Amish furniture is well regarded for its durability and craftsmanship. Many people also think the pieces are old fashioned in design. Such styles have no place in a modern home, right? Wrong! The style and efforts of Amish furniture are eternal and everlasting. Well, maybe not. Still, with the right planning and research, rustic furniture can have its place amongst a modern home. Old and new working together sounds nice, after all.
Know the furniture
First and foremost, when discussing Amish dining room tables and the like, it’s important to know what we’re talking about. Amish furniture is handcrafted with traditional tooling from sustainable solid wood. While they can be made in a variety of styles, it’s usually the more traditional ones people consider.
Such styles are often simple and to the point in their design. When it comes to rustic pieces specifically, that means the wood is on full display, with a somewhat rough, but clean look that is meant to replicate the sort of furniture you would find in a log cabin or such two centuries ago.
What is modern?
Having identified rustic style, especially in regards to Amish furniture, next we have to address modern styles. If you own a modern home, you probably have a good idea of the style already. Modern styles embrace sleek minimalism, with straight, simple lines, limited if any embellishment, and a propensity for metal and modern materials.
That may sound antithetical to rustic furniture styles and designs, but Amish dining furniture with a rustic style can be blended with modern construction. There are a couple of similarities, when you take a closer look. Both rustic and modern rely on simplistic elegance through minimal design and lots of straight lines.
While the materials involved might seem to contrast, the mix of metal, plastic, and wood can work quite well. Rustic modern décor is a design style for a reason, and that same methodology can be applied to Amish furniture in a modern home.
Perfectly balanced
When mixing different design styles, balance is important. You don’t want the two styles to clash, because that can create a messy, chaotic look that annoys the senses rather than please them. While a perfect balance might be a bit much, you don’t want the differing designs to clash too much. A little contrast is nice, but too much hurts the eye.
When it comes to Amish dining room chairs and tables, having them as the focal point for the room should suffice as a nice contrast. That way you have the modern styling sof the room itself mixed with the more rustic look of the furniture.
Mixing wood and metal
As part of blending rustic with modern, you can make use of the core elements of both to better blend the styles. In other words, you can make use of wood and metal items to create a blend. With Amish dining furniture, this is really easy because there’s your wood. For the metal, you can make use of dining room cabinets or a modern overhead light fixture. You can also use pieces that are a mix of metal and wood, like a serving table or wall mirror for the corner.
As part of this blending, make good use of the wood to flesh out the mix of old and new. With an Amish dining room set, this is very easy. Between your modern home and the rustic furniture, the style mix is pretty much complete as soon as you set up the pieces.
Avoid clutter
Remember, part of modern and rustic design styles is an elegant simplicity through minimalism. In other words, you don’t want a lot of stuff cluttering your design scheme. Too much stuff lying around will confuse the eye and create too much contrast. A few odd and ends to help balance old and new are fine. For example, some rustic accessories for the modern cabinet, or a modern centerpiece on the Amish dining table. A few accessories are nice, but too many will create a chaotic and cluttered look, which defies the point of both rustic and modern designs.
Texture matters too
While color and style matter a lot when blending different décor schemes, texture needs to be taken into account as well. This is especially true when discussing rustic furniture, as wood textures make for excellent styling in a variety of designs. While modernism generally lacks texture, the smooth, clean look of metals is a texture in itself. Combined with the rustic texture of wood, you have created a great blend of old and new with very little fuss.
Adding rusting Amish furniture to a modern home might seem like a major clash, but, with the right tricks and knowledge, blending rustic Amish dining room furniture with modern décor is not only possible, but will and feel great.
