Adirondack Style

Adirondack Style - made famous by more than the easily recognizable Adirondack Chair - is, in essence, building in harmony with the natural surroundings.

The back-to-nature approach, which originally lured tourists to the Adirondack wilderness in the early 1900s, influenced design and architecture, inspiring craftsmen to produce homes, furnishings and interior accessories that incorporated materials native to the surrounding area.

Adirondack architecture was originally used to design and build "Great Camps" in the early 1900s. These camps, owned by wealthy industrialists, continue to dot the shores of many of the 3,000 lakes and ponds in the region.

When it came time to furnish the Great Camps, it quickly became evident that dainty antiques and delicate fabrics looked simply inappropriate within the bold and rugged lines of buildings fabricated from trees, bark, uncut stone, and moss. The "back to nature" approach, which had lured these wilderness tourists, soon influenced their sense of design, inspiring them to seek furnishings that also incorporated native materials from the surrounding area.

Rustic, natural, rugged, and earthy characterized the distinctive shape and feel of this new trend in decor that, by 1910, was nationally recognized as "Adirondack" style. Today, the Adirondack Park still contains 85% of all wilderness land in the United States and local craftspeople continue to design in the rustic "Adirondack style," selling furniture and accessories across the United States.