What is Rustic Design Style?

Rustic Style seems to be a compelling aesthetic in interior design today. Is it nostalgia, a sense of comfort in the impressions of history? The ravages of wind, weather and years of use that transform an ordinary table or coffee pot into an almost magical object, evocative of a distant time and place, of people and stories long forgotten. It is my hope to explore these ideas more deeply. Many of us have come to cherish these antiquated, sun-bleached surfaces, to prize the flaws, the chips and the cracks our grandmothers would have lamented. In this throwaway age, these traces of past lives appeal to our senses and revive our spirits.

It seems to me that Rustic Style is founded on the intangible ideals of generational memory and mythos blended with the very real world of folk art and design. This in turn is deeply rooted is an innate human desire to beautify even the most humble environment. Every society has it's naive building and craft traditions, but some stand out as especially rich storehouses of vernacular architecture and folk art. Over the next few blogs I hope to explore these ideas further by journeying through the rustic architecture, design and folk art of Tuscany, England, France, early America and rural Mexican cultures. If I can demonstrate how to recreate the environments one encounters, choosing and combining disparate cultural elements, then a well planned interior will be the result. Along this journey I hope to also discover the Rustic Style that works within the home.