Room Board Style Guide

Room and Board furniture

Defining what makes up the Room and Board home decor style is a little more challenging than others as they mix quite a few staples together, culminating in an eclectic modern version of home decor that is heavy in natural materials and clean-cut designs. The influence comes from five core design movements:

• American Arts & Crafts - emphasized straight lines, natural woods, and carefully crafted details.
• Japanese - focuses on intricate details, functional design, and natural materials.
• Modern & Mid-century Modern - clean lines.
• Scandinavian - tapers legs.
• Shaker - perfectly proportioned pieces of form and function.

All of these movements share the tenets of timeless design foundations such as utilizing straightforward organic forms and celebrating natural materials. This is what has defined a Room and Board home style guide for the past 40 years. The words to best summarize the Room and Board look and Room and Board furniture are:

• Beautiful
• Functional
• Practical
• Simple
• Timeless

Room and Board’s Embrace of Arts & Crafts Design

One of the cornerstones of the Room and Board aesthetic, Arts & Crafts decor highlights:

• Handmade details
• Natural woods
• Right angle and straight line forms

This decor style came as a direct backlash to the ornate and overly detailed themes of the Victorian era. It focused on bringing home decor back to the basics, utilizing handmade crafting, and creating functional furniture that was available for all. Room and Board appreciate this honest approach to home decor and share the timeless values of these types of furniture designs. Some examples of this style can be seen in their:

• Walsh extension tables - inspired by classic farm-style tables, these pieces are honed in natural woods, have strong angular lines, and visible joinery details.
• Mills dressers and nightstands - also display clean lines and detailed craftsmanship in using natural woods; the look comes off as a warmer version of modern decor.
• Berkeley beds, dressers, nightstands - this line is an ideal example of the craftsmanship that made up the American Arts & Crafts movement. Exquisite woods rendered in pieces with strong lines.

Room and Board’s Embrace of Japanese Design

Another one of the cornerstones of the Room and Board aesthetic comes from the influence of Japanese design aesthetics. For thousands of years, Japanese artisans used wood to hone their artistic crafts and turn furniture design into woodworking mastery. The highlights of this style include:

• Celebration of nature.
• Mixture of function and beauty.
• Visible joinery details. - Besides being beautiful, good joinery was essential for durable furniture that needed to last a long time

Some examples of this style can be seen in Room and Board furniture pieces such as:

• Anton dresser - has that arresting detail of visible joinery which of course is not only beautiful but also adds to the durability of the furniture piece.
• Moro collection - a perfect example of the merging of function and beauty, one of the essential components of Japanese design. Natural wood, elegant functional details.
• Chilton table - organic designs which honor the unique character of each piece of wood so no two pieces are exactly alike. More visible joints in the live edge and butterfly styles are found.
• Art accents - to add the final touches to a Room and Board Japanese-influenced space, an art element in the same style works perfectly. Room and Board presents many objects from Japanese artists, including the Adashino hanging flower baskets and original art from Ayomi Yoshida.

Room and Board’s Embrace of Modern Design

• Invest in well-made pieces with a trend-proof aesthetic.
• Consider furniture with clean lines that easily complement other design styles.
• Embrace the warmth of natural materials.

Room and Board’s take on modern furniture has been one of embracing the elements of practical, timeless, and comfortable. It’s about creating a home that focuses on simplicity and function. This modern stylized theme comes from several components.

• Inspired Design Movements - Room and Board furniture finds inspiration from all the enduring design movements we have listed here, including the Bauhaus and Mid-century Modern eras. While the foundations are set in these elements, there is also room for contemporary growth and additional modern inspiration to be included.
• Classic - clean lines, functional furniture, and quality materials will forever be timeless elements of good furniture design. Classic means not following trends but rather updating your fundamental pieces with a contemporary twist that adapts to style over time.
• Quality - Long lasting exceptional items of quality also stand as one of the cornerstones of Room and Board furniture.
• Sustainable - with more than 90% of Room and Board furniture pieces being made in America, the company feels strongly about reducing environmental effects. Much of the wood and natural steel is also sourced within the U.S.

Room and Board’s Embrace of Scandinavian Style

The bedrock of Room and Board’s look: Scandinavian style, which is defined by:

• Light finishes
• Natural materials
• Organic forms
• Purposeful design
• Spatial minimalism
• Timeless appeal

Some examples of this classic style with a modern twist can be seen in Room and Board furniture pieces such as:

• Anton bed, dressers, and nightstands - simple and clean, allowing the craftsmanship and domestically sourced solid wood to speak for itself.
• Evan dining chairs - light and lovely with a solid dash of comfort made in silky wood and relaxing cushioning.
• Jonas lounge chair - a study in Nordic design in smooth sanded wood. This satiny finish is topped with modern details of blind tufts and is contoured for comfort.
• Lane floor lamp - inspired by the long thin legs and arms of this style, you can feel the movement of this lamp. A fabric-wrapped cord shows how no detail goes unnoticed.
• Ventura table - meticulous attention to detail is found in every edge of this table, finding no sharp corners, excess material, or space. Simply a sleek, traditional design.

Room and Board’s Embrace of Shaker Design

“Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.”— Shaker rule of thumb

Room and Board have taken this Shaker quote to heart displaying it in their showrooms across the country. Shaker style is known for:

• Fine craftsmanship
• Functionality
• Simple lines

Often referred to as the first minimalists, Shakers designed their buildings and furniture around the principle of neatness. Their timeless aesthetic inspired modernists. Here are a few examples of Shaker style as interpreted by Room and Board.

• Adams collection - West Virginia artisans craft each piece from solid wood turned them into pieces of modern elegance.
• Hopkins chairs - one of the classic Shaker elements, this ladder back design pairs well with any table. Made from domestically sourced ash wood, these pieces emphasize the durability of American craft.
• Spike multiple wall hooks - hanging wooden peg rails all around their rooms, Shakers would use these hooks to hold everything from their chairs to candle holders. The Room and Board modern version is a classic Shaker accent addition.