Features of interior decoration of a wooden house
Wood is a special building material. Its value lies in its ability to naturally “self-regulate” the room microclimate due to two factors:
- gas permeability of wood - breathing properties (air exchange between indoors and outdoors);
- absorbing excess moisture when air humidity is high, and releasing it back when humidity is low.
When choosing materials and technologies for interior finishing of a log house, you must try to preserve these advantages as much as possible. Otherwise, there will be a need to arrange complex supply and exhaust ventilation with recovery and air humidification/dehumidification. And such systems of “artificial” microclimate regulation are expensive.
But besides its advantages, wood also has disadvantages. The peculiarity of wooden structures is that they practically do not change their size when temperature fluctuates, but they react “sharply” to changes in humidity. For other building and finishing materials, everything is exactly the opposite. And if there is a need to decorate wooden walls and floors with stone or ceramic tiles, special technologies must be used.
Ceramic tiles in the bathroom of a log house Source uk.aviarydecor.com
Moreover, this does not depend on the nature of the room - be it rooms with a wet regime (kitchen, bathroom, toilet, home pool) or a fireplace area in the living room.
And a completely separate topic is internal electrical networks. Compared to brick and stone buildings, wooden houses have very stringent PUE requirements. Wiring or cables must be laid either in an open way (using additional insulating elements) or in a closed way, but in metal pipes and boxes.
Room furnishings
The walls, floor and ceiling made of timber themselves created a very warm interior. Furniture must fit harmoniously into it, and therefore we refuse plastic and ultra-modern materials. The priority is naturalness and muted tones without sharp transitions. The furniture is wooden, perhaps with elements of bronze or iron, for example, a bed with an antique iron headboard. Upholstery of upholstered furniture - leather or fabric. Vintage items, for example, a chest or an old “grandmother’s” chest of drawers, would be very appropriate here. To create a spectacular and harmonious interior, visit antique stores. An old Viennese chair will add unique charm to the setting.
A wooden house made of timber, as a rule, is more spacious than a city apartment, and it has many rooms. Each room has its own function and contains different furniture.
- Let's start with the living room furniture, in many cases it is the face of the house. A fireplace or Russian stove, depending on the style, is the center of the decor. Place a sofa and a couple of cozy armchairs in it. A coffee table and a rocking chair - you have a completely finished look. Don't overload your living room with furniture. A wooden house should have a lot of space and light. This applies to all rooms.
The bedroom furnishings are a large comfortable bed with a touch of antiquity, a chest or chest of drawers. You can put a dressing table or a bedside table, but make sure that they are in harmony with the chosen style.
The kitchen is a special room. Not only comfort and convenience are important here, but also practicality and functionality. Therefore, in addition to wooden wall panels, it is quite acceptable to make a retreat in favor of modern materials in the kitchen. Of course, it is not forbidden to remain faithful to wood here, but from the point of view of practicality, laminated boards and even plastic can be used in facades. Surfaces made of natural or artificial stone will not spoil the decor either.
When to start
Unlike laminated veneer lumber or kiln-dried timber, before starting the interior decoration of a log house, you need to wait long enough for the main stage of drying to take place:
- for rounded logs at least six months;
- for ordinary - at least a year.
Note! Many people confuse shrinkage with shrinkage. Shrinkage is a change in the size of a structure due to a decrease in the intrinsic moisture content of the materials. Shrinkage is the “subsidence” of the soil under load. All materials dry out, even concrete, but this process is critical only for wood with natural moisture. In the same way, all buildings are subject to shrinkage, but wooden houses are lighter than stone ones, and it practically does not affect them. Especially after six months or a year of shrinkage.
Before finishing work begins, the walls just need to stand for some time. Source cocinandote.com
The end of drying is not the only condition for starting finishing work. Moreover, physically this process does not end after the specified time, but only the active phase ends.
During the pause period, you need to caulk the walls twice:
- the first time within a month after the construction of the walls;
- the second time two to three months before the completion of house shrinkage.
The insulation of the seams is carried out for each crown alternately from the inside and outside, moving from bottom to top. After caulking is completed, the logs will move slightly apart, so you need to give them time to fall back. And only after the walls stop settling, and the crown seal completely blocks their “blowing”, can you begin finishing the house.
See also: Catalog of log house projects from construction companies
Pine
Pine is a very popular material. The wood is quite hard and holds heat very well. It is also very resinous, which helps with drying because the resin gets into the pores where there was moisture and hardens.
This process is very useful because it adds moisture resistance and also reduces the risk of rot and rotting in general.
Options for interior finishing of a log house
Typically, the variety of materials and technologies for interior decoration of a log house concerns the walls. The floor and ceiling, with the exception of service areas, are finished with wood - only the types of coverings differ.
Wood is predominantly used for finishing the floor and ceiling Source m.2gis.ru
What are the options for finishing log walls :
- Do not use any wall panels. And the surface of the logs is covered with oil, varnish, transparent or translucent wood paint. This is why they choose a log as a building material in order to get aesthetic pleasure from a classic log house. This method is most often used when building a house from rounded logs, which requires minimal modification for such a finish.
- Wall decoration with clapboard, imitation timber and block house. The first two types align the profile of the walls, making it more modern and familiar. The block house fully preserves the decorative qualities of the house's interior. The advantages of cladding are the possibility of hidden installation of all internal communications, improvement of the heat and sound insulation characteristics of the enclosing surfaces. This option can also be considered as an opportunity to restore old log houses, the walls of which have darkened and cracked.
