I decided awhile ago that I wanted a log bed in the cabin.



Originally, I planned to harvest the logs myself from thinning small-diameter pine or cedar trees on my property, learn how to cut mortise and tenons into logs, and construct my own bed. While I was passively pondering this, I discovered that a co-worker's husband (Jonathan Rush) builds custom log furniture as a side business. Among other things, it helps him pay his way through school.



Instead of building the bed myself, I decided to commission Jonathan to build my bed. Its a full-size bed, which should fit well on the loft. It is also a simple bed, entirely made from Western Red Cedar, harvested personally by Jonathan from his grandparent's property on Moscow Mountain.
I instructed Jonathan that, in order to mesh with the timber-frame cabin, I didn't want any metal fasteners in the bed frame: only pegs and perhaps a little wood glue.

He got to work figuring out a good system for this.



Ultimately he came up with a great system which employs braces and oak pegs (not unlike the cabin itself)!

I could not be happier.













Ordinarily, Jonathan finishes his beds with a couple coats of polyurethane. While this makes for durable and good looking furniture, I decided that I wanted to finish the bed with Landark Oil instead.

We'll see how that turns out!










The bed turned out beautifully. Jonathan provided detailed instructions on assembly, and I can't wait to get this bed into the cabin this summer. Its going to be fantastic.


I'm thinking of doing something very similar to this log-furniture technique to create a railing for the loft. More on that topic soon.