size, complexity and height of your home.
Also, and most painting companies will not want to acknowledge or engage in this, but spraying stain on the outside of a house is not the best choice for applying it. When you spray stain or even paint on a wood surface especially outside, it only sprays a layer of color on the very surface of the fibers that it can contact. It is a relatively thin layer and doesn't soak in at all. Because of this, it doesn't protect the wood very well and its nice new appearance only lasts about half as long or less than when it is properly brushed on.
Therein lies the expense of having it done properly. It requires hand brushing the entire exterior of your home including walls, trim, handrails, posts, beams, exposed eves, etc, one stroke at a time by someone who is meticulous and careful. Hand brushing stain or paint manually forces the material down into and around the fibers of the wood giving much better coverage and protection for a much longer period of time.
We have done this several times for cabin owners and it is a very time consuming process. 10-15 years ago when we were doing it, the end bill came to somewhere in the $6000 range for several 3000-4000 square foot homes that we did.
Again, we share this with you so that you go into this process fully informed and aware. Ask anyone who has lived with a wood deck for several years, just how much time , effort and money it takes to keep it looking nice, and multiply that by about 100 for a full wood exterior!
Now back to our discussion of stains from a color standpoint.
On the exterior of your home remember the basic rule is to keep your colors in the range of natural wood tones if you want to shoot for the Log Cabin Style Look and stay away from a conventional painted home look.
Inside your home, we recommend that you stay with the more transparent stain colors in natural wood tones. Staying away from "high solids' stains which look like paint and away from non natural stain colors and washes will avoid the old farm house look and keep you looking more like a natural log cabin.
Let the beauty of the wood do the talking! Enhance it rather than covering it up and hiding it. That's how you will bring that Log Cabin Style Feel into your conventional home.
Contrasting Wood Colors
One of the approaches that we have mentioned in other articles is our discovery that using contrasting colors of woods or stains can add a real feel of warmth and richness to a room.
We first discovered this in some wood working projects where we used the naturally dark wood of walnut and very light colored maple in the same project. It created a very attractive contrast in the pieces and added a richness and variety to what we were making.
We later discovered that we could duplicate this effect on the walls of our cabins and in our cabinetry with the magic of different stain colors.
We found that by using a very light color of stain or even a plain clear coat on the body of our cabinets or our tongue and groove pine walls, and then trimming them with a matching wood stained a dark walnut color we could achieve a very similar effect that was both striking and warm in its appearance.
This is an effect that we highly recommend when you are trying to bring that Log Cabin Style Feel into a conventional home. It is easy to do and feels like a major step up in appearance.
Clear Coats
You will want to clear coat most of your interior wood to give it a nice long-lasting finish.
There are several different types of clear finishes to use on your wood. For most people, we highly recommend using a water-based polyurethane product. They are easy to use and quite durable, enough so that they are recommended for use on wood floors which obviously take quite a beating in normal everyday use.
There are several other options such as varnish, shellac, spar varnish and oil based polyurethane. If you want to do some more research, you may end up choosing one of them. We have two main reasons that we prefer the water-based polyurethane. First, because it is easier to clean up and much less smelly. Second, it doesn't tend to yellow the wood out so badly right off the bat.
Also be aware that there are generally four different sheen levels in clear coat products. Those are flat, satin, semi-gloss, and gloss. These are very much a personal preference issue. As a recommendation, if you are leaning towards a flat finish, we would suggest that you go with a satin finish. It is slightly smoother and easier to clean in the long run. Gloss works particularly well on cabinetry because of the cleaning factor.
Don't skimp on clear! Put on at least 3 coats with a good scuffing in between to achieve a good level of protection and durability for your wood.
Wrap Up
So in conclusion, the basic rule for your color choices is to keep it natural looking as much as possible. If you are trying to turn a conventional house into a Log Cabin Style Home, paint and stains will be some of your most useful and effective tools. Use them with discernment and maybe even a little advice from a professional!