You can choose a range of different styles of unpainted furniture. Mission style furnishings have seen resurgence in popularity recently. If you cannot afford a genuine Stickley, there are plenty of reproduction pieces available.
Why is mission furniture so popular? This style was developed by a group of Americans who were followers of the Art and Craft movement in the UK. Gustav Stickley is probably the most famous craftsman of this time. Original pieces of his work sell for thousands today although he went bankrupt while he was alive as his style went out of fashion.
Stickley and his contemporaries were fed up of both the elaborate furnishings favored by the Victorian era and the poor quality furniture being mass produced during the Industrial Revolution. They wanted a return to real craftsmanship where every piece produced was a testament of the skills of the craftsman.
They produced functional but beautiful furniture made with simple lines. They primarily used American oak but also some Cherry. The pieces were designed to last so that they could be transferred from one member of a family to the next generation. American Oak is white wood but when used by the Mission craftsmen, it was often died a darker color by fuming it with Ammonia.
Mission style reproduction pieces come in all types of furnishings from bedrooms to dining tables, the mission blanket storage box to chairs. You will learn to recognize the style from the flat legs and linear lines.
If the Mission style is too plain for you, you will find that most bare furniture stores will stock pieces in a variety of styles and woods. If you have a larger property, a beautiful scroll table with cabriolet legs will set off your dining room. You may also fancy a four poster bed for the main bedroom. When buying unpainted furniture you will find that your dollars will stretch that little bit further!
No comments:
Post a Comment