rustic Archives - Page 14 of 45

A look at our top 2023 sellers

Wooden numbers saying 2020 on white washed wood with fairy lights behind and best sellers words

With 2023 behind us, we take a look back to see which furniture was the most popular with our environmentally conscientious customers. Our stunning range of dining tables (as ever) has again been at the top of the list!

Photo featuring: Standford Industrial Reclaimed Wood Dining Table & Standford Industrial Reclaimed Wood Dining Bench

Dining Tables

The Standford dining table – This is from our hugely popular Standford range which includes gorgeous reclaimed wood furniture pieces for just about every room in the house! This rustic dining table is available as a fixed top table or as a very handy extendable table. From wooden sideboards to beds, large chests of drawers to a small living room lamp table – everything in this popular wood furniture range is skilfully crafted from timbers salvaged from former factories.

The Chelwood – This glamourous dining table features in our top sellers list just about every year! The polished stainless steel legs provide industrial elegance while the unique, full of rustic charm, solid reclaimed wood tabletop completes its undeniable allure.

Photo featuring: Chelwood Large Reclaimed Wood Dining Table

Rocco Spider Leg – This industrial dining table features a sustainably sourced solid oak top which sits on a central and stylish industrial spider leg. Plenty of room around the table with no annoying legs in the way for diners to bang their knees on!

Dining Chairs

Allegro chair – Sit back and dine in a high quality, soft Italian leather dining chair. These modern dining chairs pair perfectly with industrial furniture as well as more rustic and modern dining room furniture.

Photo featuring: Allegro Leather Dining Chair

Standford Leather & Faux Leather chairs – These leather and faux leather dining chairs from the ever popular Standford range won’t disappoint – a hugely popular addition to dining spaces up and down the country.

Cleo Faux Leather chairs and benches – Faux leather dining chairs are becoming increasingly popular with our animal-friendly customers. Our Cleo range of dining room seating is available in grey or tan, you can choose from dining benches, bar stools or chairs which all have sleek industrial legs. For those who want a comfortable upholstered dining chair that can easily be wiped clean then faux leather is proving to be a top pick.

Bedroom furniture

Onslow bed frames and bedside tables – The glorious bedroom furniture from the Onslow range has proven to be a winner yet again. Handcrafted in the UK from salvaged railway sleepers, this chunky bedroom furniture adds a warmth to your bedroom that can only be achieved by a statement king size bed frame, caringly crafted using solid reclaimed wood.

Photo featuring: Onslow Reclaimed Wooden Bed Frame

Living room furniture

Oldman coffee table – We think this is a fine example of an industrial coffee table and our style-conscious customers definitely agree! As this is another of our pieces that are hand finished in right here in the UK, your coffee table can be made to bespoke sizes….meaning that you can have a coffee table that is perfectly in proportion with your living room.

Photo featuring: Oldman Industrial Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table

Barkby sofa – This gorgeous brown leather sofa has been a huge hit during 2020. This range is skillfully made to order, you get to choose from a 2 or 3 seater leather sofa with or without an armchair to create the perfect combination for your living room.

Chestey Velvet Sofa – The popularity of this stylish, industrial style sofa just proves how much style our customers have!

Oswald Armchair – The Oswald real leather armchair is just waiting to be sat in, in a cosy reading corner. Seeking the ultimate in comfort, our customers have also opted for the coordinating leather footstool. A 2 seater sofa and a 3 seater is also available.

Create a festive welcome with wonderful wreaths

Large green Christmas wreath hanging on dark grey front door

However many or few people you invite into your home this year it will be lovely to give them a warm Christmassy welcome. Here we are looking at wreaths – these don’t just have to be hung outside on the main door to your house – but they will also look welcoming and Christmassy in the Hallway.

Wreaths are a very traditional part of Christmas – they are thought to date back to the pre-Christian Germanic people of Eastern Europe who would gather wreaths of evergreen and light fires as a sign of hope for the coming spring and light. This tradition was taken up in Germany (around the 16th Century) who to this day use a wreath with four candles. One candle is lit each week in the four weeks of advent in the run-up to Christmas.

