See how to make your home cozy and charming with a rustic style. The materials used in rustic decoration are the elements of nature: stones, bricks, wood, concrete and fabrics. The rustic style matches any room in the house and provides a feeling of coziness and comfort. The main colors used in this type of decoration are those that refer to nature. The shades of blue, green, white and red go well with the style.
The rustic decor is a great option for those who want to leave the environment elegant, charming and cozy. To understand the style, as Maurício Rissinger, co-founder architect of the Concept Architecture Workshop, emphasizes, it is necessary to pay attention to the word “rustic”.
“The rustic is related to the countryside, to the countryside, typical of country life. If we use the term rustic in the scope of architecture, this refers us to natural elements, with the most crude texture in which we can mention: stone, exposed brick, wood and even exposed concrete”, he explains.
But where and how did the rustic style in architecture appear? As Luiz Veneziano, architect and urban planner explains, the origin is in the history of humanity and in the first constructions using natural materials, such as stone, wood, clay and straw.
Studies on the history of architecture and rustic decoration itself show that China was the inspiration for the style to spread throughout the world.
The first book to feature rustic furniture designs was published in 1754 in England. “ A New Book of Chinese Designs ”, by Edwards and Darly, shows how Europeans admired and were inspired by Chinese gardens. Shortly thereafter, the style had spread to Europe. England and France were the main poles of rustic decoration.
Not by chance, the rustic style gained space in parallel with the Industrial Revolution – serving since its origins as an “escape” from the big city and new technologies, something that happens to this day.
In the United States, in turn, the rustic decoration drew from different sources and adapted to the reality of the place and time. On the one hand, North American Indians, located both in the USA and Canada, already used natural materials to build their homes and tools. On the other hand, the Europeans, who colonized the territory, took the style there.
Often without money and far from cities, settlers traveled with little or no furniture, having to build their homes with the materials they had available locally.
Rissinger states that this has been a practice since humanity came out of caves: “The use of these elements has been the basis for architecture since man began to build his houses outside caves, so we can say that rusticity will always be a character of architecture and decoration”. It also explains the reason for the rustic walking alongside the modern and technological style of life.
“In the mix of natural elements, we always seek a balance between the most rustic and the most refined. As the elements of nature have always been part of our home imagination, it’s easy to feel cozy in rustic environments”.
Veneziano also follows the line of blending the rustic and the sophisticated. He comments on his taste for rustic decor: “I use natural materials a lot in my projects, I like them a lot. I’m even suspicious to say. The rustic can also be extremely sophisticated due to all the sensory elements. You can see this style in a lot of elegant environments.”
How to use rustic style at home
The rustic decoration can be used in any room in the house, according to Luiz Veneziano. “The French-inspired kitchen, using wood and stone cladding, is a very striking style.” In the bedrooms, wooden beams and the treatment of the wood mark the decoration. “With the right lighting, it looks really cool!” he says.
The Belgian Bernard Leroux , graduated in Architecture from the Institut Saint-Luc de Bruxelles and in Architecture and Urbanism from USP, shares the same opinion. “ The style matches any room in the house . We try to mix several pieces in the same environment to meet the need. If you want to heat up a room, you try to use wood or fabrics like linen”.
Luiz, however, warns against exaggerations. The architect claims that any material that is not well implanted is unbalanced in the environment. He advocates balancing between the pieces. “I find it very interesting to use the rustic with modern materials, with embedded technology, to have the contrast. It establishes a harmony between the materials”.
Colors that match the rustic style
As it is a decoration that uses many natural materials, the corresponding palette is one that suits nature. Earth tones, greens and blues, for example. The most suitable colors, according to Bernard, are blue, white, green and red – referring to clay. However, very vibrant colors can play against the cozy feeling provided by the rustic style.
