Home Furnishings Ideas

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Designer furniture is furniture that has been designed by a company or an individual to be very fashionable and contemporary in style. It is sometimes custom made furniture and usually made from the best materials. Because designer furniture is very stylish and made very well, it is usually pricier than mass-produced furniture.

Some people are under the impression that designer furniture is expensive and uncomfortable but this is not the case. Admittedly sometimes pieces are uncomfortable and overpriced but most are designed with functionality as well as style in mind and most are fairly priced.

Throughout history there have been notable furniture designers that have made outstanding creations that are still very sought after.

An example of one such person is Charles Rennie Mackintosh. He was a Scottish designer and part of the Arts and Crafts movement. He is well known for his striking chairs with high backs. These were designed for the Argyll Street Tea Room. A more modern furniture designer is Terence Conran who started the company Habitat.

A company well known for furniture design is Knoll. Their famous tulip chair, by Eero Saarinen was designed in the 1950′s but is still very much in demand today. It is made from aluminium and moulded fibreglass reinforced plastic and can be customised with a choice of coloured seat pads. The simple design is beautiful. They are also famous for the Barcelona Chair by Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe. This was designed in 1929 but has been widely copied since the 1960′s.

The designers of today could one day be as famous so it pays to look after any pieces you buy.

When you look to buy designer furniture you obviously need to make sure that you are buying the genuine article so look for makers marks. Also look at the the materials used and quality of the workmanship.

If you are looking to make an investment in the hope that it will rise in value, make sure that you research the designer you are interested in and see how the value of their furniture has changed over the years. Also look at how well known they are compared to what potential you think they have. Buying the work of a young design graduate before they make the big time can be a great way to net you a bargain.

If you are purchasing designer furniture make sure that you really like the piece because they don’t always go up in value.

Designer furniture is great because it leads the way and the High Street follows. It is crafted from quality materials. If you love quality goods and fashionable design then this type of furniture could be just for you.

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• Mission or Craftsman tables were plain, simple, and solidly built. Devoid of ornamentation, they were an American interpretation of English Arts and Crafts furniture. William Morris, one of the founders of the movement, felt that furniture fell into two categories: state furniture, “sideboards, cabinets, and the like, which we have quite as much for beauty’s sake as for use,” and daily furniture, which included “chairs, dining and working tables and the like, the necessary work-a-day furniture.” He felt that daily furniture should be “simple to the last degree; nay, if it were rough I should like it better.” This precept had a profound effect on American designers.
• Danish furniture has become synonymous with contemporary furniture over the last several decades. Some of the most elegant modern furniture on the market today is of Danish design. Not only do people associate the classic modern lines and look of this furniture with Danish craftsmanship but the general quality of this furniture makes it one of the most popular styles of furniture on the market today. And, this popularity is showing no signs whatsoever of fading.
• Danish chairs are perhaps the most comfortably designed chairs in the world. If you haven’t had the good fortune to sit in one, you should really try one out the very next chance you get. In fact you may never want to sit in another chair again. Danish furniture makers have for a long time been famous for the sleek contemporary look of their furniture. They are however, becoming equally famous for the unsurpassed comfort of their furniture.
• Art deco decorating is an art form unto itself. The beauty of art deco is based on lines, shapes, and colors – and having an eye and appreciation for the craft will help you with your own art deco decorating tasks. The key to art deco decorating is paying attention to light, angles, colors, and finding the perfect complimentary furniture.

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Electric light, although valued for its usefulness, seemed harsh and unnatural to Arts and Crafts designers. To tone down the glare and create a soft, subtle light, they used a wide variety of materials to shade the bulbs. The results were lamps of great beauty. Unlike earlier shades, Arts and Crafts shades were designed to throw light downward into the room or onto the table. This not only increased the useful light in the room but also allowed heat generated by the light bulb to escape more easily, so a greater range of materials could be used for the shade.

Incandescent bulbs were covered with shades made of stained glass, mica, or colored blown glass, all of which satisfactorily softened their glaring light. Shades were also made of linen, silk, and heavy parchment. Mica, a transparent or subtly colored mineral that naturally occurs in thin layers, was highly valued for shades. Shards of mica layered with shellac were often placed in a frame of copper, which gave the shade its shape. The mica, in tones of palest ivory through amber, softly filtered electric light and cast a golden glow over rooms. Dirk Van Erp was famous for his mica shades, which are valuable objects today.