Putting a wreath on your front door is seen as a sign to welcome guests into your home over Christmas – nowadays it is also seen as part of our traditional home decor during the festive season. Many different styles and sizes are available to buy but they are also very easy to make yourself – which of course you can completely individualise.

Chic

This wreath looks so chic and is great for a smart townhouse door.

Green and blue Christmas wreath on dark grey front door

Rustic

The perfect wreath for a cosy looking cottage door – warm colours, rustic natural elements and a bright ribbon to bring it all together. This could easily be hand made from things you can find in local shops and in the home.

Modern

This is a modern take on the traditional wreath – thin twigs have been swirled into a round shape with dried flowers in a similar muted hue. A simple, but very effective and welcoming wreath.

A festive hallway…

We often concentrate on the living room and dining room when it comes to festive cheer – but why not decorate your hallway? This is the place where you can make the warmest of first impressions. A wreath set on a small console table or a tall hallway shoe storage unit with large candles or better still Christmas scented candles will be lovely for you to walk into….as well as any guests. If you prefer not to have candles burning in the hallway you can arrange fairy lights in a glass bowl or vase or hang them over a round wall mirror above a wood console table.

White lit Christmas candles with frosted pine cone against wood wall

Tips to adapt Christmas dinner to a plant-based feast

Our population is becoming more and more environmentally conscious of the products we purchase and the lifestyle we are choosing to lead. From purchasing items made from sustainable materials, reclaimed wood furniture with faux leather dining chairs to embracing a vegan diet.

So how do you adapt the traditional sumptuous “no holds barred” traditional turkey dinner to a plant-based feast?

If you and your family are all vegans then you will probably have plenty of ideas on how to switch to a plant-based Christmas dinner – but what if you have one member of your family who is vegan? Or if you have one or two guests coming who are vegan? It’s worth checking if they are flexible at all, some people who usually eat vegan will be more than happy to slot in a little and be OK with a small amount of dairy product. It’s definitely worth checking before stressing over how to adapt everything.

Photo featuring: Kensington Reclaimed Wood Dining Table

To make life easier on the day set your dining table the night before. If you think you have to squeeze extra guests around the table then consider a dining bench or for extra comfort a dining bench with back or fabric dining bench, it’s much easier to squeeze up on one of these than adding extra dining chairs.

Starters and nibbles

I think it’s a given that most vegans, and vegetarians, enjoy hummus, it’s also popular with carnivores too. This is a great choice to start your Christmas feast with, you can dish this up individually or have a sharing platter ready for all to dig in to a rustic dining table – serve with carrot, cucumber and celery sticks, cherry tomatoes, peppers and some vegan breadsticks that you can get from most supermarkets. Traditional guacamole is also vegan. For nibbles, you can put out olives or a platter of nuts and dried fruits.

The main event

A cashew nut roast, a mushroom and lentil loaf with cranberries, stuffed butternut squash and meals based on polenta are all great options – there are so many recipes waiting to be discovered online, you will easily be able to find something to suit. The great thing about many of these meals (having no meat to worry about going off) is that they can be prepared or even frozen well in advance. Now we have the main element decided on we can start on the side dishes. Yes, the veggies – all you have to do here is be mindful of adding butter, animal fat and other meat-based elements as you cook and prepare them. Then there’s just the gravy, again there are some great vegan recipes online or you can go for ready-made shop-bought.

Christmas pud

The traditional Christmas pudding is quite easy to adapt to a vegan one – full of dried fruits, Christmas spices and booze there are only really a couple of ingredients you need to swap – the suet and any dairy product. The vegan society has a great recipe on their website that is definitely worth a look. This can be served with brandy butter which can be made using vegan margarine, icing sugar and alcohol.

Whatever you serve, Christmas, more than ever this year, will be about spending as much quality time as possible with your nearest and dearest.

Ideas for a fun and alternative Christmas dining table

Pineapple with Christmas baubles hanging off leaves next to two starfish with Christmas hats

One of the main events of Christmas day is the feast we sit down to eat with our nearest and dearest. It’s never too early to start thinking about table decorations!

