Devoted to preserving and promoting the ideals of great design, prairiemod.com is the brainchild of Lisa Kelly, her husband, Bryan, and her brother, Eric O'Malley. Room & Board furniture is often featured on their blog, so we asked them what they think sets us apart.

"It's wonderful to see Room & Board continuing to focus on craft and authentic, handmade designs. These days it seems like old school is the new school. Creating products with less waste, quality construction and natural materials—those are the ideals that shaped all the best American design movements. It takes more to make things this way, but it's worth the wait and the investment.

"Traditional, mid-century, modern—many people think you can't mix them together. But when you hone in on common elements from a range of styles—beautiful wood, clean design—it works, because it's a reflection of what's important to you.

"It's not the style. It's doing it with style."