Renovating
Decorating
7 Ways Traditional Crafts Can Elevate a Home
Sometimes, the well-honed skills of a carpenter, metalworker or ceramic artist are the key to lifting a project
Functional elements such as layout are essential for making a home renovation work practically for your household, but it’s those well-crafted details that can add real character and warmth. If you’re thinking of enhancing your home with some traditional craftsmanship, take a look at these ideas for inspiration.
2. Ask a skilled cabinet-maker to craft your kitchen
Everything about this open-plan kitchen and dining room has been carefully crafted. The owners were inspired by the light, harmonious aesthetic found in Japanese design and wanted to recreate that feeling in their home.
They hired Howard and Hugh Miller of H Miller Bros, who used traditional skills to design a kitchen informed by Japanese carpentry.
The legs of the island are built using the ancient Japanese measurement known as 寸 (pronounced ‘sun’), while a chevron pattern at the base of the British elm cabinets is repeated throughout the space. These and other examples of fine craftsmanship have helped to create a rather special room for the owners.
Take a look around this beautifully crafted space.
More: What Happens When You Hire a Carpenter, Joiner or Cabinet-maker?
Everything about this open-plan kitchen and dining room has been carefully crafted. The owners were inspired by the light, harmonious aesthetic found in Japanese design and wanted to recreate that feeling in their home.
They hired Howard and Hugh Miller of H Miller Bros, who used traditional skills to design a kitchen informed by Japanese carpentry.
The legs of the island are built using the ancient Japanese measurement known as 寸 (pronounced ‘sun’), while a chevron pattern at the base of the British elm cabinets is repeated throughout the space. These and other examples of fine craftsmanship have helped to create a rather special room for the owners.
Take a look around this beautifully crafted space.
More: What Happens When You Hire a Carpenter, Joiner or Cabinet-maker?
3. Extend sensitively by paying attention to brickwork
It’s important to ensure a new extension sits comfortably alongside the original building, and this is even more crucial when you’re renovating an older property.
When extending this Arts and Crafts house, it was important to Tom Wild of Helyer Davies Architects that the brickwork retained the same look as the original house.
He worked with local craftspeople to recreate the English bond and herringbone brickwork using reclaimed brick, most of it from the existing house.
“It took quite a lot of time to trial different mortar mixes to get the right tone that matched the old house,” Tom says. “Things were done a little slower, but they were done right first time.”
Discover more about this period extension where attention to detail paid off.
It’s important to ensure a new extension sits comfortably alongside the original building, and this is even more crucial when you’re renovating an older property.
When extending this Arts and Crafts house, it was important to Tom Wild of Helyer Davies Architects that the brickwork retained the same look as the original house.
He worked with local craftspeople to recreate the English bond and herringbone brickwork using reclaimed brick, most of it from the existing house.
“It took quite a lot of time to trial different mortar mixes to get the right tone that matched the old house,” Tom says. “Things were done a little slower, but they were done right first time.”
Discover more about this period extension where attention to detail paid off.
4. Add a feature with some ceramic art
The artwork on this room’s chimney breast serves more than one purpose: it adds interest to the awkward area and helps to connect the home to its surroundings.
“My client wanted to do something with this fireplace, but we felt that a picture wouldn’t do it justice,” Celine Erlam of Indie & Co says. “We commissioned a local ceramicist to make this installation. It shows the changing seasons of the nearby heath.”
The ceramic installation, by Kaori Tatebayashi, is now a central feature in the room.
Visit the rest of this serene space with a stylish home office.
The artwork on this room’s chimney breast serves more than one purpose: it adds interest to the awkward area and helps to connect the home to its surroundings.
“My client wanted to do something with this fireplace, but we felt that a picture wouldn’t do it justice,” Celine Erlam of Indie & Co says. “We commissioned a local ceramicist to make this installation. It shows the changing seasons of the nearby heath.”
The ceramic installation, by Kaori Tatebayashi, is now a central feature in the room.
Visit the rest of this serene space with a stylish home office.
5. Turn standard storage into a gorgeous feature
Here’s another use of craftsmanship by Celine Erlam of Indie & Co, but this time one that combines style and functionality.
The owners wanted a wine rack that would hold plenty of bottles, so Celine commissioned her joiner to make something special from elm. The result is a practical piece of storage that also helps to make the room look beautiful.
Take a tour of this calm, minimal home.
Here’s another use of craftsmanship by Celine Erlam of Indie & Co, but this time one that combines style and functionality.
The owners wanted a wine rack that would hold plenty of bottles, so Celine commissioned her joiner to make something special from elm. The result is a practical piece of storage that also helps to make the room look beautiful.
Take a tour of this calm, minimal home.
6. Commission some decorative stonework
A chimney on the extension of this Grade II-listed building provided a good opportunity to add some craftsmanship. James Chapman of OB Architecture commissioned the skilled team at Lambs Bricks & Stone to create a decorative stone panel.
The panel features a motif that was taken from the home’s main staircase and has been reinterpreted as a large-scale, CNC stone-cut pattern that helps to link the new extension to the original building.
See how this kitchen extension totally transformed the period home.
A chimney on the extension of this Grade II-listed building provided a good opportunity to add some craftsmanship. James Chapman of OB Architecture commissioned the skilled team at Lambs Bricks & Stone to create a decorative stone panel.
The panel features a motif that was taken from the home’s main staircase and has been reinterpreted as a large-scale, CNC stone-cut pattern that helps to link the new extension to the original building.
See how this kitchen extension totally transformed the period home.
7. Employ an upholsterer to revive old furniture
Vintage items that tell a story can be key to injecting personality and character into a home, but a shabby chair or sofa won’t really cut the mustard. That’s why it’s useful to have the details of a skilled upholsterer in your contacts list.
The owners of this apartment had lots of vintage artwork and furniture, so designer Nicky Percival based her scheme around these pieces. She ensured everything was in tip-top condition to give the whole flat a fresh feel and had this old armchair skilfully reupholstered in durable corduroy.
Tour more rooms in this Art Deco flat.
Tell us…
Would you consider hiring the skills of a craftsperson to elevate your home? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Vintage items that tell a story can be key to injecting personality and character into a home, but a shabby chair or sofa won’t really cut the mustard. That’s why it’s useful to have the details of a skilled upholsterer in your contacts list.
The owners of this apartment had lots of vintage artwork and furniture, so designer Nicky Percival based her scheme around these pieces. She ensured everything was in tip-top condition to give the whole flat a fresh feel and had this old armchair skilfully reupholstered in durable corduroy.
Tour more rooms in this Art Deco flat.
Tell us…
Would you consider hiring the skills of a craftsperson to elevate your home? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
The staircase in this 1930s home gives an immediate clue that there’s a well-designed house beyond the hallway. Sophie van Winden of Owl Design could have opted for a standard balustrade, but instead commissioned a local metalworker to create something altogether more striking.
The skilled artisan formed a design that fits in perfectly with the midcentury theme of the house. Geometric shapes complement the patterned stair runner and align with the carefully placed artwork on the walls.
See more of this 1930s home with midcentury touches.
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