5 Things to Include in Your Log Home’s Great Room

Log homes with well-designed great rooms are simply awesome, and you should incorporate one if it fits in your budget. There are elements homeowners share that make these living areas stand out from the crowd. Although most are basic, many log homes lack some of them due to lack of funds, too small a room, or owners wanting lower ceilings.
Cedar Log Mantel
The elements we recommend adding to your building plans include:

  • A fireplace or wood-burning stove
  • Sizeable log mantel
  • Log beams
  • Log trusses
  • Knotty pine floors

These components of a common area add a rustic, yet elegant flair to any great room. It’s a relaxing place for watching television, entertaining friends and family, taking a nap, or eating a snack. Just admiring the log walls or watching the wood flaming for a few minutes helps turn a hard day into a cozier one at home.

Keep It Warm with a Fireplace or Wood Stove

Nothing says ‘great room’ like a roaring fireplace or a wood-burning stove. Great rooms are also called family rooms, dens, or living rooms, but no matter what you call them, they are special.

One of the two options for keeping your log home warm during the colder months is a well-built fireplace. A fireplace that passes inspection is the safest and probably the most efficient. Add an insert with a blower and you can heat a larger area.

 You may prefer a wood-burning stove with or without a blower behind it. These units can be both efficient in warming your home and decorative. They can also double as a stove for heating water or light cooking.

Gotta Have a Log Mantel in That Room

Faux Log Cabin BeamsNext to a fireplace or wood-burning stove, a half-log mantel adds a traditional touch to a great room. They provide a place to display items and an aesthetic touch like nothing else can. The typical sizes for this area include:
  • 10” wide pine ½ log 4’-6’ long
  • 10” wide pine ½ log 7’-10’ long
  • 12” wide pine ½ log 4’-6’ long
  • 12” wide pine ½ log 7’-10’ long

Correctly kiln-dried pine mantels that are hand-hewn add an extra rustic flair to any great room. Each one has knots and plenty of character in the wood from one end to the other. A pair of custom-scribed round log cradles for mounting can be ordered with the mantle. Read more about the benefits of wood mantels.

“Log homes with well-designed great rooms are simply awesome, and you should incorporate one if it fits in your budget.”

Beam and Log Post Covers Are Rustic Looking
Log Home Mantel

Beam and log post covers made from hand-hewn pine are used in several applications to cover:

  • Metal posts and beams
  • Square wood support posts or beams
  • Laminated wood posts or beams
  • Metal air ducts

They remove the awkward-looking products with a pleasing round natural log look. They typically cover both 4.25” and 4.5” square or round posts on the inside. The outside finish diameter is 9.5”, and they are available in 8’ and 10’ lengths.

Bean wraps can also be built to your specifications in other sizes where the prices vary according to the size of the item that is covered in the log. Beam and log post covers are other desirable additions to your great room.

Log Trusses Make a Perfect Ceiling Area

Custom-log trusses for decorative or structural purposes add another pleasing element to your special room. They create an open and dramatic effect and are sturdy enough to help support the rafters and keep the walls plumb. Decorations, artwork, lighting, and ceiling fans can be attached to or suspended from them.

Stain and finish these log trusses with any color desired to match the log walls and ceilings or contrast with them. Consult our affiliate, the WoodWorkers Shoppe for all our designs that will highlight a log home’s great room.
Cedar Log Mantel

A Knotty Pine Floor Is the Bomb

If you haven’t walked on a knotty pine floor, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. The knots, colors, and grain patterns are fantastic to the eye. Your wood flooring can be purchased in both an unfinished or prefinished gorgeous condition.

Choose from 4”, 5”, and 6” widths in unfinished wood and 6” in pre-finished flooring. The best results are achieved by using tongue and groove planks with the end-matching design. It is easier and faster to lay, and there is virtually zero-waste. Ask us about purchasing pine flooring in either square foot units or by the linear foot.

References and Resources:

Benefits of fireplaces

Benefits of Wood Mantels