Rug and decor questions, specifically Arts and Crafts style

15 years ago

Many of you responded to my other thread which was meant to be a little tongue in cheek. Therefore I made the title vague because it was more of an emotional expression in reference to my tastes not matching my pocketbook. Then so many of you started giving me serious advice, I thought it would be best to start a new thread with a specific title and I really might find something I can use.

First a couple of questions which stemmed from the other post. What is the difference between hand knotted and hand tufted? Is the quality of a rug dependent on where it was made? Is wool the only way to go? What exactly is tribal and how do I search for that?

Now here's the deal. I am building an A & C bungalow on an infill lot in a historical area. Most of the details of the build will be true to the craftsman style. We are using stained woodwork and built-ins throughout. Although there will be a lot of windows, I suppose the interior will be dark and cozy rather than light and airy. I've always been a lamp kinda gal and will use a lot of different types of lighting (sconces, lamps, overhead, etc.) The feel I'm going for is to have the warm glow of mica shades against the warm tones of wood.

We will not however be staying 100% true to the AC style. For example our couch will not be mission style (DH hates the look of flat wood arms,) but rather a comfortable simple couch with exposed tapered legs maybe even a small sectional and ottoman. Then there's the monstrosity of a recliner...great big puffy brown leather thing that screams anything but AC. It's in great shape and is very comfortable. DH declared that if it doesn't cradle his body it's not going in the new house. This new house is all about casual and comfortable. (We've been down that road of the formal and looks good...) The case goods will be either craftsman or family antiques.

So I need to pull it all together so that it doesn't look quite so mishmatched. Since the upholstery pieces will not be true to the style I was hoping to bridge the styles with the perfect rug and other accessories. That's what led me to the Donegal rug I posted about in the other post. There are many beautiful rugs on the market but not many of them scream Arts and Crafts. Yes I think that there are others that will look good and blend, but do I really want something to just blend in or something that will be a show stopper?

Here's where you come in. Those of you who know a little about the A & C style. What exactly is it that makes a rug or pattern A & C? Is it the not so subtle use of color and pattern? Is it gingko leaves? lol What is it? Are all of the rugs that are true to the style heirloom quality and super expensive? Any cheap knockoffs? Do I want a cheap knockoff? Now I realize many of these questions only I can answer, but perhaps you can give me some insight.

For what it's worth, I do have another rug. It's a huge (I think 14 feet long) Karastan rug that my mother bought back in the 1960s. Of course it's in great shape except for the fringe where we repeatedly cleaned up from the cat pee. I really don't want to use it in the living room or dining room because I'd rather have something with a little more green in it. I will probably use it in the master bedroom.

Our budget for furnishings, window treatments, and accessories is targeted at between 30-40,000. Out of that we will be buying a king head and footboard, large dresser, two club chairs, couch, ottoman, dining room table, chairs and sideboard, patio couch and chair(s), 2-6 lamps, 0-2 rugs, blinds and/or window coverings for all of the downstairs. Nothing new will be going upstairs. There I'll use what I already have. The money will come from the sell of our previous house so there won't ever be additional funds in the future. If I don't buy it now I really won't ever be able to buy it.

What do you think?

Here is a link that might be useful:

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Comments (21)

parma42
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yippee, Arts & Crafts with stained woodwork and no mission furniture. One of my favorite looks!

I'm just out the door and will let those who are more erudite WRT A&C answer the design questions but I would recommend a decent hand-knotted rug, given your budget, as it will be the room's anchor.

Hand-tufted are glued and often have an odor and/or shedding problem that takes a long time to dissipate. Hand-knotted is just what it sounds like and you can see the knotting when you flip the rug over.

I hope that Stinky-tufted sees your post. She's great with advice and appropriate links.
gwent
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Your post caught my eye as I too am a fan of the A&C era and our almost renovated 1917 shingle style house has some A&C elements. I can't speak to the rug question but can speak to how the mix of elements in an A& C house can give the A&C "feel". I didnt want our house to look like a museum so ours is a mix of antiques, A&C pottery, hand me down furniture from other eras and some "stand-ins" (like the rug pictured here under the Scandinavian modern table!) which will have to do until we have the $.
I agree, it must be homey and comfortable! The period lighting and rugs etc I saw on the A&C websites were lovely but out of my $ range so I looked for things with the feel of A&C and mix them with my period items. (Not pictured as our computer was stolen with all of our house images- but that's another story...)
IMO, too much A&C can be too heavy and dark so I like to mix it up a bit.
Im planning on living in the house for a while to see how we use the space before buying any more items. Can you hold off and buy gradually? A&C is not known for "matchy match".
Can't wait to hear more- your project sounds exciting.
P.S. If you are looking for A&C tile, check out Motawi tileworks in Michigan (website is great). I purchased 2 tiles for my kitchen backsplash and that in itself was a A&C statement for the kitchen.
Some photos:
http://www1.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=264173313/PictureID=6565501049/a=7603254_7603254/otsc=SHR/otsi=SPIClink
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User
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I read through your other thread about this rug yesterday, but didn't respond. As one who has both a strong affinity for Mission furnishings (I bought numerous Stickley pieces several years ago, and can't imagine not having them in my home) and beautiful rugs, I do understand how you want to pull your look together and create an absolutely beautiful room.

