If you had always wanted to escape from the hustle and bustle of city life and enjoy the laid back lifestyle in a rural setting, at least once in a while, then a small log cabin would make a perfect second home.

These are very popular in some of the resorts, campsites and woodland locations. Due to the simplicity and beauty of these types of homes, many have invested in them as a rest house to spend some of their weekends, or even as a permanent dwelling. You can build one yourself armed with small log cabin blueprints.

There is something unique about a small log cabin which sets it apart from small houses. The site on which it is built is chosen mainly for its natural beauty.

 Good blueprints on building this structure will provide more information about this. Due to its setting, the building offers easy access to the outdoors, both through the doors, as well as through great views from inside.

Choosing Location

When going about the task of construction with the help of blueprints, the first step is to choose a location. One of the features of a small log cabin is that it can be built without affecting the natural beauty of the site. Another criterion is that it should enhance the landscape and not overwhelm it. In fact, it should blend into the surroundings.

You can choose the design from your blueprints. However, this mainly depends on the site you have chosen. A Colorado mountaintop, the shores of a Minnesota lake, the Louisiana backwoods and the Utah desert will all require different designs tailor-made to suit them.

Simple Construction

This building is built in a simple, no-frills way, and mainly offers protection from the wind, rain, cold and heat. This was the way it was meant to be in the early days of its existence, and even today, it provides minimal creature comforts. The construction is made even easier with the help of good blueprints prepared by experts.

Efficient Use of Available Space

Since space is limited inside, it has to be utilized efficiently. Let us examine some of the ways in which this can be done. You can go in for built-in storage and furniture. A window seat can be turned into a place to keep firewood or wet boots, board games, and frying pans. The space beneath the stairs can be used to accommodate drawers, pantry or firewood. A closet can be used both as an attic and as a cellar. A little bit of planning by regularly consulting your blueprints will provide you with many ideas to utilize the available space to the maximum

Promotes Closeness

There is another positive aspect of efficiently utilizing the available space inside with the help of blueprints. The small space promotes closeness and companionship. Thus, a small cabin not only helps you to bond with nature but also with other people.

Origins

Log cabins were introduced to America in Delaware in the late 1770s by Swedish and Finland immigrants. Since then, these buildings spread throughout America. So much was its popularity that not only homes but schools, churches, barns, and various other commercial buildings came to be built from logs. Many American presidents including Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Jackson were born in a log cabin.

You can save a lot of money as well as have the satisfaction of building your own small log cabin by following good blueprints. This can be your getaway where you get recharged when the pressures of city life weigh you down.

When you’re building a log cabin the “old” way, you have a truckload of logs delivered, take them down, measure out each one a log at a time, cut them each a log at a time, notch them each a log at a time, and fit them in succession, a single log at a time in order to conform to the contours and shapes of the logs laid down previously before them. Cumbersome logs being cut and shaped on-site are heavy, and can be quite dangerous to work with – accidents can, and will happen, rest assured.

During such a time-consuming effort, with the span of time, it takes towards completion, there arise countless opportunities for delays of all types; accidents, needed design changes due to the “personality” of some logs, ordering more supplies as needed, bad weather, and the list goes on. It may take more than a year to be able to move into your new home, realistically speaking.