The Arts and Crafts' Style was established over a hundred years ago, and is now a classic feature of American design. In The Arts & Crafts Style is beautiful enough to display as a coffee-table book, but serves a functional purpose in educating and inspiring readers as well.
Influences and Innovations: The History of the Arts & Crafts Style
What many have come to think of as an American style was highly influenced by designs once popular in Europe, particularly England. After enduring the especially fussy and cluttered décor of the Victorian era, the understated elegance of the Arts & Crafts' period brought welcome relief.
Hallmarks of Style: Attention to Detail
The original architects of American Arts & Crafts style included Frank Lloyd Wright and the design team of Charles and Henry Greene. Their brilliance shown in attention to detail by focusing on every aspect of architecture and décor. Not only was the house itself designed, but the interior elements, all the way down to the accessories, were also designed by the same professional. This level of detail would be quite difficult to find today, but the resulting effect, as evidenced by this book, is an absolutely peaceful environment.
Furniture of the Arts & Crafts Style
In 1902, Mission style furniture, as it was titled then, was so popular that dealers had trouble keeping up with demand. This style remains popular today, and is one of the most recognized examples of Arts and Crafts' design. The simple square shapes and wood-slats that characterize the furniture are now beloved hallmarks of a bygone era.
Home Accessories: Objects and Accents of the Period
Accessories and art objects serve an especially important purpose in an Arts and Crafts' home. They bring light, color and femininity to what some call a dark, masculine style. This yin and yang of design is an important element of creating a balanced home, and one of many reasons why the style has remained current. Seek out accessories especially designed for this period to complement the structure of an Arts and Crafts' home.
Case Studies: Beautiful Homes
This chapter of the book welcomes readers to step into five real homes designed in the Arts and Crafts' style. Each is quite unique in its aesthetic and provides inspiration for furnishing a period home that will suit eclectic tastes. Like many good design books, this one indulges a reader's desire for quality voyeurism.
Summary
As a woman who has felt most at home in Arts and Crafts' bungalows, this book distracted me for entirely too long. It is heavy on photographs, succinct in history and descriptions, and on-point in capturing the essence of a classic and beautiful design. If you, too, love this style of home and accessories, you're sure to learn something about why these design elements speak to you, and how to better surround yourself with them. Highly recommended.
Title: In The Arts & Crafts Style
Author: Barbara Mayer
Publisher: Chronicle Books, 2006, 224 pgs., $29.95
Other titles of interest:
How to Decorate an Arts & Crafts Home
Trevy Thomas - After more than a decade of food writing, Trevy Thomas joined Suite 101 as Feature Writer for the Home Décor and Cookbooks ...