Stained glass was also a favorite material used to shade Craftsman style lamps. From the simple cone-shaped shades of the Roycrofters to the curving forms designed by Tiffany, stained glass was valued both the soft glow it imparted and the motifs it could express. Handel Company lamps are particularly prized by collectors of Craftsman style lamps.

Frosted glass was also popular. Gustav Stickley designed hanging fixtures like lanterns in his Craftsman Workshop. They were elegantly simple frosted glass tubes set in hammered copper frames and suspended on matching chains. This simple design is a classic choice today.

The bases of Craftsman style lamps were as beautiful as the shades. Many materials were used to make the bases for table lighting, including quartersawn oak, walnut, or mahogany; art pottery and leaded glass; and metal such as wrought iron or beaten copper and bronze. Teco Pottery, in Terra Cotta, Illinois, was famous for the architectural shapes of its art pottery, and it used the same aesthetic in designing lamp bases. A Teco lamp is a prized possession for collectors.

Arts and Crafts architects designed interiors as well as exteriors, using one inspirational theme to unify all elements of a design. The motif would be repeated, perhaps with some variation of form, in the lamps and shades as well. Frank Lloyd Wright invented the indirect alcove lighting so popular in modern construction. The frosted glass globes suspended in wooden frames created a bright band over windows or built-in furniture. Greene and Greene designed a lantern of wood and stained glass in shades of amber, caramel, gold, and green that repeated the cloud motif they used as a unifying theme throughout the house. It hung over the dining table and could be raised or lowered with a system of pulleys.

Harsh electric light was forced to conform to the values of simplicity and naturalness with a great variety of beautifully designed Craftsman style lamps.

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• The Craftsman bungalow is a particularly American version of the bungalows found at the English seaside, which itself originated in India. The one-story thatch-roofed native houses in the province of Bengal were called “banggolo” or “bangla.” British colonists adapted these houses for use as summer homes, adding deep verandas to shelter themselves from the sun. The kitchens, dining room, bedrooms, and bathrooms were arranged around central living rooms. This efficient plan was adopted by American architects. Bungalows exemplify structural simplicity, efficient use of space, and understated style.
• The Craftsman style home has been an American classic for over a century. These houses are characterized by the use of natural materials, an emphasis on structural form, and the integration of interior and exterior spaces. Their open floor plan prefigured the ‘ranch’ houses so popular in the second half of the 20th century.
• American’s spend more than a billion dollars each year on Mexican rustic furniture and art. The combination of natural materials, exquisite craftsmanship, cheap prices, and (with America being so close to the Mexican border) the ease of transport make this southwestern rustic look a very likely choice for many Americans. Perhaps one of the reasons that Mexican furniture is appealing to Americans now more than ever is the creative use of color and texture to achieve the artistic look that the furniture has.
• In a Craftsman house, the design of the house and the interior decoration are considered together, two parts of the same whole. Architects designed interiors as well as houses. Gustav Stickley, Greene and Greene, and Frank Lloyd Wright all created interiors that were as carefully thought-out as the buildings they designed. Some of these wonderful Craftsman houses still survive – but even if you aren’t lucky enough to own one, you can still have a Craftsman style interior in your home.
• Admired for its simplicity and directness, Craftsman architecture is experiencing a resurgence of popularity today, more than a hundred years after its beginnings. Like the architecture of the Arts and Crafts movement in Europe, it relied on readily available native materials and reflected the historical influence of the builder. Architects sought to harmonize the structure with the site, blurring the line between interior and exterior. New ideas about health encouraged outdoor living on terraces and porches.

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Greene and Greene are credited with developing bungalow style. The houses they built in California in the early 1900s were influenced by the austere beauty of Japanese houses as well as the tenets of the Arts and Crafts movement. Their houses were widely publicized in magazines and received enthusiastically by the growing middle class. Soon a flood of pattern books made plans for the Craftsman bungalow available across the country. By 1920, the bungalow had become the common builder’s house throughout America.

The Craftsman bungalow has many variations in style, but it is usually a one or one-and-a-half story house with a low-pitched, gabled roof. The roof usually extends to cover a large porch, and a small gable shelters the front door. The rafter tails are ordinarily exposed. Porch columns can be made of wood or stone. They are large and square, resting on pedestals that rise out of the foundation and also function as endposts for the porch railings. The foundations are often built from local stone, blending earth and house in a way much admired by the Arts and Crafts movement. The Craftsman bungalow is characterized by the use of natural materials, an emphasis on structural form, and the integration of interior and exterior spaces.

