Finding Lodge Decor to Complete Your Rustic Home Getaway
Roy Thomsitt
November 09, 2006
You have decided to buy or build a lodge as an escape from your tough, hectic and sometimes humdrum life in the city or town. You are going to build to a high standard, even if you can only spend weekends and vacations there. However, it is not only the outside of your country retreat you want to look good, and fitting well into the rustic surroundings. You want the decor to be just right too.
When you return home to your lodge or cabin after a day's hiking, fishing or hunting, or even a combination of all three, you want to be able to relax in great surroundings that serve to remind you of where you are, not of the city, traffic fumes and fast pace lifestyle.
But, you are based in the city, where all the furniture shops sell mostly modern furnishings intended for an ultra modern city apartment or house. When you visit your new lodge after it has been finished, there's not a town for many miles, let alone a good quality furniture shop.
So, where do you start looking for your lodge decor, to give your new second home that special rustic appeal to contrast with the city from which you seek an escape?
Here are a few suggestions you may find helpful:
1. Don't Give Up On The Local Stores
If the area where you are having your lodge or country home built is not known very well by you, there is a chance you will miss some possible sources of rustic style decor. This is especially so if there are a lot of weekend homes and hunting lodges in the area. You may not have the more noticeable furniture stores in nearby towns and villages, but there may be some real gems not so far away.
In country areas, you may find little specialist furniture stores hidden away in side streets in nearby towns. You could find a supplier way out of town, nearer to your lodge, maybe running a second business alongside their farming, or even hunting or fishing business.
If you make a point, when visiting the lodge to check building progress, to take a different diversion each time to explore the local population centers, you may stumble across some places to buy furniture and other decor. Lunch in different places, and ask around; ask the builders working on your lodge. If you are using a local architect, they may have a good idea of sources of lodge decor that are local. Of course, you could find a local interior designer, who will have everything at their fingertips.
It is probably best to start looking for furniture and furnishings several months before you will be ready to move in, that way you will get plenty of ideas together and find the best sources to meet your needs and desires.
2. Check Out Local Specialists
Instead of looking for furniture stores per se, consider the materials you would like to use in the decoration and furnishing of the finished lodge.
For example, wood is a great material for a rustic look. There may be a local carpenter, working on his own, who custom makes rustic furniture. Another place to check would be a timber merchant; ask if any of their regular customers make wooden furniture and other decor items.
Wrought iron is another super material for a good rustic look, which in the right hands can be transformed into artistic and long lasting decor, both for the lodge and the lodge garden. Try to find out if there is an iron forge in the locality. If horse riding is popular I (and it is in most country areas) you may be lucky to find a blacksmith who also has a sideline making wrought iron decor.
The more people you ask in related business such as timber and ironworks, the more likely it is you can unearth a local specialist who can create something unique for you, and avoid all the middlemen and transport costs.
A main source of lodge decor and furniture these days is the internet; but there is no need to suggest you search online too. If you are reading this, then that is what you are doing already. Good luck, and have great fun fitting out your new lodge, cabin or other country home.
When you return home to your lodge or cabin after a day's hiking, fishing or hunting, or even a combination of all three, you want to be able to relax in great surroundings that serve to remind you of where you are, not of the city, traffic fumes and fast pace lifestyle.
But, you are based in the city, where all the furniture shops sell mostly modern furnishings intended for an ultra modern city apartment or house. When you visit your new lodge after it has been finished, there's not a town for many miles, let alone a good quality furniture shop.
So, where do you start looking for your lodge decor, to give your new second home that special rustic appeal to contrast with the city from which you seek an escape?
Here are a few suggestions you may find helpful:
1. Don't Give Up On The Local Stores
If the area where you are having your lodge or country home built is not known very well by you, there is a chance you will miss some possible sources of rustic style decor. This is especially so if there are a lot of weekend homes and hunting lodges in the area. You may not have the more noticeable furniture stores in nearby towns and villages, but there may be some real gems not so far away.
In country areas, you may find little specialist furniture stores hidden away in side streets in nearby towns. You could find a supplier way out of town, nearer to your lodge, maybe running a second business alongside their farming, or even hunting or fishing business.
If you make a point, when visiting the lodge to check building progress, to take a different diversion each time to explore the local population centers, you may stumble across some places to buy furniture and other decor. Lunch in different places, and ask around; ask the builders working on your lodge. If you are using a local architect, they may have a good idea of sources of lodge decor that are local. Of course, you could find a local interior designer, who will have everything at their fingertips.
It is probably best to start looking for furniture and furnishings several months before you will be ready to move in, that way you will get plenty of ideas together and find the best sources to meet your needs and desires.
2. Check Out Local Specialists
Instead of looking for furniture stores per se, consider the materials you would like to use in the decoration and furnishing of the finished lodge.
For example, wood is a great material for a rustic look. There may be a local carpenter, working on his own, who custom makes rustic furniture. Another place to check would be a timber merchant; ask if any of their regular customers make wooden furniture and other decor items.
Wrought iron is another super material for a good rustic look, which in the right hands can be transformed into artistic and long lasting decor, both for the lodge and the lodge garden. Try to find out if there is an iron forge in the locality. If horse riding is popular I (and it is in most country areas) you may be lucky to find a blacksmith who also has a sideline making wrought iron decor.
The more people you ask in related business such as timber and ironworks, the more likely it is you can unearth a local specialist who can create something unique for you, and avoid all the middlemen and transport costs.
A main source of lodge decor and furniture these days is the internet; but there is no need to suggest you search online too. If you are reading this, then that is what you are doing already. Good luck, and have great fun fitting out your new lodge, cabin or other country home.