Turn an apartment into a log cabin with wallpaper, furniture
By Rose Bennett Gilbert
Copley News Service
Q: I'd love to do our twin sons' room like a log cabin. We're avid campers, even if we live in an apartment. We already have rustic wood bunk beds and buffalo plaid blankets. Are there other outdoorsy ideas I should know about?
A: Raising a log cabin these days is as easy as rolling off a strip of wallpaper, thanks to a couple of new offerings from the home fashions industry.
From York Wallcoverings come the trompe l'oeil log walls in the photo we show here. No axes required. These logs are prepasted and scrubbable, ready to provide the perfect background for your rustic bunks.
For other mountain-style touches, have a look at a fun new collection of furniture, lamps and rugs licensed by Woolrich, a name that's been associated with the American outdoors since John Rich founded it in 1830.
Based on its trademark products, there are big, sink-into chairs and sofas; lamps made of canteens, chandeliers with wrought-iron pinecones, and wall sconces based on snowshoes; plus, rugs and bedding in Woolrich's signature red-and-black check.
In short, the collection is ruggedly handsome, warm as a campfire, and as comfortable as all outdoors. (Follow-up info: for the wallpaper, www.yorkwall.com. For Woolrich licensees, www.lexington.com; www.shadyladylighting.com.)
Q: Has modern architecture gone to the dogs?
A: Yes, and very lucky dogs they are, too. Some pampered pooches are coming home this fall to dog houses designed by top architects such as Michael Graves, Ismael Leyva and Robert A.M. Stern, head of the Yale School and leading light behind the Post-Modernism movement.
The remarkable "BowHauses" were sold at auction in New York City recently to benefit a group called Puppies Behind Bars. You read that right: Puppies Behind Bars is an organization that teaches prison inmates to raise guide dogs for the blind and for explosive-detection dogs. It's a win-win for everyone -- the prisoners who learn how to care and take care of, and the puppies, which go on to work like a dog in the service of the blind and law enforcement. As for those classy canine digs: Stern's was a shingle-style "Working Dog's Weekend Retreat."
Leyva, the residential architect of the new Time Warner Center now rising by Central Park, created a penthouse doghouse of Plexiglas and curved fiberglass. And AIA Gold medal winner Graves conceived a house for that famous twosome, "good dog" and "bad dog."
Hosted by Steelcase Inc., a Fortune 500 company dedicated to intelligent design, the gala auction fetched thousands for Puppies Behind Bars, certainly nothing to whine about. (Check out www.puppiesbehindbars.com)
Q: I have an antique bed that belonged to my great-grandmother. It's been a joy all my life except for one thing: I can never find a bed skirt that fits it properly. I don't sew and the ready-made skirts are usually too short to hide the legs (it's an extra high bed that requires a little step stool). Have you ever seen anything that might work better than my folded up bedsheets?
A: To your rescue, the simplest answer ever comes from a company called Four Corners Home Collection: three individual linen panels that measure a generous 24-inches deep. You adjust to the right length and pin the top edge out of sight onto the bed's box spring, down each side and across the foot. Available in white or ecru and finished with three rows of subtle pleating, the skirt looks custom-made, but with a ready-made price tag. For details, call (503) 249-2830.
Rose Bennett Gilbert is the co-author of "Hampton Style" and associate editor of Country Decorating Ideas. Please send your questions to her at Copley News Service, P.O. Box 120190, San Diego, CA 92112-0190, or online at copleysd@copleynews.com.