That said, I also know only too well what it's like to become "fixated" on one particular rug -- one that costs a small fortune, but you just can't seem to tear yourself away from it! (I've often said I have a "rug fetish"! LOL!) While the rug that you've linked is beautiful, I do indeed think that you can achieve a beautiful room by incorporating rugs that do not speak strictly to the Arts & Crafts/Mission style, and to be honest, I would find a room that held the requisite furnishings and a rug that was more eclectic to be far more interesting than one in which everything screamed "Stickley catalog!"

Here are a couple of examples of rooms that I think are stunning, and as you can see, the rugs used are strictly in the A&C style. (Oh, and I believe the bottom pic featuring the chair is indeed from the Stickley catalog - at least one of the versions that I have!)

This last picture brings to mind the bold, graphic inspiration of the Navajo rug (although I'm sure the rug itself is not Navajo), which has long been a very popular addition to A&C/Mission-style rooms. Now, if I were in the market for a really expensive rug a/k/a work of art, I would dearly love to be able to invest in a room-sized genuine Navajo ... but I can't even begin to imagine having that kind of "rug money" as a part of my disposable income. ;-)
{{gwi:1596764}}
palimpsest
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
There a some sites I think you should look at just from a textiles and fixtures standpoint.

Bradbury and Bradbury--period wallpapers

Burrows Studio--period rugs and wallpapers

Trustworth Studios--period Voysey and other wallpapers.

Rejuvenation--period lighting.

You will see that there is a difference in Arts and Crafts from English to American, and that Arts and Crafts and "Mission" are not as synonymous as they are often treated.

The Arts and Crafts movement in turn led to modernism in the Aalto sense, Danish modern sense, and then onto the "studio furniture movement" Esherick, Nakashima, Wendell Castle, and even Paul Evans.

A room that is all-out American A&C in the Stickley, Roycroft Etc. vein is nice, but I always think it is a bit out of place in a non-A&C era house, as a straight mix.

Historically I think these pieces got mixed in with the Victorian and Esthetic Movement and whatever came before it, just like things tend to get added to the mix today.
palimpsest
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Don't be tongue-in-cheek about expensive things. I have no sense of humour ::-(
samtheman
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Nice taste ncamy! he he! Look at the link below. This is the Tulip and Lily rug in my dining room.

To answer some of your questions - nothing is more authentic arts & crafts than designs by voysey; wallpaper, textiles, or carpets. This is one reason why I chose the GuildCraft carpets for my house.

I know they show at the Grove Park in conference each year. If you can make it there I bet you can get a show deal. I did last year.

The colors perfectly match other arts & crafts textiles and wallpaper.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tulp & Lily Rug
mercurygirl
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I think furniture with a traditional feel, but not strictly A & C will work just fine, in fact I'd rather see that than a straight Stickley kinda look.

But you need some wow factor, and that rug is it. Truly stunning. If you go for it, keep the rest fairly simple, like no wallpaper motifs, linen drapes maybe? Do some shopping on Ebay, sometimes you can find furniture deals (maybe something to refinish?). I see a lot of English oak these days. The other day I saw someone selling lots of beautiful vintage hemp/linen fabric, maybe do a search for her store.

Good hunting!

Good luck and we want pics
mcps
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Sorry for my type-o's - I'm typing without my glasses!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Grove Park Inn
mcps
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Arggh! I need to put my contacts in before I start doing this! What I meant to saay was that I think of the Grove park Inn when I think of Arts & Crafts. If you are near there, ncamy, it'd be a great place to get inspiration!

Here is a link that might be useful: Grove Park
oysterboy
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
We have an Arts & Crafts house that we love and 5 kids running around constantly. For us, wool, hand-knotted Arts & Crafts carpets were the only option. People with kids and pets think they shouldnt buy Ânice" rugs. But actually, they are the only thing that will stand up to so much wear and still look beautiful years later. Luckily, we could afford to buy quality.

You get what you pay for and buying a wool rug based on price is short-sighted in our opinion. People who think they can get a real hand-bag for knock-off prices actually get a knock-off, no matter how good it looks at first- and they just donÂt hold up. The same is true with quality rugs. Of course, if you donÂt have the money, you donÂt have the money- but if you can get them, hand-knotted are the way to go.

We found GuildCraft Carpets online and thatÂs where we got ours. The actual carpets look a million times better n our house than they do on the website, especially depending on your monitor (www.guildcraftcarpets.com ) After seeing their designs and colors, and comparing them to other rug makers, we decided to go with the GuildCrafts. We have three now- dining room, living room and entry, (see our pictures) and will buy more (we have none upstairs yet) as soon as the economy and business picks up again.

