After the noise and confusion of city life, what more enjoyable change could one find than to spend a quiet week-end in a restful, unpretentious cabin such as this? Because it has such regular, unbroken walls, it would be a fairly easy job to build out of real logs, just as the designer has illustrated it. In many parts of the West, the entire structure could be erected from materials provided by Nature right on the site.
Since this is intended for week-end use, it is not quite such an elaborate cabin as some, but none of the conveniences have been omitted. The big fireplace, built on rugged lines, would provide ample heat for the whole house. Note that a second stone chimney serves the kitchen—don’t ruin the picture by sticking a metal stovepipe through the roof.
The interior walls would look well if the logs were stained or varnished, but for added warmth it might be wise to cover them with wallboard. Inexpensive tongue-and-grooved Oregon pine would be good for the floors, as they would not be subject to much foot traffic. If the floors are to be left unvarnished, rub them with linseed oil as a preservative.
The use of casement-type windows is another good idea, instead of the ordinary kind. They are much more decorative, and there’s none of the bother of stringing sash-cords and weights.
THREE PLANS for GUEST COTTAGES
This trio of little guest cabins will probably be welcomed by those families who have had the problem of entertaining frequent visitors in their vacation home, but who like to maintain a certain amount of privacy that is almost impossible when a group of people have to eat and sleep and play in a summer cabin of limited size.
The guest cabin at the top of the page is one made of real logs. Visitors will enjoy the chance to live in a log cabin, and this one is particularly attractive because its six windows provide what amounts to a sun room. Such a cabin would lend a rustic atmosphere to the grounds of any summer home, even if the main cabin is built of some other material.
The second cabin, at the right, is a simple affair built on a wooden frame with a covering of board and batten. The extension of the roof to include the porch makes this look like a much larger structure than it really is. Note also the treatment of the side windows which carries out this illusion.
The third little cabin is quite unique, since it is built of common, ordinary railroad ties! This is not such a far-fetched idea, either, because many railroads are willing to sell used ties, and sometimes even new ones—and they can be used to make a most effective log cabin with only about half the labor required to hew ordinary logs. Railroads ties are particularly well suited to a small house, since it is not so necessary to splice timbers to gain needed length.