Several styles and techniques can be used when designing rustic log furniture. They may include post design, twig furniture, slab furniture, chiselled furniture, and can be used in combinations of the same.
All designs start with a functional premise. By this I mean the design of a functional object, such as a bed or chair, is applied to a rustic furniture technique.
Designing a piece of rustic log furniture starts by obtaining the measurements of the object you intend to create. i.e. the overall height, length, and width of a chair, or the measurements of a box spring for a bed. These measurements will become the basis for your design.
When using rustic material you must keep in mind that its size varies from piece to piece, and within individual pieces. This constant changing means that your measurements must be adjusted throughout construction.
The most important thing to remember when adjusting measurments is to be sure that the manufactured pieces, such as bed matresses, will fit into your project when it is completed. Once completed, a piece may have to be trimmed on its legs(chair or bed) since it can shift during construction, or during the gluing and clamping process.
Post Design




The picture above is a very common design in rustic furinture, and involves using round sticks in the construction. There are many examples of post designed furniture on this website including beds, chairs, and other product which incorporate post design.
Post design may include materials with or without bark. The material I prefer to use in my post design projects is spruce, which has a very rough bark. The pieces you will see on this website have already been debarked.
Post design makes for a very durable product and also allows for easy adaptation of other techniques. Many of the pieces on this website have incorporated my skills as a carver. This attributes to the creation of some uniquely designed pieces.
Twig Design




Twig design involves small sticks (twigs) to form pieces of furniture, or are used against a backing or existing frame work. Twig furniture can also be created with or without bark depending on the species of wood being used.
Twig furniture is usually created by nailing small sticks to existing frame work. The frame work can be nailed or glued using tenon and morsion depending on the design.
Twig design's are often used to create furniture, most often in remote locations. Since its construction is simple and requires the most basic of tools, ie. nails, hammer,and a saw, it is ideal for such applications.
Twig designs can also be applied to create beautiful finished pieces on their own, when patience and care are taken. There are many examples of incorporating the twig design on this website which may help give you ideas for your own projects.
Slab Design



Slab design doesn't seem to be used as often as other designs, but it is a very durable design and is fairly easy to construct. It involves using the slabs from milling timber to create furniture.
It can be be produced using nails or morsion and tenons. This design will produce a very durable piece and can be produced a little faster than most designs.
In my work, I often incorporate slab design into rustic furinture pieces such as beds. I have also created pieces using the slab design and invite you to look through my website to see different examples.

Chiseled Design

The chiselled design involves taking either a rustic furniture piece, such as a post bed, or a piece of furniture made from milled material, and using a chisel to texturize the surface. This design is not often used because it requires specialized skills to produce.
This design can only be done by hand chiselling a piece, especially if it's a rustic piece. This website includes examples of chisel designs as well as pieces incorporating the design.
My site also includes many pieces with detailed carvings, which can only be produced by skilled crafts people, using hand tools. I invite you to look through my website to enjoy several of these designs, and much more.

www.unique-rustic-creations.com