The windows of a Craftsman bungalow are carefully proportioned to harmonize with the lines of the house. Typically, they are outlined with wood molding. Four-over-1 or 6-over-1 sash windows are the most common, although leaded diamond shapes or other geometric patterns are also common. Stained-glass motifs were sometimes included in the design.

Inside, the most distinctive element of the Craftsman bungalow is the use of wood. Walls are paneled, floorboards are polished, and ceiling timbers are exposed. The grain and color of the natural wood is part of the beauty of the style. Local materials are favored here as well; depending on the area in which the house is located, cedar, oak, fir, or mahogany may be used. California bungalows display redwood doors and paneling, and cypress wainscotting is found in the Southwest. Eastern bungalows are often paneled in chestnut, since it was oversupplied when the chestnut blight swept through the forests.

The Arts and Crafts ethic is also expressed in the interior layout of the Craftsman bungalow. The large, relaxing front porch replaces the formal entry hall, and the front door opens directly into the living room. Interior space is free-flowing, with the living room open to the dining room. Communal space, rather than private space, was desirable.

As beautiful as it is practical, the Craftsman bungalow is still a desirable style for Americans.

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• The Craftsman style home has been an American classic for over a century. These houses are characterized by the use of natural materials, an emphasis on structural form, and the integration of interior and exterior spaces. Their open floor plan prefigured the ‘ranch’ houses so popular in the second half of the 20th century.
• In a Craftsman house, the design of the house and the interior decoration are considered together, two parts of the same whole. Architects designed interiors as well as houses. Gustav Stickley, Greene and Greene, and Frank Lloyd Wright all created interiors that were as carefully thought-out as the buildings they designed. Some of these wonderful Craftsman houses still survive – but even if you aren’t lucky enough to own one, you can still have a Craftsman style interior in your home.
• Mission or Craftsman tables were plain, simple, and solidly built. Devoid of ornamentation, they were an American interpretation of English Arts and Crafts furniture. William Morris, one of the founders of the movement, felt that furniture fell into two categories: state furniture, “sideboards, cabinets, and the like, which we have quite as much for beauty’s sake as for use,” and daily furniture, which included “chairs, dining and working tables and the like, the necessary work-a-day furniture.” He felt that daily furniture should be “simple to the last degree; nay, if it were rough I should like it better.” This precept had a profound effect on American designers.
• Mission or Craftsman style furniture is the American version of Arts and Crafts furniture. It has a distinctive organic appeal that makes it popular today, a hundred years after its introduction.
• The beauty and durability of this wood make unfinished oak furniture a popular choice. Oak is a very hard, open-grain wood. Red oak, which has a slightly pinkish cast before finishing, is slightly more popular than white oak. Both varieties accept stain well. Oak was the favorite wood of early English craftsmen, and it was a prized building and furniture-making material for American colonists. The wood most commonly used for ready-to-finish furniture is oak.

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American Arts and Crafts furniture was in general plainer and more austere than English and European furniture influenced by the movement. Architects like Greene and Greene or Frank Lloyd Wright often designed furniture to harmonize with the houses they built. Most Mission furniture employed exposed mortise-and-tenon joinery, solid rectilinear forms, and native woods. Pieces were sometimes inset with simple metal or wood ornamentation.

Strictly speaking, only tables designed by Gustav Stickley and produced in his Craftsman Workshop can be called Craftsman tables. His deceptively simple tables are in fact masterpieces of design. He displayed his first Craftsman table in the Grand Rapids Furniture Exposition of 1900, and also advertised it that year in Chicago newspapers. From 1904 to 1916 he published The Craftsman magazine, which not only popularized the new style but also gave plans for building his furniture.

Stickley preferred to work with red or white oak, quarter sawn to enhance the beauty of the grain. This is sometimes called “tiger-stripe” oak because of its wavy grain pattern. The boards are cut from the log perpendicular to the growth rings. This sawing method makes for a dimensionally stable board that’s resistant to the warping and width changes caused by changes in humidity.

