Decorating
The Arts and Crafts Movement for the Modern Home
Bring the handcrafted touches and natural beauty of the Arts and Crafts movement to your home
Handmade items and custom craftsmanship has experienced a revival in recent years as we place greater value on sustainable and unique design. But this is not the first time we’ve rejected mass-produced goods in favour of individually crafted objects. In the late-19th and early-20th centuries, the Arts and Crafts movement undertook to reform design in the hope of making the world a better place.
Seeing a nation suffering from poor working conditions and living with an abundance of overly ornate and shoddily produced goods as a result of the Industrial Revolution, proponents of the Arts and Crafts movement advocated a return to a simpler way of life. They believed art, architecture and decorative arts should be both beautiful and functional, and they revived traditional handicrafts, sought pleasure in work and improved the design of ordinary domestic objects to improve the quality of everyday life.
Many of the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement are making a comeback in the 21st century. Here’s how you can incorporate their elements and characteristics in your home in a contemporary and modern way.
The Arts and Crafts Movement at a Glance
Defining period: 1880-1910
Characteristics: Well-crafted woodwork; truth to materials; honest construction; simple forms; handcrafted decorative arts; natural motifs; sustainable materials
Seeing a nation suffering from poor working conditions and living with an abundance of overly ornate and shoddily produced goods as a result of the Industrial Revolution, proponents of the Arts and Crafts movement advocated a return to a simpler way of life. They believed art, architecture and decorative arts should be both beautiful and functional, and they revived traditional handicrafts, sought pleasure in work and improved the design of ordinary domestic objects to improve the quality of everyday life.
Many of the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement are making a comeback in the 21st century. Here’s how you can incorporate their elements and characteristics in your home in a contemporary and modern way.
The Arts and Crafts Movement at a Glance
Defining period: 1880-1910
Characteristics: Well-crafted woodwork; truth to materials; honest construction; simple forms; handcrafted decorative arts; natural motifs; sustainable materials
The home environment and the need for beautiful and functional domestic objects
Morris believed that handcrafted objects would bring joy not only to makers and craftspeople – but also to consumers and users. Craftsmen integrated the beauty of art into the functionality of everyday life by producing objects that were both beautiful and functional.
Morris believed that handcrafted objects would bring joy not only to makers and craftspeople – but also to consumers and users. Craftsmen integrated the beauty of art into the functionality of everyday life by producing objects that were both beautiful and functional.
The natural environment and respect for local materials and native techniques
In response to the rapid urbanisation and technological advances of the Industrial Revolution, the Arts and Crafts movement emphasised a greater appreciation for the natural and local environment. Craftsmen used natural materials that were inherently beautiful and sustainable, and revived native traditions such as using vegetable dyes for colourants.
In response to the rapid urbanisation and technological advances of the Industrial Revolution, the Arts and Crafts movement emphasised a greater appreciation for the natural and local environment. Craftsmen used natural materials that were inherently beautiful and sustainable, and revived native traditions such as using vegetable dyes for colourants.
7 WAYS TO INCORPORATE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT IN YOUR HOME
1. Well-crafted woodwork
Wood is intrinsic to the Arts and Crafts movement. Craftsmen used strong lines and solid construction in furniture, while interiors frequently displayed timber panelling and sturdy ceiling beams. They left them unpainted to show off their skills and to highlight the qualities of the woods used.
ADD A MODERN TOUCH: Expose and highlight the woodwork in your home. Don’t cover, paint or ornament its natural beauty.
1. Well-crafted woodwork
Wood is intrinsic to the Arts and Crafts movement. Craftsmen used strong lines and solid construction in furniture, while interiors frequently displayed timber panelling and sturdy ceiling beams. They left them unpainted to show off their skills and to highlight the qualities of the woods used.
ADD A MODERN TOUCH: Expose and highlight the woodwork in your home. Don’t cover, paint or ornament its natural beauty.
2. Truth to materials
Morris and his cohorts believed that any material should be used where it is most appropriate and its nature should not be hidden. Specifically, that wood should look like wood, stone should look like stone, and their beauty, colour, grain and unique characteristics should be celebrated.
ADD A MODERN TOUCH: Incorporate hardwood, stone or slate floors. In this holiday home in Victoria, the floors are made from a hardwearing split stone with a rich colour variation true to natural slate.
Morris and his cohorts believed that any material should be used where it is most appropriate and its nature should not be hidden. Specifically, that wood should look like wood, stone should look like stone, and their beauty, colour, grain and unique characteristics should be celebrated.
ADD A MODERN TOUCH: Incorporate hardwood, stone or slate floors. In this holiday home in Victoria, the floors are made from a hardwearing split stone with a rich colour variation true to natural slate.
3. Honest construction
Arts and Crafts designers championed ‘honest construction’ in a display of purposeful design and skilled craftsmanship. These signs of handiwork included obvious, large and prominent joints and fixings that were generally the only embellishments on a piece.
