Returning to Rustic Roots With Darla Worden
A look inside the Rustic Issue + a few things our Editor is loving
Iconic shapes of cabins, barns and silos built from stones, logs and hand-hewn beams all inform rustic style. Each fall we celebrate its many forms—often combining historical materials with modern amenities—and this issue has become one of our readers’ favorites.
Ernest Thompson’s hand-crafted furniture has an heirloom quality about it.
In Utah, homeowners and their design team reassembled a Dutch barn from New York’s Hudson Valley on a site overlooking a river and surrounded by mountains. Miller Roodell Architects connected past and present with a stairway sporting a modern steel rail.
When homeowner Anne Cook approached the design of her family’s new home in Aspen’s Roaring Fork Club, she wanted to evoke the feeling of a Snowmass cabin where she’d vacationed since childhood—yet in a structure lighter and brighter than traditional log-and-chink, without losing the historical Western references.
Historic photo from Goldberg Brothers, in Denver. Once, the company created film reels; it has since pivoted to produce modern residential barn-door hardware.
A home in Jackson uses rustic exterior elements to appear as if it has always been on the land; however, inside, the homeowners take a more modern approach with steel and other contemporary finishes. Artisanal additions like hand-blown glass pendants add a touch of rustic luxe.
Hillary Munro at home in Jackson.
We also look at a different kind of roots—plant-style. Vertical Harvest in Jackson provides jobs and fresh, locally grown produce for the community. Meanwhile, Hillary Munro pens her “Dispatch” column from Jackson and talks about growing her own produce—enough to feed her family through the seasons.
Log cabin style at Montana’s Cliff Ranch.
“Modern life with social media and constant connection is here to stay, but blending this electronic world with a simpler way of life is how I’m raising my family,” Munro says.
I appreciate Munro’s approach. I’m all for looking back on simpler living—just as long as we don’t bring back the fax machine.
Darla Worden
Editor in Chief
