Cabins On The CreekRustic Decor & Log Cabin Living

Log Cabin Joinery

Selecting Your Style of Bathroom Cabinet Makers

Every manufacturer of furniture uses a different style. The same is true of bathroom cabinet makers. Learn about the styles available so you can choose the one that is right for you.

The northern climes of Scandinavia inspire spare furniture with clean lines and little or no ornamentation. The materials are stressed over the design. French Provincial is just the opposite. Any wood can be used, because it will all be covered with paint. Flat surfaces are graced with landscapes or portraits, while the edges and corners are hidden beneath gold leaf.

The Early American Colonists, forced to make do with the raw materials readily available in the woods around them, used joinery and steam bent woods rather than nails. The woods they used did double duty as food producers; they relied heavily on cherry and walnut, but used other deciduous hard woods, too.

One style, Rustic or Log Cabin, emphasizes the natural state of the wood used over all the others. One edge of a table, for example, is left completely unfinished, showing the wood's natural contours and rough edge. It is very utilitarian and used the trees of the plains: pine, cedar, fir and spruce.

With its thick lines and flat oak panels, Mission Design appears very heavy. The feeling is enhanced by the hardware used. Made from black iron, it is very heavy and dark.

From the east we get Oriental, or Asian, design. The materials is highly renewable, using a lot of bamboo or rattan. The most common color is red, considered to bring good luck, and flat surfaces are often adorned with landscapes.

Shaker furniture is about function and looks. Born in the egalitarian religious communities in America, this style is more focused on being useful to the community, rather than meeting the artist's desires. It is both practical and solid.

About the Author

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Caribou Creek Handcrafted Log Home -- 1776 TF Wilson YD 080609 3 4 Valley Joinery

Log Cabin Joinery

Why Changing Your Garden And Enjoying Outdooor Living Is Great

Outdoor living, urban living, changing your garden,

Out Door Living Advice

This applies equally to country or city living. While for some the garden is a passion, for many more people it is an "outdoor living room". It's a place where children play, families eat, friends are entertained and all types of hobbies are pursued. To have the best outdoor living area, you must first consider your lifestyle, and what you want to do in the garden.

Make Your Garden More Liveable!

• For people with larger properties, such as farms or large suburban blocks, try to keep your living, play and entertainment areas away from work and storage areas.
• Keep rubbish and compost areas away from bbq and eating areas. (Note: Flies breed in rubbish and compost).
• Keep still water away from outdoor entertainment areas (these can be mozzie breeding areas).
• Plant mints and tansy near outdoor living areas to help repel insects.
• When you build anything with bolts or nails, make sure no bolts or nails are left protruding.
• Put metal furniture (or play equipment) in shaded places where it won't get too hot and scald the children.
• In hot climates, check out where cooling winds come from (usually off the water in seaside areas), and leave openings in the garden to catch these winds (ie. Don't build walls or plant hedges where they will stop a cool breeze).
• In cool climates paved areas against a north facing wall will heat up more than other parts of the garden, providing a useable outdoor living area almost all year round.

For A Comfortable Time in the Garden

• Provide shaded places so you can escape the sun.
• Always wear a hat
• In summer and in warmer climates, always apply suntan lotion.
• Keep out of the sun in the middle of the day.
• Keep your garden clean so you don't attract pests
• Never chance falling asleep in the full sun.
• Break some mint or tansy and rub over yourself if insects pose a problem. (Tansy repels flies, most mints repel most insects).
• Throw some crushed leaves of mint or tansy around the bbq, or on the table with food to help keep insects away.
• Avoid using poisonous plants.
• Avoid creating slippery surfaces (eg. extra wet areas or an overused extra wet area in a lawn)
• Remove sharp or protruding objects which could be bumped, tripped on or knocked (eg. part of a fence, poorly laid paving, tools left lying around, farm equipment)
• Avoid areas which will restrict the cool flow of air.

Buy Outdoor Living products, Log Cabins and garden sheds at Garden Eco

Garden Buildings

Garden buildings are used for various reasons, including:

• Somewhere to escape the heat or rain.
• Somewhere to store bikes, tools or other things either for protection, or just to keep out of eyesight.
• Somewhere to work in away from the house.
• Somewhere for privacy away from the house (some parents use gazebos or shed to escape the kids, and some kids use them to escape the parents).