Long gone are the days of limited options – just a candle in the middle and a Christmas cracker each! So in this blog we look at slightly alternative ways and put a few ideas out there to decorate the table!

….It no longer has to be just candles, tinsel and baubles!

If you don’t have a wooden sideboard or a handy big extendable table to place dishes of food on you will need to consider how you are going to dish up food – you don’t want a large dining table that is so full of decorations that you have nowhere to put the serving dishes, nor do you want your decorations too high and not be able to see and engage with those on the other side of the table.

A reclaimed wood dining table already gives you a superb base to start with – the tabletop will have gorgeous natural undulations in the wood, start with a table runner in your chosen colour, perfect for along the middle. Then you can decide what mood you want to set for your Christmas dinner – modern, rustic, alternative…..

A rustic dining table lends itself perfectly to rustic style decorations – dried orange slices, cinnamon sticks, cones, a twig wreath and some candles would be a simple, stylish and eco-friendly way to style your table. If you have other items of reclaimed wood furniture, such as a reclaimed wood sideboard, then again you can decorate these items by making or buying small arrangements and also hanging fairy lights on them.

Plants in pots and small hints of Christmas may be all you want to see on your dining table!

Less is more – just a simple festive Santa cutlery holder for your cutlery and a cleverly folded napkin is fun yet elegant, add a natural fir wreath as a centrepiece and your table can be good to go.

A pendant ceiling light is great hanging over your dining table but a candle or two give the table some atmosphere and create a more magical and dreamy setting. However, candles are not always a great idea if little hands might be reaching over to pull crackers or to get more food. This is where you can add fairy lights to your table decor. These can stay here throughout the festive period to give your table a child-friendly cosy and warm glow during every meal.

Are you dreaming of a white Christmas dining table?

Bright white Christmas dining table with white plates

We are now into December (at last!) and you would be forgiven if you wanted to start decorating your home much earlier than usual to bring in some Christmas cheer!

This is a time of year when a more cluttered look is completely acceptable. We thought we would look at a happy medium – get your decorations up in the kitchen or dining room but in a more subtle and sophisticated way with a white dining table giving the base colour.

White and gold

The classic Christmas combination – sophisticated and luxurious. It’s always a winner to decorate a dining room with a touch of gold for a celebratory sit-down feast but bringing in white just brightens it up some more. This scheme is perfect if you have a white dining table with a natural reclaimed wood tabletop like our stunning Hoxton oak farmhouse table. You can bring in just a little gold to warm up and blend with the white, you can use an antique gold for a more rustic / farmhouse feel.

White and silver

Set a sleek frosty scene in your dining room by combining white and silver. The Dorset white extending dining table is the perfect rustic dining table if you entertain many, keep your room light and airy by adding white dining chairs and possibly a bench with a furry throw so you can get your guests to squeeze up a little when needed!

White and pastels

We just love how this mantlepiece has been dressed in white and pastel pink. This idea would transfer beautifully to rustic furniture or even a kitchen display unit, with a coordinating centerpiece on a Worcester white round dining table or a kitchen breakfast table. Baby blue and teal are also more modern colours to consider if you are looking for a more modern Christmas vibe.

White and red

Red is the ultimate Christmas colour, warm, bold, positive and energetic red is definitely a firm favourite. With a white reclaimed wood dining table, like the Worcester, and a crisp white table cloth, the red will really pop and give your dining space a warm traditional feel without being too dark and cluttered. You can bring in some of the more modern or rustic table decorations available now if you want to move away from the standard baubles and tinsel.

Why opt for a spider leg dining table for Christmas?

Close up of Christmas dining table with small pine wreath and decanter and glass of red wine

This Christmas is shaping up to be a little different for most of us but here we look at why a spider leg table is a great longer-term investment for your home.

