Rustic, many people assume that Rustic style and technique are one and the same. Rustic technique itself actually falls into the masculine Shabby Chic style. There are two aspects to Rustic, the first is as a furniture finishing technique, and the second is as an architectural style. In architecture, this style emphasizes that buildings and furniture blend seamlessly with nature. Such styled buildings in their home country are usually family villas, hunting lodges, horse farms, or accommodations for tourists. The materials typically used are wooden beams, branches, stone, and metal. These materials form the basic components of the buildings and the furniture within them.
Great Camps were created by wealthy American groups in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. The term itself is derived from the National Park Service architectural style. Many companies, artists, designers, and craftsmen create this rugged style of furniture in various forms, influenced by a range of historical and contemporary influences.
Rustic furniture and architecture are often seen as rudimentary, with the use of basic materials making this style appear less skillful in craftsmanship. However, during its time, this style of furniture was often sold at higher prices than well-crafted modern furniture. The processing of materials in this style is quite rough, and often, the wood used is completely raw. Some even argue that the rawer the material, the better the resulting furniture.
There are two types of Rustic furniture construction techniques, Bentwood (young tree branches or twigs are heated and shaped into various structural forms and decorations) and Twig Work (straight or branched twigs or branches are assembled and arranged into decorative structural forms). Sometimes, both techniques are used for a single product. Some furniture products in this style are assembled using a key system (mortise and tenon), while others are assembled using nails and screws.
This style has various decorative elements such as Chip Carving, Silver or Gold Brushwork, Milk Paint, Peeled Bark, and many more. These decorative elements are considered to reflect the personality of the maker. In general, this style has several characteristics, including:
- Construction using raw materials such as rough-cut wood, for example, branches, stone, and metal, and often using recycled materials.
- Details that are not meticulously crafted and are asymmetric but still beautiful and sturdy.
- Emphasis on natural characteristics.
- Rustic-style buildings are usually located on the edge of the forest to blend seamlessly with nature.
One of the iconic Rustic works is the Adirondack Chair located in the Great Camps, which would later become the model for various Modern Rustic-style furniture.
Source:
“Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake”. Adirondack Experience. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
“Rustic Furniture and Garden Shelter”.
“Rustic Furniture: The Clarence O. Nichols Collection”.www.wikipedia.org
