ABOVE PHOTO: The beautifully worn appearance of the Heirloom Distressed finish is achieved by burnishing, rasping and flyspecking, among other techniques.
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The quilt handed down through generations, the turn-of-the-century wooden rocking chair made by a long-gone relative, hand-stitched samplers that have graced every home your family has lived in – handcrafted items simply speak to the soul. In today’s society, when we’re surrounded by technology and homogenous machine-made items from clothes to curtains, handcrafting imparts a human, customized quality to home decor.
If you crave a handcrafted look in your home, it’s easy to achieve with design elements that can be as simple or luxurious as you wish. Handcrafted items can be found virtually anywhere, including places like your local antique store, specialty showrooms and even online. Whatever your budget, adding key handmade items to your home can evoke that sense of quality, refinement and soul throughout your interior decor.
Start with these unique elements to bring the beauty of handcrafting into your home:
Hardwood shutters – Beauty, charm and practicality meet in hardwood shutters. The perfect tool to protect rooms from too much sun and to help keep indoor temperatures cool during hot summers and to keep heat in during cold winters, shutters add architecture to the window and are a true a design statement. You don’t have to scour the Internet looking for a specialized artisan to create hardwood shutters, nor do you have to settle for something mass-produced that lacks the custom appeal of handmade.
Hunter Douglas now offers Handcrafted Series finishing techniques in its heirloom-quality Heritance hardwood shutters, which feature dovetail construction, used on fine furniture for generations. These finishes include special hand treatments designed to replicate the character and charm of natural wood. Whether you desire a rustic appearance that includes knots, pin holes, mineral streaks and growth rings, a glazed and burnished effect with hand-rubbed glaze and hand-sanded frame corners or distressing that celebrates the passage of time, you can achieve the look with Heritance hardwood shutters. These hardwood shutters underscore the attention to detail and quality that characterize handcrafting in home decor. Visit www.hunterdouglas.com to learn more.
Reclaimed flooring – Older wooden floors were commonly hand-planed, giving them unique beauty and personality. While many flooring manufacturers now offer planks that give the appearance of hand-planed wood, reclaimed flooring – wooden floorboards rescued from older buildings – can be a cost-effective way to incorporate real handcrafting into a room. Reclaimed floors offer singular character by recycling wood that might otherwise have ended up in a landfill, and they also help you do something good for the environment.
Handcrafted furniture -Whether you opt for antiques or choose something more contemporary, handcrafted furniture speaks of quality and customization. Each piece hand made by exacting furniture artisans is unique, and creates a one-of-a-kind effect in your home. What’s more, a handmade piece of furniture can become a cherished family heirloom – be it a rocking chair for the nursery or an accent table for the family room. The superior quality and individuality of handmade furniture can make it well worth the investment.
Accessories – Incorporating handmade art and other accessories is a cost-effective, versatile way to achieve the appeal of handcrafting in your home decor. Antiques are often handcrafted. Placing actual paintings or hand-sculpted artwork throughout your home, rather than machine-produced prints or knickknacks, adds a depth of quality and character to decor. Choose hand-stitched accent pillows or hand-knit throws for comfort and individuality.
With so many handcrafted options available, it’s easy to create a one-of-a-kind, quality effect in your home decor. From shutters to floors to accessories, handcrafted items endow interior décor with personality and a custom look that will be truly your own.
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