What is Rustic Furniture?
Rustic furniture is a term that used to describe furniture pieces that are either made out of natural materials, such as timber. The term also applies to furniture that is made by hand or appears to be handcrafted.
It’s All About the Charm
It is likely that when you envision rustic furniture, that you conjure images of a very homely, hearty interior – possibly a farmhouse, log cabin, or a home in the country. The term rustic furniture also implies that there was a respectful treatment of natural materials, a connection back to grassroots, and the concept and behaviors of simpler times without all of the fanfare.
Rustic Furniture Pieces
In recent years, there has been a kind of resurgence in what could potentially be categorized as rustic furniture. This resurgence came with the increased development of commissioned pieces, made with timber, pieces created with unique and individual designs and the use o recycled materials in the building of couches, tables, beds, and chairs.
Blending Rustic Furniture with Modern and Contemporary Pieces
Single rustic furniture pieces are great in that they can lend themselves extremely well to a wide array of interior designs. They are often used as a statement or signature pieces that help to add a creative edge to what might otherwise be considered a relatively understated room.
Rustic Furniture Construction: What Should You Know?
There are two different, basic types of rustic-furniture construction:
The First is Bentwood: Simply put, sticks are harvested fresh or steamed to make them supple. At which point they are then bent into a variety of structures and decorative shapes.
The Second is Twig Work: sticks that are either straight, curved or forked, are made into structures and decorative shapes within a structure.
Sometimes both bentwood and twig words are used in the same piece. Some rustic furniture makers also choose to use what is called mortise and tenon construction; while others simply nail or screw members together.
There are times when the term rustic furniture can refer to furniture displaying a distinct lack of craftsmanship involved. It is not uncommon, that you will find untreated/minimally-treated logs being sold off as true ‘rustic’ pieces of furniture. This often leads to their commanding prices vastly in excess of their more sleek, polished and modern looking counterparts. While some may say more of the raw material is used in the crafting of more hearty and solid looking pieces, it could also be argued that the labor costs that are associated with the manufacturing of such intricate pieces indicate a large inflation of sold units. If you were to completely take into consideration the actual costs of labor and materials involved it would widen the definition of the word actual word ‘furniture’. It would change it from that of a well crafted, polished-looking product that is derived from a raw material, and change it to pretty much any sort of sample of raw material or timber that is somehow minimally shaped to fulfill the basic purpose of the named furniture type.