ADD A MODERN TOUCH: Expose architectural and structural forms and hardware such as the dark wooden beams do here.
Arts and Crafts designers championed ‘honest construction’ in a display of purposeful design and skilled craftsmanship. These signs of handiwork included obvious, large and prominent joints and fixings that were generally the only embellishments on a piece.
ADD A MODERN TOUCH: Expose architectural and structural forms and hardware such as the dark wooden beams do here.
4. Simple forms
Due to its simplicity and purposeful functionality, the aesthetic of the Arts and Crafts movement was often modern, with a hint of nostalgia due to its handcrafted nature.
ADD A MODERN TOUCH: Use simple, unpretentious and elegant wood furniture and furnishings.
Due to its simplicity and purposeful functionality, the aesthetic of the Arts and Crafts movement was often modern, with a hint of nostalgia due to its handcrafted nature.
ADD A MODERN TOUCH: Use simple, unpretentious and elegant wood furniture and furnishings.
5. Decorative arts
Craftspeople in the Arts and Crafts movement worked in a range of decorative arts, including ceramics, metalwork, glass and textiles, which they painted, dyed and stencilled. They always placed emphasis on the handmade and took their palette from the natural world (stones, bark, leaves, grasses) as they also did with the themes of their work.
ADD A MODERN TOUCH: Use brightly coloured handmade and handpainted tiles in cobalt blue, turquoise and greens, as in this Melbourne pool house. The handcrafted tiles draw on the aquatic environment with a fish-scale pattern, and visually harmonise with the lush green garden.
Craftspeople in the Arts and Crafts movement worked in a range of decorative arts, including ceramics, metalwork, glass and textiles, which they painted, dyed and stencilled. They always placed emphasis on the handmade and took their palette from the natural world (stones, bark, leaves, grasses) as they also did with the themes of their work.
ADD A MODERN TOUCH: Use brightly coloured handmade and handpainted tiles in cobalt blue, turquoise and greens, as in this Melbourne pool house. The handcrafted tiles draw on the aquatic environment with a fish-scale pattern, and visually harmonise with the lush green garden.
6. Natural motifs
Morris was famed for his pattern designs. Drawing inspiration from nature, he studied, stylised and abstracted natural forms for visual effect.
ADD A MODERN TOUCH: Wallpaper was key to the Arts and Crafts house. Use large-scale patterns and repeats on wallpapers and textiles to bring stylised images of nature into the home.
Morris was famed for his pattern designs. Drawing inspiration from nature, he studied, stylised and abstracted natural forms for visual effect.
ADD A MODERN TOUCH: Wallpaper was key to the Arts and Crafts house. Use large-scale patterns and repeats on wallpapers and textiles to bring stylised images of nature into the home.
7. Sustainable materials
The Arts and Crafts movement advocated respect for the natural environment and using sustainable, renewable materials.
ADD A MODERN TOUCH: Use eco-friendly, recycled and repurposed natural materials for kitchens, bathrooms and furnishings. The benchtops in this eco-kitchen are made from reclaimed iron bark, while the cabinets are bamboo, which is easy to harvest, grows at a rapid rate and can be cut within five years of plantation.
And, finally, in a return to a simpler existence and healthier way of living, live by one of Morris’s golden rules: “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
TELL US
Have you incorporated the Arts and Crafts movement into your home? Let us know in the comments section.
MORE
Wild Walls: How to Be Bold Yet Beautiful With Wallpaper
Houzz Tour: Salvaged Finds Add Soul to a Western Australian New Build
Make Do and Mend: Enjoy the Savings of the Simple Life
The Arts and Crafts movement advocated respect for the natural environment and using sustainable, renewable materials.
ADD A MODERN TOUCH: Use eco-friendly, recycled and repurposed natural materials for kitchens, bathrooms and furnishings. The benchtops in this eco-kitchen are made from reclaimed iron bark, while the cabinets are bamboo, which is easy to harvest, grows at a rapid rate and can be cut within five years of plantation.
And, finally, in a return to a simpler existence and healthier way of living, live by one of Morris’s golden rules: “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
TELL US
Have you incorporated the Arts and Crafts movement into your home? Let us know in the comments section.
MORE
Wild Walls: How to Be Bold Yet Beautiful With Wallpaper
Houzz Tour: Salvaged Finds Add Soul to a Western Australian New Build
Make Do and Mend: Enjoy the Savings of the Simple Life
The work environment and the joy of craftsmanship
Englishman William Morris led the Arts and Crafts movement. Abhorrent of the labour conditions fostered by the Industrial Revolution, he rejected machine-made products and dedicated himself to the improvement of working conditions. He believed pleasure in work brought moral and spiritual uplift to labourers, and that the character of handmade objects reflected this “joy in labour”.