Wooden dining table decorated with christmas decorations and wooden sign spelling family

The main bonus of course of a spider leg table is that the legs are not at the corners of the dining table, making it perfect if you entertain a lot and like to get a few extra around the table….without people banging their knees into the table legs. It’s also easier to slide onto a dining bench or sit down into the end dining chairs without the table legs in the way, there’s also more space to slot in an extra chair or two when needed, ideal for future large family celebrations.

A big bonus is of course, that they just look so superbly stylish! The three we are featuring in this blog have eye-catching industrial style spider legs.

An industrial dining table is an incredibly popular choice right now – they lend themselves to many interior styles – you can reinforce the industrial look by coordinating with an industrial sideboard, pair your spider leg table with other reclaimed wood furniture items, soften the industrial lines with a rustic cottage interior theme or elevate to luxury with rich and sumptuously padded fabric dining chairs.

Close up of wooden dining table with thick black metal spider leg, tan leather dining chairs and grey faux leather bench with back

Photo featuring: Rocco Industrial Rustic Oak Spider Leg Dining Table

The Rocco

This gorgeous oak dining table is definitely for the style and quality conscious. The sustainably sourced solid oak used for the tabletop is finished with a light / natural oil lacquered finish. This rustic dining table top showcases the natural beauty of solid oak and is chamfered in to give it a streamlined profile. Style this rectangular table with wooden chairs and an upholstered bench – using a bench again will allow you to make the most of the additional seating space…. you can get more people onto a dining bench as opposed to chairs.

Oval industrial oak dining table with black spider leg and grey velvet dining chairs

Photo featuring: Sussex Oak Parquet Industrial Oval Dining Table

The Sussex Parquet

This table is definitely in a class of its own. Not only does it feature the stylish and practical spider leg but the tabletop has been crafted in an eye-catching parquet design. An oval table makes a family meal or a Christmas dinner party a more intimate event as you can look across to other diners more easily. Without corners, it will also give the impression of taking up less space in the room. This classy table is sure to be a talking point among your dinner guests, especially if you pair it with sophisticated and exquisitely comfortable velvet chairs. Here we have paired it with the soft grey Bladon chair to soften the elevate the industrial look and add a touch of luxury.

The Mitcham

This is another rectangular table with a spider leg – the finish on this is a little darker than on the Rocco and the tabletop has a straight edge. The gorgeous natural wood finish is still there though, the same as on the Rocco. As you can see in the image we have paired it up with chairs and a dining bench from the industrially influenced Cleo faux leather range.

Photo featuring: Mitcham Industrial Oak Spider Leg Dining Table

So, when you are purchasing a new dining table and want something that is as practical as it is stylish you really should think about the benefits of choosing a spider leg table. These oak tables are beautifully made and will give you many years of comfortable dining pleasure.

Magical dried flowers with floral artist Bex Partridge

Women looking down and holding dried honesty pod flowers

We speak with the lovely Bex Partridge, dried floral artist, author, Instagram favourite and founder of Botanical Tales, to find out more about the craft of drying flowers and how to display them in your home.

Dried flowers and grasses have been one of the biggest interior hits for 2020 and it’s easy to see why. Everlasting, low maintenance and sustainable, dried bouquets and wreaths are more muted, calmer and homely than fresh blooms, bringing with them a sense of comfort and lasting beauty in what has been an uncertain year.

Hi Bex! Tell us where your love of dried flowers came from?

My love for dried flowers comes from a sustainability perspective as well as one of beauty. Whilst I adore fresh flowers, I truly believe dried flowers can offer just as much, if not more, and have the ability to take us through the dark months of winter with one eye on the wonder that is nature.

Brown vase with bouquet of dried flowers in front of window

I’ve always been a gardener and lover of the natural world for as long as I can remember, hugely inspired by my Oma and mum who are both avid gardeners. My move into the artistic world came about very organically as I spent more and more time working with dried flowers and found I wanted to spend less and less time working in an office on things that didn’t excite me. I took the plunge to start my business two years ago and haven’t looked back since.

My work focusses on the full life cycle of flowers, which sees me growing drying and creating with blooms and foliage. I am passionate about growing for the whole of nature rather than just for our pleasure and take a holistic approach to my gardening.

