The Arts and Crafts movement emerged out of Great Britain as a reaction to the mass produced furniture of the Victorian era. Since many crafts people were put out of work due factories replacing the cottage industries, the emphasis of Arts Crafts furniture was on the use of natural materials and handcrafted furnishings. Other common elements were exposed joinery and the use of local or native woods.

Today, the Arts and Crafts interior design principles are still popular because of their clean lines and simple profiles. The Arts Crafts style can be especially effective in a dining room, where a tranquil atmosphere is conducive to enhancing the quality time spent with sharing a meal with family or friends.

Designing the Room

Since natural materials and traditional woodworking techniques are stressed, to create an Arts and Crafts dining room, start with neutrals such as ivory, gray or taupe or natural shades like sage, forest green, sand, browns, golds, bronze and berry tones as paint or wallpaper color for the walls.

The same colors can be used for seat fabrics and window treatments. If you choose dining chairs that are upholstered, consider adding texture to the room by selecting leather or nubby fabrics like cotton and wool.

Lighting for an Arts and Crafts style dining will reflect the rectilinear forms so closely associated with this style of furniture. Lines will be uncomplicated. The glass of the light fixture is typically opaque and in a soft white or cream with iron or bronze accents and/or hardware.

As with the window treatments, area rugs should be made of natural materials, especially wool and cotton. Colors reflect those found in nature.

Selecting the Furniture

As mentioned above, furnishing have simple profiles and rectilinear lines and with exposed joinery. They are also practical and functional, with minimal decorative detail. Furniture pieces are made from native woods like oak and pine and tend to be compact and can include space-saving features like concealed drawers or compartments. Finishes will be matte (very little sheen) or distressed.

The dining table with an Arts Crafts style will possess a distinctive, handcrafted look.

Hardware is typically “chunky” and oversized, but with simple lines. The back plates of door handles and drawer pulls tend to be rectangular rather than square. Plain iron rings or wood knobs are popular choices for door pulls.

Legs on chairs and case goods tend to be straight or angled.

Buffets, sideboards or dining tabletops sometimes include organic elements such as stone accents or ceramic tiles; again reflecting what is available locally.

The overall look and appearance of Arts and Crafts dining room furniture and interior design is calming and esthetically pleasing. Decoration is kept to a minimum and each piece is crafted with a specific purpose in mind. Over a century after the Arts and Crafts movement first emerged, this style is experiencing a revival of sorts. Elements of Arts Crafts design are being reinterpreted into a contemporary context to produce furniture that is ultra-functional and beautiful, but which is also rooted in more traditional woodworking ethic that creates furniture that deserves to be passed from generation to generation.