The modern rustic industrial design trend is touted by such interior gurus as HGTV’s Kayla Kitts as being one of the top design infatuations this year.
The fad is a commercial hit, with businesses from Restoration Hardware to World Market cashing in on its success.
It’s been quick to filter down into the small business arena, with several locally owned companies finding success in hewing to Columbus’ demands for modern, rustic and industrial home-furnishing items, items that can be blended together for a timeless look.
But incorporating the modern rustic industrial trend in your home isn’t just about having rooms outfitted in prize pieces that cater beautifully to the craze. From sustainability to long-lasting, practical aesthetics, the benefits of bringing modern rustic industrial design into your home are multi-fold.
Style Meets Sustainability
While providing a modern touch to décor is an important part of this trend – it breaks up the rustic and industrial aspects of the design style and lends a sense of freshness to a room – “having a room that is all new looks a little odd,” says Scott Hanratty, manager of Bungalow Home in the Short North.
Thankfully, in this trend, you have the go-ahead to use authentic, one-of-a-kind antiques for décor as well as vintage industrial pieces. In doing so, you’re not just glamming up your home, local business owners say. You’re also helping out with a more holistic, environmental goal: sustainability.
In fact, the sustainability factor is what Justin Smith, owner and head carpenter of Short North repurposing business Tomorrow’s Antiques, says helped kick-start his store.
“We wanted to teach people how to salvage, how to green up the earth a little bit,” Smith says. “Too many people throw something away and get something new, filling landfills with stuff that doesn’t need or deserve to be in there. To keep from filling them with nice antiques is just to find something else you can use it for.”
Adam Gibson, owner of Mix: Home in Clintonville, agrees.
“Our primary objective is to source with environmental practices in mind,” Gibson says. “We always feel that, with the vintage side, we are protecting the environment. We’re keeping something off the curb and out of the landfill. And there’s an appreciation that (you’re) going to be one out of a few that have that item versus several thousand people.”
Keeping in line with sustainability is getting more difficult, though, as the interior design trend has gotten more popular, says Hanratty, whose Bungalow Home sources from environmentally friendly businesses.
“We’re in an economy where we’re trying to use what’s available for us,” he says. “It’s cost-effective to use old. And for a while, we were able to get antiques at a good price, (but the trend) has driven up those prices. It makes people run to commercial items.”
And given the demand and price for actual vintage items –distressing wood to create an old feel may be more cost-effective than reclaiming old barn wood, Smith says – sometimes the commercial route is the way to go.
“I do prefer actual vintage items,” Hanratty says. “But sometimes they’re just obsolete, so there are companies that are making really great quality reproductions. You’d be hard-pressed to find the difference between the fakes and the new-made. But I think both are good, as long as they lend the look you want.”
But buyer, beware: Gibson, whose store comprises 50 percent authentic vintage items, notes there is a great market for reproductions, reproductions may compromise quality.
“One of the reasons we started (the business) was the frustration with some pieces that we had bought as new homeowners,” he says. “You see the lack of longevity in pieces that are built with subpar quality. It’s not a fashion that should be disposable.”
A Timeless, Practical Aesthetic
To counter this, Gibson notes the benefit of hunting for those authentic items, and perhaps splurging on them.
“I like to look at it as the timelessness of the design. We don’t want to style a house, office or commercial property without thinking 20 years down the line. I don’t ever want to walk into one of our spaces and say, ‘This is so 2013,’” he says. “I want to design a place that can evolve. We can draw from the past. If a piece of furniture has been around for 80 years, it will likely be around for 80 more years.”
Hanratty agrees.
“You want something that has a character and a past. That past will be brought into your home and give it life,” he says. “That’s why if you do only brand-new furniture, bringing in a vintage industrial piece lends it that character, that history.”
Sarah Thompson is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
Get the Look!
Blend for balance: Blending all three concepts of the modern rustic industrial trend is highly important, Gibson says: “The industrial pieces provide the masculinity of the space. The modern accents – like hardware, furniture and textiles – bring in femininity, and vintage items bring the warm, lived-in feel.”
Consider weight and feel: Industrial is really heavy and often in the wrong color palette, Hanratty says. Mix a little bit of it with a little bit of linen. This will soften industrial pieces’ hard edges and incorporate a different texture.
Be versatile: An industrial piece can be modern and updated, blending two out of three qualities of this design. Likewise, a chair can be vintage, modern; or industrial, linen can be vintage or modern; and larger vintage pieces with hard edges can provide the masculine touch.
Consider repurposing: Wanting to blend old and new? Have an item repurposed, or have a custom item made using old and new materials, Smith says. This allows you to use any ratio of modern to rustic to industrial design you like.
Go neutral: Use neutral tones in your textiles – gray, white and wheat tones – to relay a feminine, modern feel, Hanratty says.
