The weathered, pre-distressed look has been making the rounds for awhile now, and from a glance at the red carpet it’s not going away anytime soon. Whether it’s torn jeans, frayed coats, or scuffed boots, distressed styles bring out a vintage, old-world feel, and homewares are no different. Guild Master is an acclaimed manufacturer in the pre-weathered market, offering a broad variety of hand-carved wooden designs that focus on vintage European motifs. Best of all, Guild Master is dedicated to ethically sourced materials and business practices, meaning you can feel good about where your furniture comes from.
A Colorful Idea
Accent chairs are a great way to give your decor little lift. A combination of revival Rococo and Renaissance styles and available in an alternate color palette, this Vagabond Bench will add a touch of stylish whimsy to your living room. The lack of arms gives it less of a rigid feeling than most antique style chairs, but it isn’t as cumbersome or space-hogging as a couch. The word ‘vintage’ quite possibly conjures images of the faded and the drab, but Guild Master’s collection is evidence that this doesn’t have to be true. They use a combination of colors and motifs, many of which call to mind the color palettes of Renaissance-era art.
Unfinished but Fully Realized
When you think mahogony you probably imagine dark wood–huge stately desks and glossy wardrobes, the heavy headboards of a four-poster bed. But mahogony’s natural color is actually a pale brownish-gold, and it is well-loved for its strength and durability. Guild Master uses quality Indonesian mahogony in its furniture, and this cream-finished armoire would look great in a smaller bedroom, or a room that doesn’t get much natural light. The weathered, unfinished look brings to mind workshops and artist studios, and falls firmly in the category of shabby-chic. And a single glance through a catalog would affirm that creams and beiges are this season’s colors.
Fresh Takes on Old Standbys
The wingback chair is a classic, with its straight back and low arms. Typically I would associate this type of chairs with formal parlors and old-fashioned libraries, but Guild Master has taken a classic and reimagined it. Bamboo is an ancient and multipurpose building material, and has long been esteemed for its high ratio of strength to weight. On this chair its slender shape allows for a delicate lattice without giving up any durability. Available in a variety of colors and supplied with a pair of oyster fabric cushions, this is a wingback for a new generation.
Six Legs, No Waiting
This table comes from Guild Master’s Artifacts collection, and it certainly lives up to the name. Made from mahogony and capped with a grey finish, this table is yet another instance of rethinking and reusing old styles together to create something totally new. The reeded, double-twist, and Adam-style legs are all iconic and well-known, but I’m willing to bet you’ve never seen them all together before! With its tempered glass top and multicolored stains, this table would add a bit of flair to a beach house, or a particularly funky vintage living room.
Keeping It Green
As a company, Guild Master has expressed a deep interest in making sure any mark they leave on the world is a positive one. They are members of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, and offer support and donations to several orphanages in Indonesia and China, the countries where their factories are located. They are doing their best to take a stand against deforestation, a serious problem in the furniture trade, and are responsible for a tree-planting initiative in Indonesia. They are experimenting with water-based varnishes in order to lower the amount of harmful chemicals their workers are exposed to.
Guild Master’s pieces are sturdy, trendy, and ethically sourced. So if you’re looking to bring a little vintage flair into your life and your decor, look no further.
