Can anyone discuss what makes a plain log furniture way more beautiful to many folks compared to a finely crafted mahogany table? Is it plainly a matter of style or preference? To be sure, some log or rustic furnishings pieces don't blend very well with every decorating theme, and few of us may place an Adirondack desk chair along with a Chippendale kneehole table, but in countless settings log furniture has no equal.

In the traditional sense, most furnishings are made from wood (which is actually nothing more than logs that have been "tamed"). Yet, log furniture is the antithesis of nearly all typical furniture. Classic furniture makers favor pristine wood planks without knots or blemishes, even while log furniture builders emphasize knots, diseased patches and even tree bark.

Usually regular pieces of furniture will showcase beautiful lines as well as delicate legs, though log designs offer solid, powerful verticals and cross members. Log furniture designers normally rely on hand tools more than equipment. The drawknife and spokeshave are crucial devices used to peel logs and make tenons. Handsaws, chisels, hatchets along with other hand tools are found in every log furniture crafter's workshop.

Log furniture is certainly practical and it stirs much of our appreciation of human genius and ingenuity. Unlike conventional mass-produced furniture, log furniture is particularly one of a kind in that simply no 2 pieces look the same. The uniqueness of the logs and slabs ensure that every piece presents a singular appearance. Log furniture is a form of natural, hand-made freeform art.

It is this author's views that it must be the vivid and unique nature of log furniture that speaks to us so intimately. Log furniture has a heart and soul that whispers to us about our history when folks created furniture coming from the raw materials nature made available. Early pioneers crafted log furniture because of need, and it keeps a captivating charm that creates imagination as daring as that Westward expansion. Log furniture is bold and gutsy - yet cozy and inviting. It can be massive, yet poised and it gives us a means to introduce nature into our houses.

The numerous answers to "why log furniture is sought after" are as varied as the craftsman who produce these works. Simplicity, elegance, boldness, heritage, pure beauty... there is a difference between style and character. And that's the reason log furniture is so famous.