Garden Sheds
The least expensive type of shed is a prefabricated metal structure with galvanized iron walls and roof. Despite being galvanized, the walls can eventually rust, hence routine maintenance (rust proofing and painting) becomes essential if you want a longer life. Being a cheap construction these have their problems. These sheds are poorly insulated and may not be watertight. Unless anchored tightly to the ground they can blow down in a windstorm or cyclone. These problems can be reduced by bolting the shed to a pre poured, concrete slab which is raised above ground level. A window and double doors can provide useful ventilation on very hot days. Brick or timber sheds are better insulated, and if properly constructed will last longer than a tin shed; however these are more expensive alternatives.

Gazebos
Gazebos are roofed buildings designed to command a view. Open on one or more sides, they may be any shape, though traditionally they are octagonal or hexagonal with a hipped or conical roof.
They may be constructed of wood, cast iron, aluminium or cast columns of cement, with wooden shingles or palings being traditional for the roof, although corrugated or flat iron can be used.
A gazebo can provide protection from the direct sun for outdoor entertaining. There are all types of gazebos on the market today, and your choice is best determined by what you can afford and the style of garden you are trying to create. Remember though, that there may be maintenance involved. Stained timber will need restaining. Painted metal or timber will need repainting periodically.

BARBEQUES

Barbeques come in all shapes and forms, and are just about a must have item in any Australian backyard, even very small ones. No matter what sort of barbecue you have, there are some basic rules to follow in where you put it and how you use it.

Location and Landscaping around the BBQ

• Keep it clear of plants which could catch on fire. (Fire resistant plants include Agapanthus, Coprosma, Ficus, Ligustrum, Pelargonium, Populus (Poplar) and most cacti or succulents).
• Build a wall or fence (preferably fire resistant), nearby to protect the barbecue from wind.
• Locate a table, seat or bench near the barbecue to place uncooked (or cooked) food on.
• Outdoor tables and chairs should be far enough away to avoid any problem with smoke, or spitting fats or cooking oils.
• Install lighting so that you can see how the cooking is going at night. Be sure that people standing around the barbecue don't throw shadows over the barbecue.
• Put plants which can be used in cooking near the barbecue (eg. Thyme, Sage, Oregano).
• Gravel is the best surface under a barbecue, because it won't develop ugly permanent stains from oils and fats, etc. Concrete and sandstone are some of the worst materials for staining.

Types of BBQ's

• Wood barbeques are appropriate if you live in a treed area, where there is an abundance of firewood, such as in country areas, or you have access to wood offcuts (perhaps from a joinery). They are normally built from concrete blocks, brick or stone. Always remember the fire needs air around it to burn. The best wood barbeques are ones where the fire is on a metal grill raised above the base, allowing air to move in below the fire, and ash to drop through. The hot plate above the fire should slope slightly backwards to allow fat to drain off to the rear. If it drains to the front, it is dangerous and can stain paving, shoes or anything else in front of the bbq. If built properly, with a tall chimney, it is relatively smoke free. Another simple way to build a wood barbecue is to dig a pit in the ground, sit a metal grill in the pit and place a metal plate on top of a few bricks to bridge the hole.
• Outdoor Ovens. The "Webber" style barbecue has become very popular in recent years. Using heat beads as the fuel and fire lighters to start it up is not exactly cheap, but it is very easy to use and particularly appreciated when you want to cook a roast on a hot Christmas day. The main disadvantages are that you must remember to buy the heat beads and firelighters, and you must be positive that there is sufficient heat being generated before putting the top on. Most people who own this type of barbecue have experienced the occasional late or cold meal, because "someone didn't get the heat beads going hot enough".
• Gas Barbeques. Gas is clean and reliable. It isn't expensive to buy or use, and is instant heat, unlike heat beads or wood fire. The only real problem arises when you don't check the gas level and run out of gas half way through a barbecue.

About the Author

Filton's been working in the Home and Garden industry for 20 years. FK looks to offer you advice when buying gardening products online. It can be confusing and there are a lot of dormant sites out there. Place you order and never get the goods.  It does happen. FK will give you straight and honest advice before you buy and direct you to the site we feel offers a good product at a fair price.