It's day two of my Log Home Tour Series in honor of National Log Cabin Day.
Today we are touring an original log cabin on the grounds of Happy Days Farm in North Carolina.
Penny of Happy Days Farm will tell her cabin's story from here:
Welcome to the tour of our log cabin at Happy Days Farm! First, I will tell you a little history of the cabin and how I acquired it.
The cabin was once an old tobacco barn in Caswell County, North Carolina. I have not had the logs dated, but was told they were probably hand hewn. You will find many log tobacco barns as you ride the countryside in North Carolina.
The previous owner had the cabin dismantled and moved to her residence in Burlington, NC. She used it as a little shop to sell her crafts and such.
I happened upon this little jewel one day when my son was taking swimming lessons in a neighborhood in the city. It was sitting behind a house that was for sale. I called the realtor to see if the sellers would perhaps sell me the cabin. Thankfully they said yes! The next job was to get it moved to my house!
We hired a young guy, that was a professional house mover to move it to our home. Below is a picture of the cabin that featured in our local newspaper of the cabin being moved. We had to get a special permit from the city. The mover had to ride along and make sure it cleared all power and street light wires. It was quite an attention getter, as the cabin moved slowly across town, completely intact!
After the move was complete, we began the process of setting it up. It was placed on cement block pillars that were finished with a stone facade. The logs on the exterior of the house were chinked, but the inside wasn’t. So, my first project was to get the logs chinked inside. I used a product by Perma-Chink to finish between the logs. It looks like traditional mortar, but will expand and contract with the temperatures.
After the chinking was done, my next step was to furnish the cabin. I love to antique shop, go to thrift stores, go junking, so this was my favorite part. The cabin has one large room downstairs and a sleep loft upstairs, with a ladder connecting the two floors. It reminds me so much of where Laura Ingalls Wilder grew up. I remember reading these books to my young son, and it was surreal, thinking I had a one room log cabin sitting in the side yard!
I furnished the first floor with an antique rope bed, that I roped myself. There is a trundle bed underneath. In pioneer days, it was common to have a one room cabin. Mom and dad had a bed and oftentimes the children slept on a trundle that could easily be tucked away during the day. All of life’s activities took place in that one room. I can’t imagine what that must have been like.
I have a hand-forged pierced tin “chandelier” in the center of the room, with a table and chairs underneath. In one corner is a little cast-iron stove. There are other miscellaneous antique tables, benches, chairs and a rocking chair. I have a set of pewter dinnerware, dough box, some enamel ware, oil lamps, and old books, i.e. McGuffey Readers.
After furnishing the cabin, I started landscaping. I planted an herb garden behind the cabin and all sorts of annuals and perennials. This little cabin was the talk of the neighborhood! Oftentimes, people would stop and ask if they could photograph it. It has been used by graduates for their senior portraits and as a bridal portrait venue.
Now, let’s fast forward about twenty years or so. We decided to build a new house in the country. Well, I just had to bring my cabin with me! We contacted the same mover and he agreed to move it for us, only this time it had to travel even further! Thankfully, the move was a success and it has been sitting in our backyard for another ten years.
I enjoy decorating the cabin seasonally. It sits among the pines and I have it landscaped with annuals and perennials.
After furnishing the cabin, I started landscaping. I planted an herb garden behind the cabin and all sorts of annuals and perennials. This little cabin was the talk of the neighborhood! Oftentimes, people would stop and ask if they could photograph it. It has been used by graduates for their senior portraits and as a bridal portrait venue.
Now, let’s fast forward about twenty years or so. We decided to build a new house in the country. Well, I just had to bring my cabin with me! We contacted the same mover and he agreed to move it for us, only this time it had to travel even further! Thankfully, the move was a success and it has been sitting in our backyard for another ten years.
I enjoy decorating the cabin seasonally. It sits among the pines and I have it landscaped with annuals and perennials.
The chicken, turkey and guinea coops are close-by, so, I get to enjoy it everyday, as I attend to life on the farm! - Penny
What a charming little cabin Penny shared with us today! I love her use of period pieces to bring her little cabin to life. Penny's blog, Happy Days Farm, and Instagram are both beautiful glimpses of her daily farm life, full of useful tips from her experience. You can also see more of her cabin's history and other tours of it there.
I love that these tours are taking us all over the county this week. Tomorrow we will tour a stunning (understatement) log home in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Thanks so much to each of you who are joining us on this tour of log homes this week!
And if you would like to see the cabins of last year's tour, click on the Log Home Tour Series tab at the top of the page.
