Home Interior Decoration

When we come to English furniture, I think we all take heart of grace a little, for there is something about its sturdiness that seems to appeal to our American sense of appropriateness. By inheritance we have more of the English point of view about the standards of life and living and we seem to settle down with more comfort in a house furnished in any one of the English periods than we do with any of the other great styles.

The English Renaissance is often called the age of oak, and all through the long years of its slow development this oaken bond, so to speak, gave it a certain unity which makes it possible to use much of the furniture of its different divisions together. There are many fine reproductions made of the Tudor and Elizabethan times, but from the early Stuart days, the time of James I onward, good reproductions become more plentiful. This does not mean, however, that one is safe in buying anything called Jacobean or Queen Anne or Georgian. One must still be careful and go armed with as much knowledge as possible. For instance, do not buy any Tudor, Elizabethan, Jacobean, or Charles II furniture made of mahogany or with a high polish. Do not buy any with finicky or delicate brass handles. This may seem an unnecessary warning, but I have seen dainty oval Hepplewhite handles used on a heavy Jacobean chest. This does not happen often, but a word to the wise—. The handles which were used were some times of iron and sometimes of brass, often with a little design etched on them, and the drop handles were either oblong or round rings, or pear- or tear-shaped drops with either a round or oblong plate. H-hinges of iron were used. Chairs of the time of James I, which are much like those of Louis XIII in France, were square and strong with plain or spiral turned legs, and stretchers, and had seats and half backs covered with needlework, leather, velvet, or damask. They would make very comfortable dining chairs and would harmonize with sturdy gate-legged tables, or the long narrow tables which show the influence of Elizabeth’s time in the carved drum or acorn-like bulbs of the legs. A court-cupboard would make a beautiful sideboard, and one of the long tables spoken of above would make an appropriate serving-table. Carved chests, and screens covered with leather or needlework, may be used in rooms of this kind, and for modern comfort one may add stuffed chairs and sofas if the proper materials for coverings are chosen. There are some very fine copies made of old needlework of different kinds and also of damasks and other stuffs. One must have the right background for all this, oak paneled walls and tapestry and plain or figured velvet or damask hangings. There are also some finely designed heavy linens which are correct to use.

The furniture of Cromwell’s time was much like that of the time of James I and Charles I, but was simplified wherever possible. There were no pomps and vanities in those stern days.

When Charles II came to the throne, there was a reaction against Puritan gloom which showed in the furniture being of a more elaborate design. Chair backs were high and narrow with carved and pierced panels of wood, or carved backs with cane panels, and the carved front rail carried out the feeling and balanced the carved top rail. The crown and rose and shell were used, supported by cherubs and opposed S curves. The illustration opposite page 65 will give a very good idea of the general style. Upholstery was also used, and day-beds and high-boys made their appearance. The chests of earlier days became chests of drawers. Rooms were paneled in oak, and much beautiful tapestry was used. Walnut began to take the place of oak in the later days of Charles II and those of James II, and introduced the age of walnut which lasted through the reigns of William and Mary and Queen Anne.

The furniture of the early days of William and Mary was much like that of the time of Charles II. The chair backs remained high and narrow, but the carving slowly grew simpler and the caning at last went entirely across the back. Many of the early chairs had three carved splats or balusters in the back, and a feature which added greatly to comfort was the slight curve the backs were given instead of the perfectly straight backs of Jacobean days. Dutch influence at least conquered the old style, and the more characteristic furniture of William and Mary was made. A rather elaborate form of the cabriole leg was used, ending in a species of hoof with a scroll-like stretcher between the front legs and curved stretchers connecting all four legs. The cabriole leg became simpler as time passed until in the days of Queen Mary it became the one we all know so well in the Dutch chairs and the early work of Chippendale.

These copies of rare old pieces of furniture are of the best. The choice of wood, the carving, the inlay, all show the highest ideals. The Chinese Chippendale table shows the pagoda effect, and the Hepplewhite desk has the charm of a secret drawer.

There was much beautiful marquetry used; in fact it is a marked characteristic of much of the furniture of William and Mary. After she died in 1694, the white jasmine flower and green leaves were not used so much, and the sea-weed pattern and acanthus became more popular.

An exceptionally fine reproduction of a Sheraton chest of drawers.

The walnut used in this adaptation of the William and Mary period is very fine. Shaving-glasses were used throughout the eighteenth century.

The cup-and-ball design of turned legs with curved stretchers was used for chairs, settees, tables, cabinets. China cupboards with their double-hooded tops and soft colored brocade linings were used to display the wonderful china collections so much in vogue. There was much upholstered furniture covered with beautiful petit-point, which is perfectly reproduced nowadays, but is naturally expensive. Silks, velvets, and damasks were also used, and Queen Mary had a “beautiful chintz bed.”

The handles used were of various kinds, the favorite being the drop from a round or star-shaped boss. The furniture was beautifully polished but did not have a bright gloss.

When Anne came to the throne in 1702, the English cabinet maker had became an expert craftsman, and we have the beginning of the finest period of English cabinet-making, which later, in the Georgian period, blossomed into its full glory. The furniture of this time was of walnut. The chairs had a narrow, fairly high back, with a central splat spoon-shaped and later fiddle-shaped. The corners of the back were always rounded. The cabriole legs were often carved with a shell on the knees, the acanthus being used in the more elaborate pieces of furniture, and ended chiefly in a club foot. Stretchers became less common, but if they were used were pushed back and did not form such an important part of the chair design. Seats were broader at the front than at the back, and all furniture showed a real desire for comfort and convenience. Marquetry and lacquer were both in great favor, and there are wonderful examples of both reproduced, but especially lacquer. Petit-point, damask, velvet, and chintz were all used for upholstery and hangings. Chintz was becoming more plentiful, but it was not until the Georgian period that it reached its perfection.