Week 1: Arts and Crafts

The interior design movement of Arts and Crafts came right after the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian style of houses.  Victorian styled houses tended to be elaborate with their interior decorating.  It was filled the whole room and did not leave much to have void spaces.  In many houses they would have paintings of their ancestors, but often the history would have been forgotten and a stranger would be left hanging on the wall.  Morris and Webb pushed this new movement into existence in England.

Arts and Crafts focused on the use of structures and the room.  They would accentuate the simple, basic objects in the room.  With the Industrial Revolution it brought cheap furniture into the house.  Everyone was trying to get the most money with the least amount of materials used.  Morris and Webb went back to the basic materials of wood and metal and really made it a point to have huge metal hinges.  In the United States, Charles Green and Mather Greene brought Arts and Crafts into the home.  They were highly influenced by Japanese design.

When reading this chapter, it was unique to see how they did not build off of Victorian style, but instead wanted to change it up completely.  They swung to the complete opposite design concept and went from a lot to a little.  What also stood out to me was how they brought design back to wood.  The most basic material out there, and they based their entire design style around it.  It reminds me of how the younger generations in today's society lean toward the minimalist aesthetic.  They want less decoration and instead want to focus on the basic objects in a house.

This is past application of this style in a house.  As you notice they keep the wood it's natural dark color and use it from the furniture to the trim around the room.  It brings a lot of warmth into a room and simplicity.

These two pictures show the Arts and Crafts style being used in modern times.  They keep the dark, warm wood tones and the wood is carried through the whole room.  In the first picture you can see bronze details used throughout the room.

ONE STEP FURTHER:

I was highly interested in William Morris.  He is the designer that pushed this style in England.  Unlike other designers that believe in the Arts and Crafts movement, he would get much of his influence from gothic and medieval architecture and designs.  He kept subtle, repeating designs in his work and you could see it in carried throughout the rest of the style.  I believe without Morris backing up this design, then interiors would look very different in today's culture.  He was able to find a way to take what people liked in the Victorian style and put it into a style that was completely opposite of Victorian.  He brought back basic materials and objects.

The top image is a picture of designer William Morris, and the bottom picture is of one of Morris's wallpaper designs.  In the wallpaper you can see how it repeats itself with basic shapes but is also delicate and intricate looking.