Are you looking for rustic furniture for your home or cabin retreat? Rustic furniture comes in many forms. From bare wood to reclaimed pieces, you can make unique furnishings for your space. It doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. Here are a few good ideas to get you started.
Materials straight from nature
Making furniture from materials straight from nature is the easiest way to go rustic in your home or cabin. Using logs, branches, twigs and willow or vine in their natural form brings a certain earthy style to any piece of furniture.
Create seating with split logs for outdoor or indoor furniture. You can leave the wood natural or give it a coat of stain or finish, depending on the look you’re trying to achieve. Add chair backs from milled log lumber and you’ve got a fully functional piece.
You can also use branches, twigs, willow or vine to create interesting and unique furnishings that are actually a work of art in themselves. Use the natural curves of a branch to fashion the top of a headboard or chair back. Or use willow and vine to create more intricate pieces that take advantage of their ability to bend.
And if you can’t build it from woodland materials, you can always cover a piece with natural elements like twigs or sections of bark. The beauty comes from seeing wood in its natural form and showing off its curves, knots and grain. From tables and chairs to nightstands, headboards and other accessories, rustic furniture from raw materials is beautiful in its own right.
Reclaimed materials
Another way to create rustic furnishings is to build items from reclaimed materials. Old fencing, barn boards and antique fixtures make an interesting base material or addition to dining, living room and bedroom furniture. Old weathered planks give off that old-fashioned charm that falls into place with rustic style.
Making new look old
If you don’t have raw materials available and you don’t have access to reclaimed materials, you can take new or unfinished furniture to the next level by using different finishing techniques to give them the appearance of age with rustic charm.
Applying crackle paint and shabby chic finishes can take any piece of furniture to a country vintage status. Work with single paint treatments or layer on multiple colors to bring out the warmth of the accessories in your space.
Finding inspiration
Search the web and you’ll find wonderful resources for rustic furniture design. If you’re feeling up to the challenge, try your hand at creating your own pieces. But, if you’re not the handy type and are looking to purchase handmade items, I recommend Crows Nest Trading and Northwest Handmade Furniture. The style and quality of products at these sites would do well in any rustic decor.
Whatever your choice, rustic furniture will add to the charm of your favorite retreat by bringing in the beauty of natural elements and the nostalgia of old-time designs.
