Chase Reynolds Ewald - American Rustic

American Rustic

Chase Reynolds Ewald

Photographs by Audrey Hall

American Rustic

Digital Edition 1.0

Text 2015 Chase Reynolds Ewald

Photographs 2015 Audrey Hall

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except brief portions quoted for purpose of review.

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K nock loudly & wait!

The sign is hand painted on thick watercolor paper. Posted above a cast-bronze door knocker of a longhorn skull, its irregular edges stand out against a glossy coat of slightly chipped teal paint. This is the entrance to the studio of acclaimed painter William Matthews, and in its informality, playfulness and utter lack of pretension, the sign makes a decidedly original rustic statement.

American Rustic style, like Matthews studio door, is relaxed, of the moment and highly individualistic. Its conviviality proffers a put-your-feet-up invitation. And as both a statement of place and a means of self-expression, a rustic built environment is always unique.

With its logs, twigs, burls and bark, American Rustic style is rooted in the Arts & Crafts movement, which in its time was a natural response to the rapid industrialization, homogenization and shift in populations from rural to urban areas in the nineteenth century. This sylvan style then, as today, spoke to a collective yearning for a simpler life and a return to natures embrace amidst a noisy, increasingly crowded world. Passion for rustic style has waxed and waned over the decades, but it has never gone out of fashion. Like the log cabin itself, it is an iconic American expression that speaks to our history, our belief in the healing power of nature and our enduring desire to get away from it all.

American Rustic design found its highest expression in the last quarter of the nineteenth century in the expansive woodland fantasies that were the Great Camps of the Adirondacks and in monumental parkitecture epitomized by hotels like the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone and the Ahwahnee in Yosemite. But American rustic at its heart is not about grand statements. Its about human-scaled environments and appropriateness to the landscape, and it can be found in every region of the country, from seaside shacks in Maine to log lean-tos on Michigans Upper Peninsula. Its expressed in adobe haciendas, Craftsman bungalows, West Coast houseboats and Alaskan trappers cabins.

Characterized by humble materials and honest construction techniques, American Rustic design is timeless in its appeal. It is aspecific to any time period, yet it is always rooted in place. It goes beyond speaking of a region; it is a product of its immediate vicinity and its unique microclimate.

In recent years the style has evolved, but it remains as appealing as ever. The enduring attraction of cozy log cabins with cave-like interiors and heavy furnishings is tempered by a current desire for cleaner lines, good quality of light and, most of all, an original approach. American Rusticpresents a fresh, contemporary take on rustic design. From rural compounds in upstate New York and Santa Fe casitas to mountain lodges along the spine of the Rockies and throughout the Greater Yellowstone, the projects in these pages represent a myriad of approaches from the genres top designers. The resulting homes are as individual as their owners and designers, and they speak to the landscapes in which they are sited.

Todays American Rustic spans a wide spectrum, ranging from post-and-beam interiors furnished with Thomas Molesworth chairs and museum-quality Native American art to simple log cabins outfitted with repurposed items and funky flea market finds. At its most basic, American Rustic might be a writing-retreat-with-a-view made from a canvas wall tent filled with vintage collectibles; it can be taken down in a day and packed out on mules. Sitting just as lightly on the land but antipodal in its technology, an eco-conscious prefabricated home on an open plain in Idaho rests on a foundation of railroad ties so that it can be easily relocated. The idea, quite literally, is to leave no trace.

Filtered through the creative sensibility of the styles leading designers, the projects in these pages range from the whimsical to the intellectual, from the traditional to the bohemian, from the do-it-yourself to the contemporary. The homes showcased here present clean, modern-leaning design, original statements in furnishings and decor, and light, airy interiors. They run the gamut from lived-in and piled-on to clean and contemporary, where sleek lines combine with rugged elements and soft textures for unique modern-rustic interiors.