The Great Room

When planning the spaces in our log cabin we wanted a spacious, open, bright larger room. We called it a Greatroom.

We focused on entertainment and family living. The Greatroom is a combination of living room, dining room and kitchen with a near smooth vaulted ceiling. The high vaulted ceiling gives the room a nice feeling of space.

The double hung windows are spaced around the Greatroom and provide an open feeling to capture the outdoors and much needed sunshine. During the evening hours, the vaulted ceiling is illuminated with flourescent strip lighting to cast light up into the vaulted area. Lighting is a key to the success of our great room. There is a five bulb hanging light over the dining table to add some light for evening dining and a table lamp is placed on top of the desk for reading.

The wall finishes of our Greatroom are all wood; logs or wood wall boards with a clear urethane finish. The kitchen cabinets are pine wood and the counter to is red laminate material.

The floor is wall to wall commercial carpeting with a diamond check pattern of green, red, orange, and blue. It is placed on the 3/4" plywood floor sheathing. The carpet adds color to the room.

The black wood stove is positioned on top of a 4" raised platform of green 12" quarry tile. The platform is made of unglazed ceramic tile placed on 1/2" thick cement board with floor tile adhesive. The cement board is supoorted by 2" x 4" wood framing at 16" on center. The size of the platform and the use of non-combustible materials conform to the building codes. This platform provides a base for the major winter focal point: the wood stove with its glass window.

The furniture blends with the rustic interior wall finishes. The dining table and chairs are log furniture made by a Canadian company . Our desk, beds and several other chairs are also made from logs. The couch is dark red leather and one chair is of green textured upholstered fabric. The colors blend well and accent the natural beauty of the logs and other wood construction.

The log stairs with hand- shaped log railings also add a nice rustic look to the furniture and other log construction.

In addition, several wild-life pictures are placed around the Greatroom to add visual interest. We have also enlarged and framed pictures we have taken of the forest. We have winter, spring, summer and fall pictures of one of our favorite areas. Each season displays a different beauty.

The Greatroom is open, spacious and inviting and it is very home-like to us.