The nice thing is that once we narrowed our choices down a bit, they sent us small samples so we could check for color and that our doors could clear over them, etc. They are better than the others in terms of the designs being authentic, and the colors match perfectly in our A&C house, plus they are just so soft and nice to walk or sit on. Our kids spend a lot of time on the floor playing. They love them too and we think these carpets definitely make the room. They really bring out the tone of all the interior woodwork and the overall feel is cozy and warm.

We think that rugs are definitely the one thing in the room that you should buy with as much quality as you can afford. Also, donÂt buy anything until you have seen it in person, or at least trying out a sample like we did.
User
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Oysterboy, your home is simply stunning!

I wish my Eastwood chair and ottoman still looked as pristine as yours. My cats have decided that it makes a good scratching post, no matter how I try to persuade them differently.
joyce_6333
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Check out this website for gorgeous A/C rugs. They are more contemporary than the older style A/C rugs.

Also, if you search on "Morris" rugs, you will see many that were typical of that era.
oysterboy
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
auntjen Thanks!. i forgot to mention this house it's all original and 102 years old.

You know, as the post says, we have 5 little ones and we have them all around of course. I find it quite pathetic when people that have things like this just to "look" at. We decided from the beginning that all these things are to be used and lived. Matter of fact I am certain when Gustav Stickley designed all these furniture was meant to be used. I read somewhere that it's amongst the strongest furniture money can buy and virtually Indestructible.

Scratches and scuffs?? you know what i say; "learn to love them!" when my children are out of the house i know I will look at those scratches and remember!.

Have you ever seen a true 100 year old stickley piece? they always look better with all the distress and dents and scratches on them.

By the way, the same is true for the carpets. I cant wait till my carpets are 100 years old.

Oops...ONLy one small problem' I will be wearing "wooden Pj's"
teacats
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Oysterboy -- your home is wonderful! So warm and welcoming! Thanks for sharing your photos!

Jan at Rosemary Cottage (who embraces scratches, bumps and bruises -- around the house! LOL!)
User
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
You're absolutely right, of course. If I wanted to live in a museum, I'd have stayed behind after hours at the Victoria & Albert the last time I visited London. ;-)

We have a family friend who amassed a decent collection of original Stickley pieces, and at one point decided to sell a few of them. One of his chairs had a particular leg that had been gnawed on by a dog at some point during its lifetime, and that chair's value was not adversely affected by a few puppy teeth marks. It's true that things can be repaired and replaced ... It's the living creatures we share our lives with that are truly one-of-a-kind.
:-)
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Ive only done 2 rooms in an A & C style but its always been a favorite. One place I found for lighting and a limited amount of furniture was great. We bought end tables, other tables, and lamps from them. They even arranged a custom bathroom fixture for us. Its a very small company so you get either the owner or his wife to deal with. He has a lot of closeouts so you may see something that normally goes for quadruple the price elsewhere. I truly cannot say enough good things about them.

http://www.thebrightspot.com/

I dont know where you are located, but another good resource is art fairs. A number of artists I know work in an Arts and Crafts style: pottery, furniture, lamps, etc. I bought vases and tiles from artists and commissioned a window and 2 stained glass lamps that cost less than a lighting store and are NOT made in China.
rosesstink
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I love arts & crafts and mission styles too so I was drawn right into this post. Since you have a budget and say you won't (ever?) have more money to put into the decor I think you need to sit down and think about how to spend the money. Which things do you expect to last "forever" and which can you see replacing down the road? Put the bulk of your money into the forever stuff.

I think as long as you keep things simple you can mix art & crafts/mission with other styles with great success. Puffy recliners are no good though so get rid of that thing! Just kidding. Sort of ;-)

We'd all like to a houseful of Stickley and Van Erp but most of us can't afford that. There are "no name" antique mission furnishings out there at reasonable prices (because they are no name) that are solidly built. Someone like my father, who hated mission furniture, would use them as work benches or whatever. Now they need refinishing but they're still good pieces. Keep your eyes open for those diamonds in the rough.
oceanna
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Oysterboy, your home is magnificent!

I, too, love A&C. Ncamy, your new house sounds like it will be divine. I wish you a lot lf luck with whatever you decide, and I hope you'll post lots of pictures for us to ooo and aaah over. :)
oysterboy
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks everyone!
As I say for Arts and Crafts carpets there is only one true choice. I looked virtually to all the high-end makers and none comes close to;

www.guildcraftcarpets.com

Ask for Danielle, she is the absolute best!!!
mercurygirl
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
On reflection ncamy, I think it's the colors of the rug that are so nice, along with the Morris-y style. Clear and pretty. So many rugs are just earth tones that look muddy on the floor, or red.

Would you pull those colors into the room(s)?
cliff_and_joann
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Oysterboy, I love your home, I'm speechless, it's stunning.
Joann

Please show us the kitchen, :)