What are the best flowers for creating a dried display?

I like to use more traditional everlastings such as statice, acrolinium and helichrysum. These flowers have petals that are almost papery to the touch before they are dried and tend to dry the best and retain the most colour. These are perfect flowers to start with when it comes to working with dried flowers.

How easy is it to dry flowers?

The easiest way by far is to simply hang them upside down in a dry, cool place. A cupboard under the stairs or even an airing cupboard work well, or if your space is limited then you can create a floral mobile by hanging a few bunches or heads of flowers from a forage stick, it will make a beautiful textural addition to a room.

What dried flowers go well together?

This is really dependent on what you are wanting to create. I always try to ensure I have a good mix of textures and tones when I’m making a display of any kind. You want to ensure you have dried material that has flow, so lots of grasses mixed with more structural flowers for example.

How do we care for dried flowers so they keep that faded, rustic beauty, rather than looking dusty?

The main things to ensure are that they are kept out of direct sunlight, that they are not allowed to get damp and if kept on display that they may need a clean occasionally. A hairdryer works well for this, simply set the hairdryer to the lowest, coolest setting and gently blow the flowers clean of any dust.

Large dried flower art installation against exposed brick wall

What is your favourite flower and why?

This is an impossible question to answer! It changes greatly depending on the seasons and to be honest, my mood sometimes. Right now I am loving all the autumn colours and so foliage is stealing my heart, but come spring, it will be the crinkly petals of a dried tulip!

What type of centrepiece would you use to decorate a reclaimed wood dining table this Christmas?

I would focus on filling a rustic dining table or reclaimed sideboard with seasonal foliage that will last a few weeks. The greens of the evergreen trees will contrast beautifully with the natural grain of the wood and lends itself to the Christmas period. Honesty seedpods in all their silvery glory will add a touch of sophistication to the display and to take it a step further, rosehips and old mans beard (clematis) would all work beautifully.

What other ways can we use dried flowers to decorate our homes this Christmas?

In the past I have used left over heads of strawflowers in reds and whites to decorate my foraged Christmas tree. Just wrap wire or twine around the short stems and loop around branches. A gnarly branch coated in lichen can be hung from the wall and decorations hung from it as an alternative to a Christmas tree. I love a pared down Christmas when it comes to styling, lots of foliage and velvet ribbons.

For more dried flower inspiration, see @botanical_tales or Bex’s book, Everlastings, now available on Amazon. If you’re interested in learning about dried flowers, Botanical Tales run online tutorials. Visit its website to find out more.

All images by Bex Partridge

How to go green this Thanksgiving

Happy thanksgiving in wooden blogs on rustic wood with scattering of acorns

Traditionally an all American celebration but we, across the pond, are now starting to see it as the start of the final countdown to Christmas. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving Thursday, is generally the day when our American cousins start their Christmas shopping and when all the high street and online stores start their Christmas gift promotion sales. The origins of Thanksgiving are thought to date back to 1621 when it started as a 3-day festival to celebrate the harvest and other blessings of the past year.

As with many celebrations, it has all become a bit over-commercialised and “disposable”. If you’re having a Thanksgiving celebration, discover here how to give it a more environmentally conscious meaning – with some principles that you can carry over to your Christmas dining table and maybe even some good, long-lasting habits.

Industrial reclaimed wood dining table with velvet dining chairs

Photo featuring: Kingsbridge Industrial Reclaimed Oak Dining Table

A reclaimed wood dining table is a great start, this will give you a great foundation for your sustainable Thanksgiving celebration, consider an extendable table if you like to entertain a lot. Although celebrations may be a bit more subdued than normal this year, a wooden bench is a great way to fit more people around your table for years to come. Not only that but they are also right on trend and look gorgeous dressed with cushions to sit on or a small throw. Start a sustainable theme in your home now and beyond, and invest in reclaimed wood furniture next time you need to replace a piece of furniture.

