Well you don't have to go quite that far to achieve the Log Cabin Style Bathroom Look! You can still have indoor plumbing!
Bathrooms are fun because they are an easy place to make a transition to a Log Cabin Style room fairly quickly. Why? Mostly because they are so small relative to the other rooms in your home.
So how do you go about a simple inexpensive remodel in a bathroom? Start with an outdoor themed set of towels and a shower curtain. Just that one simple little move alone can transform most bathrooms.
Paint
Now many of us, especially in older homes have some really "interesting" colors on the walls of our bathrooms. Pinks and blues just to name a few were very popular for a long time and not so much so anymore. But many of them still haven't been changed. If you are shooting for a Log Cabin Style Look for your bathroom, paint is probably going to be one of your best starting points.
Obviously we are going to recommend a change to a natural, outdoor oriented, woodsy type of color. Here is one word of caution. We highly recommend keeping your paint color choice on the lighter side of whatever shade you choose. Why again? Because the smallness of most bathrooms needs a lighter shade to keep them from feeling dark and closed in. The closer your color is to white, the bigger and brighter the room will feel. So pick a lighter shade of your favorite color and let your other decor do the work of converting the feel of the room.
Just to clarify a little bit here, we're not saying that your color needs to be almost white. It can definitely be a strong color, just keep it on the lighter side.
What Next?
Once you have those basic things changed in your bathroom, you've probably moved a long way towards a Log Cabin Style Feel. Very often the two biggest, shall we say, "offenders" left in a bathroom at this point are the tile around the tub, shower and sink and the flooring. Here are some thoughts on those.
Tile
Changing out the tile in a bathroom can be a very difficult and dirty process. But it is also DIY friendly and can provide some of the greatest rewards in the end. Sometimes tile comes out relatively easily, such as when it is installed over sheetrock. But more often, if it was properly installed over a poured cement base or over cement board, it is much more difficult. The last tile that we had to remove from a 60 year old home required using an air chisel to get it out!
Probably our number one tip with tile is to make sure that you install it over a proper substrate. In our opinion and that of most professional tile installers, the only time you should install tile directly over sheetrock is when using it for backsplash above countertops or on walls in areas that don't see much moisture. In a shower or as a tub surround, always use cement board as a substrate.
For a Log Cabin Style Look always look for tile that has the look and colors of natural stone. Sometimes you may want to throw in a contrasting color for artistic effect. Just be careful to keep your color and texture selections in the nature oriented range and you will create something truly beautiful.
Tile is a fun way to really dress up a very plain jane room and works wonders for bringing that outdoorsy feeling indoors if you choose the right colors and textures. Tile also is an excellent choice for your flooring in a bathroom if your floor substructure is in good shape and very solid. If there is any give in your floors, either go in and strengthen them or choose another type of flooring that is inherently more flexible.
Here are some before and after pictures of a recent bathroom remodel that we did to illustrate the power of paint, tile and cabinetry upgrades to completely transform the feel of the room.
Log Cabin Style Bathroom Flooring
Having already discussed tile floors a little bit, keep in mind that when choosing a flooring material for your bathroom, the number one factor in your decision needs to be water. Bathrooms tend to be the wettest rooms in our homes on the most consistent basis. Yes kitchens tend to see a lot of water around the sink and dishwasher and so do laundry rooms occasionally, but not nearly as consistently as bathrooms.
This makes water a critical factor in your choice of flooring products.
Our top choices for bathroom flooring are definitely tile and sheet vinyl. Why do we mention sheet vinyl here? Because one of the biggest mistakes that we consistently see when we go in to remodel a bathroom is owner installed, adhesive backed vinyl "tile" squares.
They seem so easy, and in fact they are one of the most DIY friendly flooring products out there. But in our (again "humble") opinion, whoever invented those should be ....hmmm, let's see how do we put this... Let's just say, given strong disciplinary action!
They install so easily relative to other flooring products, but over time they begin to shrink, come loose or shift and they turn into a truly hideous looking mess!
Our recommendation? Please don't use them. You will almost surely regret it later. Plus one last factor. They violate one of the cardinal rules for bathrooms. They don't provide a water proof barrier to keep the subfloor from getting wet.
Vinyl
If you choose to use vinyl sheet flooring, our recommendation is to step up to the best quality piece you can find. Why? Because a bathroom is so small that the difference in cost between the lower quality piece and a really good piece will actually amount to a very few dollars in the bottom line cost of the project. Get the best product that is available.
Our personal favorite in vinyl flooring products are the ones with a thick padded backing built into them. They require a different type of glue but are slightly softer on the feet and tend to have excellent durability. Here is a picture of a kitchen with a pattern that we have used frequently in our cabins. It has a very realistic wood flooring look to it and works exceptionally well in a Log Cabin Style Bathroom.
Water Proof Laminate
A third choice that is surfacing in the last few years is water proof laminate flooring.
Personally we are still waiting to give it some time to prove itself. When laminate first became popular many people rushed to put it in both bathrooms and kitchens, only to discover that it is easily and permanently damaged by water. Definitely not the kind of material that you would want to put into your new Log Cabin Style Bathroom!
We are pretty certain that the new water proof laminate materials will turn out to be a good choice in most bathroom situations, but again for us, the jury is still out on its long term success rate.
Avoid
With the water component factored into your flooring decision, we highly recommend that you avoid traditional hardwood, non- water proof laminate, self adhesive vinyl "tiles", and things like carpet in any form.
Log Cabin Style Cabinetry
In most smaller bathrooms, cabinetry is limited to a vanity of some sort, and sometimes a nice medicine chest, linen, and maybe an overjohn.
Just a note here, these overjohns, a small cabinet hung above the toilet, are an excellent way to add much needed storage space to a small bathroom. They are relatively inexpensive and simple to install.
With any of your cabinetry in a bathroom, in order to achieve that Log Cabin Style Look, make sure you choose natural and rustic looking woods and finish them with just a simple clear coat or with a natural looking stain followed by clear. Avoid painted finishes in order to stay away from the farm house look and closer to the log cabin look.
We suggest reading through our article on Log Cabin Style Kitchens for a more detailed discussion on cabinetry.
Accessories
One of the last areas to cover in a bathroom are the accessories that you use to trim out the rest of the room. These would include things like towel bars, hooks and rings, toilet paper holders, grab handles, plumbing fixtures, door knobs, light fixtures and cabinet hardware.
For a coordinated Log Cabin Style look, we suggest getting all of these metal pieces in a matching color and styles that work well together. Our favorite color for a Log Cabin Style feel has for a long time now been oil rubbed bronze. Our other choices would include copper or brushed nickel. Chrome is the old standby and still works well. It just seems a little old fashioned. However, sometimes that is the whole point in a cabin, right?
Usually you can find color matched products across all of these lines except maybe in copper.
Just as a note here, we suggest avoiding those wooden towel bars and other bathroom accessories. They are usually cheaply made and don't hold up well to the moisture levels in a bathroom. They look nice at first, but rapidly go downhill from there. In fact, outside of well made cabinetry with a good finish, we recommend avoiding wood anywhere else in a bathroom setting for exactly the same reason. Over the long haul, it just doesn't stand up well to moisture.
Final Touches
Now about all that is left to do is to finish your new Log Cabin Style Bathroom off with some nice outdoor themed curtains, linens and a shower curtain. With that done you can create a really nice little outdoorsy feeling room all to itself. That's what bathrooms are all about anyway, right? Privacy! How about Log Cabin Style Privacy?