The matter of interior furnishings is always of great concern to those
who build log cabins. Odds and ends or too many "what-nots" may prove
to be misfits. Pieces of Early American design are perhaps the most
appropriate ready-made furniture, but sturdy, rustic pieces yield the
greatest satisfaction.
Many cabin owners have found a great deal of pleasure in making essential
furniture, such as bunks, beds, tables, chairs, settees, and similar
items. In the East, birch is preferred as a material, and in the West,
lodgepole pine is most satisfactory. Other native species, however,
will do just as well. In making furniture it is advisable to remove
the bark from the logs because bark collects insects, causes the wood
to deteriorate and eventually falls off, leaving imperfect, unsightly
surfaces. Figures 36 and 37 show types of furniture suitable for log
residences.
For rustic effects, the use of a stain of the following proportions gives
a satisfactory appearance: 2 quarts turpentine, 2 quarts raw linseed oil,
and 1 pint liquid drier, to which add 1/2 pint of raw sienna, 1/2 pint
of burnt umber, and a touch of burnt sienna. The top surfaces of tables,
buffets, chests, and rawhide seats should have two coats of spar varnish.
Where countersunk screws are used in connection with a stain finish,
insert false wood, dowel-like plugs in preference to plastic wood to
conceal the screwheads.
Simplicity, both in construction and appearance, is the keynote for
producing the most harmonious effects in furniture, in keeping with log
interiors.