Everywhere you look, whether it’s Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook or your favourite HGTV show, you see the latest trend in furniture, home décor and decorative finishes. It is sometimes difficult to differentiate what is mass produced or what is authentically hand crafted by some of the most talented people in the world. It’s also a daunting task to know what you’re getting when you order your product if it’s fancy photography, an immaculately photo shopped edit or the real piece raw and unaltered.
So, What is authenticity to you?
Picture yourself reading that really great book. Now imagine yourself by a fire in your favourite chair surrounded by painted drywall and an MDF mantle… extend your hand a touch that wall. What do you feel? It’s not cozy, It’s not warm and it’s not real. There is no life, no tangible connection that you feel through your finger tips. When you think of authentic, do think of the cold smooth plaster? Probably not. You think of comfort, honest, real and textured. Now, let’s go back to that book and your favourite chair sitting by the fire with a wood paneled wall beside you. Now put your book down and reach out to that wall covered in history. Feel the grains, growth rings, age and natural energy coming through your finger tips. That’s it, that is authenticity and your one second re-connection to the world. You can touch, feel and smell the history of each piece of wood, it’s the same feeling you get when you’re walking barefoot in fresh green grass. You can’t put the feeling into words.
Why is it then that we have become so enamored with having real wood again in our homes? For one we are all connected to latest updates of our favourite designers and two, it takes us back to a feeling we had when we weren’t so disconnected from each other, from reality and nature. Whether you grew up in rural Alberta, the suburbs or right in the heart of the city, you go back to that place, much like you do when you hear an old song.
No matter the size of your home, adding a little or substantial amount of rustic works into that special spot can help give your home that exclusive feeling of the simpler things in life and giving sanctuary some much needed soul.
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