For some, the phrase “rustic style” suggests a house like “La Pitchoune,” the late chef Julia Child’s cottage in Provence, with its exposed wooden beams and well-worn antique furniture. For others, rustic furnishings and decor prompt images of a place like the Lake Placid Lodge in Upstate New York, with its stone fireplaces and knotty pine paneling. Indeed, rustic furniture design takes many forms: twig furniture, a plank trestle table, a hand-stitched quilt, a chandelier made of deer antlers.
The rustic style originated in the late 1800s in England, where it was heavily influenced by Romanticism. By the 20th century, it had spread to the United States, adopted by wealthy New Yorkers and the National Park Service alike. Although there are many categories of rustic furniture, one of the most popular and familiar manifestations of the style is Adirondack furniture and the low-slung 1903 Thomas Lee Adirondack chair.
Rustic design is perhaps mostly about texture and humble materials: hand-hewn reclaimed wood, woven rush seating, wrought iron, coarse stone and weathered metal. As a decor, it exudes warmth and honesty, while a single piece of countrified design adds an intriguing visual counterpoint in a sleek, modern environment.
Easily identifiable by its rough textures, earthy colors and natural materials, rustic wares help bring the beauty of the outdoors inside.
As you can see on 1stDibs, vintage rustic chairs, dining tables and other pieces of rustic furniture offer endless inspiration.
Early 19th Century Rustic Giltwood Mirrors, Hand-Carved, Italy, Pair
Located in Malibu, CA
Early 19th Century rustic giltwood antique Italian mirrors: a pair Hand carved giltwood surrounds the mirror in mosaic with small, embedded mirror & elaborate carving. New lower pri...
Giltwood, Mirror
Antique 19th Century French Whitewashed Pine Boiserie Trumeau
Located in Dallas, TX
This Antique 19th Century French Whitewashed Pine Boiserie Trumeau was reclaimed from the boiserie of a French château, giving it both architectural presence and authentic history. H...
Mirror, Pine
$1,312Sale Price|20% Off
Rare Italian Furniture Ebonized, with Original Mirror and Carvings
Located in Buggiano, IT
Rare Italian furniture from 1880, ebonized, with original mirror and carvings. Flower holder at the bottom. The cabinet was at the entrance of a larg...
Beech, Fir
19th Century French Louis XVI Style Trumeau Mirror
Located in Houston, TX
19th century French Louis XVI style trumeau mirror. Stunning large 19th century French Louis XVI style painted and giltwood trumeau mirror. This fabulous full-length Neoclassical st...
Giltwood, Wood
$887
H 72.05 in W 22.45 in D 1.97 in
Mirror With Frame Made In Mahogany & Carvings, Denmark From 1880s
Located in Lejre, DK
This mirror, crafted from hand-polished mahogany and adorned with intricate carvings, originates from Denmark and dates back to around the 1880s. It is a remarkable example of late 1...
Mahogany
$22,950Sale Price|46% Off
H 96 in W 58 in D 6.5 in
French 19th Century Louis XV Style Carved Giltwood & Gesso Trumeau Cherub Mirror
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A very fine and palatial French 19th century Louis XV style carved giltwood and gesso figural beveled mirror frame trumeau. The arched plate within a main...
Mirror, Gesso, Giltwood
$12,000
H 48.75 in W 64.25 in D 4.25 in
19th Century Italian Neoclassic Giltwood Wall Mirror with Glass Panels
Located in Queens, NY
Italian Neoclassic-style (19th Century) carved giltwood wall mirror with black and gold decorated reverse glass panels with urns, griffins, and lyre designs. One glass panel is crac...
Gold Leaf
Early 19th Century Gold Gilt Swedish Trumeau Mirror
Located in Round Top, TX
Lovely narrow gold gilt trumeau mirror with carved ribbon design crowning the upper top, carved trim, beaded detail and more. Beautiful shades of gold, blue/teal (upper section), and...
Mirror, Wood, Paint
$6,800
H 88.625 in W 55.375 in D 2 in
Large Antique French White Painted Trumeau Boiserie Mirror, Circa 1870
Located in Dallas, TX
Trumeau boiserie mirrors, such as this painted white offering from France, were designed to be placed on a wall in between two windows. The motifs and color palettes of these mirrors would often match the surrounding paneling. Based on the size (seven+ feet tall and over four and a half feet wide), our mirror would have been hung in a large room such as a salon. The inclusion of a floral latticework with canted upper corners that are topped by volute leaves indicates this mirror is in the style of the Regence Period. Also of note is the large foliate medallion that surmounts the lattice, flanked by C-scrolls that seamlessly transition into floral margents; these are traits of the Rococo style that emerged during the reign of the Regent. The shaped glass pane is surrounded by a border of beading set inside thick, protruding molding adorned with foliage. Our white trumeau mirror...
Glass, Mirror, Stucco, Wood
French 19th Century Trumeau with Original Mirror Glass
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
This large 19th century French trumeau mirror is quite elegant, pared down to minimal decorative carvings that suggest a Louis XVI influence. A gilded crest in the center of the frie...
Mirror, Hardwood, Paint
Antique French Verte Peinte Trumeau Mirror, 19th Century
Located in Houston, TX
French Verte Peinte Trumeau Mirror, 19th c., the restrained moulded top over romantic scene painting of couple, ebonized moulded surround with lamb's tongue and beaded liners, lower ...
Mirror, Wood, Paint
19th Century French Painted Trumeau Mirror
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
Large scale 19th Century French trumeau mirror in later paint. Original paint and gilding.
Wood
19th Century Small Empire Giltwood Trumeau Mirror with Painting
Located in Doylestown, PA
Unique 19th century Empire giltwood trumeau wall mirror with an original painted landscape on top, circa 1850. The tranquil scene in the manner of Hungarian landscape painter, Karoly...
Mirror, Giltwood
$15,625
H 92 in W 49 in D 1.75 in
19th Century French Empire Trumeau Mirror, Pine & Giltwood, Restored
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A magnificent early 19th-century French Empire trumeau mirror, elegantly patinated in a deep forest green and delicately accented with soft grey and gilded detailing. This exceptiona...
Pine, Giltwood
19th Century French Trumeau
Located in Charlottesville, VA
A French trumeau with an upper painted panel depicting a pastoral figural scene above a rectangular mirror plate. The composition is set within an ornate gilt gesso frame in a period...
Wood, Giltwood, Paint
French 19th Century Fruitwood Trumeau
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
This attractive fruitwood trumeau was crafted in France, circa 1850. The vibrant patina and inset brass banding beautifully compliment each other. The original mercury mirror plate f...
Brass
Large Over Mantle Mirror, France, Mid-19th Century
Located in New York, NY
Lovely patina comprised of original paint and faint remnants of gilt work, which reveal the wood texture below. Original antique mirror has a wonderful patina as well. Large, strong ...
Mirror, Hardwood