It doesn’t matter if you are decorating a single room or a whole house; you’ll need to find a decorating style that not only works for your home but also you. Each style forces you to focus in on your likes and dislikes and to learn all of the necessary elements which help you achieve your dream home. After all, it is your home. Why shouldn’t you express your very unique taste? One style that is making a remarkable comeback in this line of thinking is the Arts and Crafts style.

The Arts and Crafts style of the 20th century was steeped in a shift in the ethics of the time and its style shows it. This style emphasizes the beauty of design created around function and utility instead of simple ornamentation. Trademarks of this design style include fine craftsmanship instead of a mass-produced look and the use of indigenous woods and metals for hardware. Here are just a few ways you can start to decorate your home in this Arts and Crafts style:

• Close your eyes because your about to take a step back in time. Read up and become familiar with names such as William Morris, Gustav Stickley, Dick Van Erp, and CFA Voysey. They were masters of their trade during the Arts and Crafts decorative era. You’ll be studying up on their works to find inspiration for truly creative ideas to decorating furniture, wall decorating, textile ideas and lighting.

• Do a little preparation with how you will be designing your color palate. For an earthy and warm feeling, the natural and subdued tones from the Middle Ages work best. Dusty rose, sapphire blue, mossy green, deep red and burnished brown colors add a touch of contrast to an ivory or cream.

• Find some wallpaper with either a Gothic or Oriental motifs and hang it in the rooms you want. Large scale designs with repeated pattern wallpaper are tell tale marks of an Arts and Crafts décor style. Use a wooden chair rail to separate the wall with groove board and wainscoting on the lower half.

• Choose a hardwood floor with either long boards or parquet squares. Polish or stain them a using a distinctly dark color. For an entrance hall, stone is perfect. Simple and subdued colors work wonders in a bathroom. High traffic kitchens would be hard pressed to find a design that works better than linoleum with geometric designs.

This step might be the most difficult only because it will require you to go shopping at a bunch of different place to find the perfect pieces of furniture which matches the look you are trying to attain. If you can find a bookcase or cabinet, then more than likely it will be considered to be a traditional built-in, which was the style back then. Chairs should have broad backs with arms set far apart. They can also be rectangular in shape trimmed with leather straps or copper and upside down hearts. When it comes to your bedroom, nothing but a four poster bed is acceptable.

Time to add the lighting. You really can’t go wring with a beautiful tiffany style stained glass lamp which will glow softly against the hammered copper patina base. Decorate all throughout your house using sconces and various table lamps throughout.

Now for the finishing touches. Start by adding fruit baskets, stoneware, pottery, jugs, and goblets. In an Arts and Crafts style, pewter, copper, iron, bronze, and silver are almost used exclusively. Some hanging pictures of pastoral and country scenes add a nice flair.