- Plasterboard covering for finishing with wallpaper, decorative plaster, for painting and tiling.
See also: Catalog of companies that specialize in finishing and insulating houses
Arrangement styles
In a house made from rounded logs, wooden furniture looks best. Artificially aged furniture would also be a good option. An excellent option would be to purchase wicker furniture. If you like decorative furniture made from glass, leather or plastic, then this option also has a right to exist. The photo shows chairs decorated with leather inserts.
The log structure and the rustic theme are, one might say, a single whole. This interior contains objects and accessories made from linen, wood and cotton.
High-tech and minimalism require the use of metal and glass products. At first glance, it may seem that these design trends are incompatible with a house built from rounded logs. But, with a reasonable combination of wooden and metal elements, the interior design can become unique.
Stages of finishing work
First, it is necessary to carry out the preparatory stage.
Preparation for finishing may include sanding of logs Source color-kostroma.ru
Preparing for decoration in a new house
Clean surfaces from dust and dirt and treat them with antiseptics.
Utility lines are installed:
- water and sewer pipes - to the connection points for plumbing fixtures in bathrooms and toilets, to the kitchen sink and washing machine;
- electrical cables and wires - to the installation sites of lamps, switches, sockets and stationary consumers (kitchen and air conditioning equipment, boiler, boiler, heated floors);
- heating pipes - to radiators or convectors;
- gas pipes - to the furnace, boiler, boiler (if the village is connected to a natural gas main or there is a gas holder for liquefied gas);
- air ducts - to the kitchen hood, ducted air conditioner (if available), convection oven (if an air heating system is used).
Note! If open wiring of electrical communications to points of consumption is carried out, then the cables are pulled between the floor joists or along the ceiling, and laying along the wall is carried out after finishing. The same algorithm of actions is used for other networks.
Preparing for finishing in an old house
Clean surfaces from old finishes. If necessary, caulk the walls. They let the house “settle.” Remove dust and dirt and treat with an antiseptic.
Wall treatment is one of the mandatory operations Source ultra-term.ru
Oak
Oak is one of the most popular materials. It has higher strength and is less susceptible to cracking when dried.
Compared to pine, it is less moisture resistant, but it retains heat about the same and is even less susceptible to rotting.
Interior design tips
There are no clear recommendations when interpreting the characteristics of an interior style for a wooden house. Many people prefer a mixture of “neighboring” or even different design directions. Moreover, this equally applies to finishing materials, color schemes, furniture, textiles and decorative accessories. For such a mixture they even came up with their own name “fusion”. And many professional designers and their clients, using this technique, develop their own “individual” style.
Decorative solutions in arrangement
An excellent and successful solution in arranging a structure made of rounded logs is a fireplace, which is located in the main room of the house, as shown in the photo. Just imagine a frosty winter day, and you, with your loved ones and family, are drinking aromatic mulled wine and sitting by the fireplace, in which logs brought in from the frost are crackling. This picture deserves to be turned into reality! A fireplace adds coziness and warmth to any interior, and even more so to the interior of a wooden house.
To add originality to the arrangement, you can place large glassware, porcelain, and paintings in the rooms. Making your own accessories is the best way to add character to your home.
Typically, houses made of rounded wood are built on two floors. Of course, inside such a structure there is a staircase. In addition to the main role played by this element in the interior, it can become the highlight of the design. The staircase can be decorated with forged or carved railings. Moreover, the staircase does not have to be straight; it can be a spiral one with wide steps. We see this option in the photo.
Video description
How engineering communications look in the interior, see the following video:
But most interiors of log country houses still have the features of “dedicated” areas of rustic style in decoration:
- Russian . The interior decoration is made exclusively of wood, fully preserving the aesthetics of a log house.
- Country . The same rustic style, but in an “American” design, when the walls are covered with boards, clapboard or imitation timber.
- Rustic . Characterized by a “rough” surface finish of walls, floors and ceilings. These can be untreated logs or boards. But there are also elite finishing options with clapboard and parquet boards with a brushed surface (often such materials are described in catalogs as “vintage” or “aged”).
- Provence . "French country" style, in which the logs are clad and painted in pastel colors. Combined finishing is often used - a combination of plastered and painted walls.
- Chalet . This house is in the style of a rustic Swiss shepherd's hut, combining wood with raw natural stone finishes.
A few more words about design
It makes sense to use innovative finishing materials to a minimum in a wooden structure. Agree, it is much more pleasant to see environmentally friendly wooden surfaces in the house than walls covered with plasterboard and polystyrene foam. In order for the tree to admire its beauty for decades, it is recommended to coat it with a special antiseptic. As mentioned above, doors and windows should be made only of wood. Agree, it’s somehow ridiculous to open a plastic window or door in a log structure.
Barn
Usually the barn is made single-layer, that is, the walls consist of one layer of wood, and the cracks between the rounded logs are covered with epoxy or any other resin.
There is also the option of using clay and hay; it is more common in the two-layer version, when a solution is poured between the layers of wood.
By the way, this design holds the temperature very well and it was because of this that it was very popular in past centuries.
Cedar
Cedar is inherently very similar to pine and spruce, but it is the reverse spruce. Those characteristics that spruce had better than pine, cedar had slightly worse. And those who lagged behind are better.
Also, cedar oil is an excellent antiseptic, which means that it will clean the air in the house. The truth is that it will make the air ideal if it is dirty, but it can clean it up a little.
Spruce
Spruce is like pine at maximum settings. It is more moisture resistant, retains heat better, and during processing produces many times fewer splinters, making it perhaps the best material.
