Arts and Craft Interior Design
Characteristics
The Arts and Crafts movement took off around the turn of the 20th century. Like the Art Nouveau movement, it developed as a backlash against the overwrought style of the Victorian era. It rejected the factory-produced furnishings and decorative accents that prevailed at the time, embracing instead natural beauty and traditional craftsmanship. Artisans such as Gustav Stickley (who coined the term Craftsman, sometimes used for this style) and William Morris were seminal in establishing the Arts and Crafts code, and it characterizes much of architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s work. Some defining characteristics of Arts and Craft interior design are:
- Wood: It’s probably the single most important element, and it largely informs the emphasis on natural, organic beauty that defines this decorating approach. You’ll almost never see painted wood in an Arts and Crafts interior — instead, the focus is on rich stains that preserve and showcase the natural beauty of the grain. Oak is the iconic wood of this style, but pine, maple and other indigenous species also appear.
- Color: The Arts and Crafts color palette takes its subtle, muted beauty straight from the natural world: stones, bark, leaves, and grasses. Although you don’t have to limit yourself to browns and greens, any hue that is less obviously organic — such as blue — should be dusty or dirty.
- Furnishings: Arts and Crafts style is as far from frothy Victorian sofas and ornately carved case goods as it’s possible to go. Instead, it embraces sturdy, unadorned, comfortable furnishings that are built to last and are as much about function as form. What they lack in ornamentation, they make up for in the attention to detail and materials.
- Flooring: Flooring falls right in line with the natural aesthetic: hardwood (planks or parquet), stone, slate.
- Detail: Arts and Crafts emphasizes handmade, stenciled and hand-painted details. It developed as an answer to the manufactured, mass-market wallpapers and other decorative treatments of the Victorian era.
- Lighting: Both mica and Tiffany (or Tiffany-inspired) glass lamps and fixtures fit the bill: mica for its organic feel and rich glow; Tiffany glass for the proud way it wears its craftsmanship.
- Windows: Jewel-like in their detail, stained and leaded glass windows and doors are common among Arts and Crafts homes. They feature linear, geometric patterns or motifs that call to mind elements of the natural world.
- Metal Accents: Chrome and steel look as out of place with this style as flip-flops with a cocktail dress. Bronze, brass and copper with oil-rubbed, antique or patinated finishes complement the signature wood tones and enhance the overall feel of warmth. Metals are often hammered or otherwise distressed in a nod to craftsmanship.
Examples