Close up on various squash and pumpkins on rustic dining table

Keep the look rustic with your table decorations – use gourds rather than plastic or throwaway decorations – these will give your rustic table an earthy look and will be completely in keeping with the time of year and the harvest origins of the celebration. Think also about decorating other pieces in your dining space, such as a reclaimed wood sideboard.

Napkin with bunch of dried berries tied with string and tag saying Thankful

There are many ways to incorporate nature into your table setting – autumnal leaves and twigs in a vase look great. The beauty of natural decorations is that they can be easily sourced outside and are fully compostable when finished with.

Even for large gatherings, you don’t need tonnes of different serving dishes. This is another area that you can purchase a few good quality versatile dishes that will work as well for your autumnal Thanksgiving table setting as they will for a summer barbecue. Table linen is another area where you can embrace sustainability, use a crisp white linen table cloth and add a runner and linen napkins in one or two coordinating earthy colours – this will give your table a much more polished feel than cheap throwaway serviettes.

Fruit and vegetables displayed on rustic table and baskets in a farm shop

Try to purchase locally grown organic food from farm shops – this will help support local small businesses and have less impact on the environment as very few chemicals are used in growing organic crops. This is, after all, a celebration of the local harvest! You can also extend this to the drinks you serve by purchasing local or organic wine in recycled glass bottles and avoiding soft drinks in plastic bottles. Try to reduce food waste. Many of us hugely overestimate how much food we need to put on the table so make a little less food. You can also ask your dinner guests if they want to take any leftover food home with them…. to save it just ending up in the bin. Any biodegradable food waste and vegetable pairings can be composted.

Learn about interior lighting from Scandinavian design

Open plan living/dining room with wrap around floor to ceiling window

Scandinavian design can teach us a lot when we are looking at how to brighten our homes. It’s an integral part of home design in the Nordic countries where the days are short and the nights are long throughout the winter months.

Go natural

Scandinavian interior design and natural materials go hand in hand. This is why reclaimed wood furniture is the perfect way to furnish your room if you’re seeking Scandinavian furniture. Choose furniture with a light and natural finish – the natural colour of the wood and its homely feel will bring plenty of warmth into your room. Think pale wood or white dining table for your dining space, put it in a bright spot in your dining area to give plenty of natural daylight when you sit at it. Above, you can see how the Chelwood Medium Reclaimed Wood Dining Table almost blends into the white walls.

Light and bright

Scandi design is all about white walls, minimal, clutter-free and windows that allow plenty of natural light in. Get your lighting right – you don’t want glaring white lights on all day and all night – warm, cosy lighting and layered lighting is what you want to achieve. Ideally, you should have the option to have bright lights when needed and dimmer lighting for cosy nights in front of the wood burner. An accent colour is also a great way to add a bit of brightness and warmth to a space, a bold coloured velvet armchair can bring a real pop of colour to the room.

Photo featuring: Chelwood Reclaimed Wood Bookcase

Clean lines

During the winter months, the Scandinavians spend a lot of time inside – this is why uncluttered and functional spaces are preferred…rather than feeling hemmed in with too many things lying around. Furniture should not be fussy, instead, clean lines and strikingly elegant design is what is called for. Open shelving or a ladder bookcase would work well in a Scandi design – the openness does not break up the space the same way as a closed-in wood bookcase would – but of course, it’s not to be cluttered!

Eco-friendly

Scandinavian furniture was born out of a need to use the materials that were readily available with an emphasis on nothing goes to waste, this is where the eco-friendly and sustainable element originates from. This mindset still exists today in home building and interior decor. Where possible go for bamboo or jute lampshades, reclaimed wood furniture, such as a rustic coffee table, or a wooden floor with rugs made from natural fibres. Bring some nature into the room in the shape of houseplants, which will also help to brighten the room during winter months.

An outside room

To really embrace the Nordic culture in your home design you should have an outdoor seating area that you can continue to use during the colder months. Warm-up weatherproof seating with faux fur throws, cushions and some blankets to wrap around you. A wood fire pit will turn a cold and dark outside space into a warm spot with a flickering natural flame to watch as well as illuminating the space….it will be a place you will want to spend as much time as possible.