Defining Mountain Style
From the Early Spring 2004 Issue
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It’s rugged. It’s massive. It’s hard to resist.
And when it comes to furniture, mountain style speaks a language all its own. A language more and more Southern homeowners have come to understand as a new high in form, function and good looks. With a bonus: long-term, almost-indestructible beauty in a relaxed, easy-going attitude.



Here’s the yardstick from Sandra White, director of marketing at Virginia’s Vaughan Furniture Company, which recently launched the Orvis Home collection with the outdoor gear-and-clothing manufacturer of the same name:

This handsome family room fits the profile of high country homes with its décor centered around this strong-lined Eddie Bauer/Lane oxblood leather sofa.

“Casual and comfortable are the keys to success in modern mountain homes,” she says. “If a room can’t survive the dogs and the grandchildren, it isn’t working.”

The Roots: Today’s mountain style is a reflection of rural mountain life from generations past but interpreted for the modern world in something Orvis calls “distinctive country living.” Collections are often inspired by the period styles found in old farmhouses and antiques stores. Some are copied from old English designs. Some are throwbacks to original creations by mountain craftsmen who emphasized clean lines and simplicity.

The Designs: Generally big pieces in semi-stark execution.
Since early craftsmen often lacked the training to produce delicate work, detailing is kept to a minimum with such features as turned carvings and beaded glass. Beds are heavy and high, often finished in natural tones, and chairs and sofas follow the same pattern. In a more fun-loving mood, however, collectors have a wide variety of choices in glass-fronted display cabinets, tables and accent pieces, sometimes set off with animal or nature images.

The Alternate: Styles from the Arts and Crafts movement, notable for its stress on simplicity and natural beauty, are equally at ease in today’s mountain settings. Begun in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and executed today in the Arcadian Home Collection by Bernhardt, these pieces blend natural elements such as leather and carved wood for easy styling and contrast, and utilize metal in creative and unexpected accents, such as a lightly pitted metal strapping with antique pewter finishes on the base of trestle tables.


Fishermen aren’t the only ones who’ll enjoy this spirited specimen-adorned painted mirror, also
part of the Vaughan/Orvis collaboration.


The Materials: Strong, traditional woods, including pine, mahogany and oak with distressed finishes and hardware in a more masculine tone. Mountain laurel and cane work as accents or once-in-a-while major pieces and even stone can sometimes be incorporated as an inlay.

The Fabrics: Remember the rule is nothing fancy. Leathers make the list of top choices but forget brocades or anything delicate. Better selections: earth tones, bold plaids and nubby, non-fussy fabrics.

The Setting: As Sandra White notes, “The ‘good bones’ of architecture go a long way in providing a low-maintenance background for items that may be nostalgic but never seem to be living in the past. Still the focal point of any mountain home is the fireplace, the area around which we gather for warmth of body and soul. Large great rooms that center around the fireplace provide the ambiance that draws people together.”

The Overall Effect: “It’s a cozy, warm nested feeling because of the ‘cold’ mountains,” according to Paula Melton of Lane Furniture, which produced the new Eddie Bauer Home collection with a heavy accent on casual-living favorites. “The product category of rustic oak was not only a void in our line but was also underserved in the marketplace. With today’s low interest rates, many baby boomers have recently purchased second homes and have been looking for this type of furniture to fill it. Since this style is also synonymous with Eddie Bauer, our partnership was a natural marriage with two names consumers can relate to.”

--Norma Lugar

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