DIY Antler Drawer Pulls

A reader sent me an email asking where I obtained my real antler pulls for a log end table I made for my bride. You can see a picture of the log table here. I replied that I had made these drawer pulls from antler sheds I had bought from an eBay auction. He then replied asking how I made the antler pulls.

Like many of you, I love to spend time in my shop building things or just tinkering around. Why buy something when you can make it yourself and probably build it better? As this was a great DIY project, I decided to make another antler drawer pull for a firewood rack I was in the process of building. To answer my reader's question, I documented my process and threw in a few pictures. To see the complete article of my DIY antler pulls, go here.

Rustic Sushi?

No, its not what you might think... but thinking about such things is the topic of a new article I just published, which is entitled "Rustic Décor and Sushi".

There may not be two words as distantly removed from each other as 'rustic' and 'sushi', but my reaction was the same to my first encounters with each. My appreciation and understanding of 'rustic decor' and 'sushi' gradually evolved from aversion to amazement. Read the rest of this article here...

It is amazing how our taste in everything from food to furniture changes over time. I think you will appreciate my thoughts on rustic furniture and how my taste for it changed over the years. Read the whole article...

Antler chandelier question...

(Note, this post was moved from here)

This morning I received a comment from Patricia, who is considering buying an antler chandelier, but had an interesting question about antlers. Rather than answer her in the comments area, I thought it worthy of note to make this today's post. She wrote...

I have a newbie question more than a comment. Since antlers are biological material (bone or hair), won't they degrade after a while? Is this a good material to use as a chandelier that hangs over your head? I didn't know anything about antler chandeliers until recently when my husband and I moved to Wyoming from Oklahoma to retire. We are considering buying an antler chandelier for our great room, but I was worried that it may not last.

Good question, and one I have heard before from people who are not accustomed to antlers and their diverse uses. Patricia is correct in that antlers are made of bone. As I mentioned in an earlier post, antlers are shed annually and regrown (antlers are a miracle of nature in that they grow more rapidly than anything else in the animal kingdom). As bone, they will degenerate in time. However, if not exposed to the elements, antlers can last indefinitely, which makes them perfectly suited as a material for indoor accents such as chandeliers, lamps and even furniture pieces.

People who make products from antlers do not harvest antlers from live animals. No animals (deer, elk or caribou) are harmed for their antlers. The antlers that these animals shed every year produce an abundant supply or renewable materials that are available from shed dealers around the country.

• You can browse a listing of companies in the USA and Canada that make antler chandeliers, furniture and antler carvings here.

"Faux" antler (imitation) chandeliers are also very popular and made from synthetic or resin type materials. Typically they are of lighter weight than natural antlers, which could be an issues depending on where you wanted to hang your chandelier. To see examples of faux antler chandeliers, go here.

Log Picture Frames

How does one cut a round log to accept glass and a picture (print, photo, etc.) and maintain 45 degree mitered corners and preserve the round look of the log - and mount it on a flat wall? These are the kinds of challenges most DIY-types love to attack, and I consider myself among that group of crafty people.

I recently completed making my bride two log frames and fortunately, I took a couple of pictures during the project because I hoped to post it here and on the Log Furniture Directory. The pictures and how I built the frames including the jigs I built are now available. Rather than repeat everything I have on my website, I'll point you here to see how this project evolved.

BTW, you can see other completed frames here.

DIY Log Furniture China Closet

Editor's note: This posting was moved from our other blog.

I have been building furniture for more than 30 years. I derive enormous pleasure from working on a new project, and my bride is always pleased to receive a new piece of furniture. Somehow her "honey do" list never seems to get smaller. Over the years, my resume includes traditional Queen Ann and Chippendale style antique reproductions, early American tables and cabinets, to weathered Adirondack chairs and tables and of course, log furniture.

I don't build from plans, but I often draw up some ideas to help me visualize what I think I want to build. One of my latest projects was a log hutch for our dining room. The finished cabinet is rather large measuring more than six feet tall and equally as long with cabinet depths of almost sixteen inches. You could build this piece to fit any requirements you might have. To see how I did it, see my DIY log china closet, go here.

A few days ago (note that this posting was moved and the comment appeared a while back) I received a comment from a reader asking for the dimensions of the log hutch I featured last year in our Log Furniture Directory (here). It seems he was going to build such a project and wanted more information. Sorry, but I had no plans... when I decided to begin that project, I didn't have any 'formal' plans from which to build this hutch - other than what I drew-up prior to cutting my boards.

In answer to the request, I measured the outside dimensions of my hutch and am including the details here. You should be able to read all of the measurements in the above picture - all dimensions are quoted in "inches". The wood I chose for our hutch is Ponderosa 'Blue Pine', because our home features ceilings and trim using wood of that variety. However, you can use any wood that you prefer.

I had rough dimensions of what I wanted this to look like based on where we planned to put it in our home. I knew I would use a basic design of a stacked case with four doors in each section. The rustic accents are what adds the character. Around the top and bottom case, I used a 4" half log to trim the cabinets and add visual balance. The case rests on 4" log legs to raise it above the floor for easy moving and cleaning.

The unit is basically two cabinets. The top case rests on a hidden shelf attached to the four log uprights via a mortise and tenon joint. This shelf houses recessed lights that are turned on by touching a hinge. No wires or switches are exposed.

The details of how this log hutch was made is featured on our website, so I won't repeat everything here. If I'm forgetting anything, or you have another comment or question... please let me know. Enjoy!

You will notice that I did not give "depth" dimensions for either case. I omitted this because I didn't want to influence your project with such a dimension, but let it be dictated by the size of the server (top) slabs you can obtain (or choose to glue-up). Both the length and depth of this piece of furniture will be influenced by where you intend to place it. In our situation, our dining area was large enough to accept a footprint of more than 5' by 20".

SPECIAL NOTE:

The log china closet I made for my wife is not something that one would find in most furniture stores. If you have a truly unique creation you have made and would be willing to outline the project with a few pictures and descriptions, I know that our readers would love to get new ideas. Obviously, I can't list every project that comes our way, but if yours is interesting or outside the ordinary... I would love to include it here. I look forward to hearing from you!

It was time...

Hello and welcome to the new...
Log & Rustic Furniture blog!

A few years ago when I began putting together the Log & Rustic Furniture Directory, my intent was to categorize everything under one main directory. After a few months of data collection, talking to companies and growing the directory, it became apparent that I should divide the main directory into separate indices. I found that although such products are related, people searching for "twig furniture" were not the same people who were looking for "antler lighting" or "chainsaw carvings".

I decided to create separate websites for these products and group everything under a family of rustic directories. This proved to be the right decision as it kept products organized, yet everything was aligned under the same umbrella of rustic directories. Today, I find myself making a similar decision with my blog... make that blogs (plural).

The original blog, Log Homes and Log Furniture, was begun over a year ago and (like my idea for the directory) it was a catch-all for log and timberframe home information and log furnishings and rustic decor. Although it worked very well, I am now faced with the same dilemma that I faced with the directories.

People looking for "log home information" are not typically the same people searching for "twig furniture" or "antler art". Based on the emails I've received and the blog comments over the past year, it has become apparent that I would best serve my readers if these topics were separated into two different blogs; a blog about log homes and this new blog about log and rustic furnishings and décor. There will be overlap for sure, but it will be complimentary not competitive.

So, welcome to the new blog for
Log & Rustic Furniture and Décor.