Stickley also fumed his oak furniture, further enhancing the grain. The process involved setting up tents of very heavy canvas. The furniture was placed inside the tent. Vats of ammonia were wheeled in and uncovered, and the tents were tightly sealed. The ammonia gas reacted with the tannin in the oak, changing the color of the wood from a pale yellow to a beautiful warm brown. Afterward, the piece could be shellacked and polished.

Like other designers, Stickley used exposed mortise-and-tenon construction for his Craftsman tables. The legs were usually straight and held together with stretchers. Sometimes a corbel supported a tabletop, and side slats were often included.

The legs of Stickley’s tables were unusual. The distinctive grain of quarter-sawn oak is only displayed on two sides of a board. A solid table leg, therefore, would show beautiful grain on only two sides, while the other two would be plain. Some artisans solved the problem by covering the flatsawn faces with quartersawn veneer. Stickley, however, made each table leg from four trapezoid pieces, with the quartersawn face on the long side of the board and the two adjacent sides angled at 45 degrees. When the four pieces were fitted together, a solid-looking leg with four quartersawn faces resulted.

Stickley was a remarkable designer, a man who combined the artistic vision needed to imagine his distinctive furniture with the expert craftsmanship necessary to create it. His Craftsman tables are as beautiful today as they were when he made them.

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• Mission or Craftsman style furniture is the American version of Arts and Crafts furniture. It has a distinctive organic appeal that makes it popular today, a hundred years after its introduction.
• Craftsman style is a distinctively American version of the international Arts and Crafts style. The Arts and Crafts movement, though remembered for its distinctive architecture and interior design, originated in social and political philosophy. By the mid-nineteenth century, a strong reaction to the Industrial Revolution – and the corresponding excesses of Victorian taste – was developing. Critics such as Pugin, Crane, and Ruskin looked back to the tradition of medieval guilds, and embraced the ideal of objects made “for the people and by the people, and a source of pleasure to the maker and the user.”
• The Craftsman bungalow is a particularly American version of the bungalows found at the English seaside, which itself originated in India. The one-story thatch-roofed native houses in the province of Bengal were called “banggolo” or “bangla.” British colonists adapted these houses for use as summer homes, adding deep verandas to shelter themselves from the sun. The kitchens, dining room, bedrooms, and bathrooms were arranged around central living rooms. This efficient plan was adopted by American architects. Bungalows exemplify structural simplicity, efficient use of space, and understated style.
• The beauty and durability of this wood make unfinished oak furniture a popular choice. Oak is a very hard, open-grain wood. Red oak, which has a slightly pinkish cast before finishing, is slightly more popular than white oak. Both varieties accept stain well. Oak was the favorite wood of early English craftsmen, and it was a prized building and furniture-making material for American colonists. The wood most commonly used for ready-to-finish furniture is oak.
• Admired for its simplicity and directness, Craftsman architecture is experiencing a resurgence of popularity today, more than a hundred years after its beginnings. Like the architecture of the Arts and Crafts movement in Europe, it relied on readily available native materials and reflected the historical influence of the builder. Architects sought to harmonize the structure with the site, blurring the line between interior and exterior. New ideas about health encouraged outdoor living on terraces and porches.

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Before you set out to purchase your hardware there are a few terms you should become familiar with. When finding the correct size of reproduction drawer pulls the term “boring size” refers to the measurement from the center of one hole to the center of the other from which the pulls are attached to the drawer. Different types of drawer pulls are measured depending on their style. Those pulls attached by two small round circular bases will have sizing refer to the width of each of the washer’s diameter. A reproduction drawer pull with a full back plate will be measured by the dimensions of the plate.

Style is an important factor when choosing your reproduction drawer pulls, since you will probably be aiming to recreate a certain period’s décor. For a Victorian theme brass pulls work well, usually with ornate detailing on the face plate of the drawer pull. Try a flower motif or a Greek inspired design to add a touch of class to your drawer fronts. Glass knobs of various colors are also available but if you’re looking for a truly elegant style the pendant-like drop pulls are an excellent choice.

Cast iron reproduction drawer pulls fit well in the Arts and Crafts style of décor. Look for drawer pulls that are black and have a very simple, rustic design. Brass can also work for this style but pay close attention to the detailing on the face plate. Too intricate a design will end up looking more Victorian than Arts and Crafts. If you want to play it safe stick with a plain wooden drawer pull and stain it the same color as the drawer fronts, or black for a contrasting look.

To install your drawer pulls you must first take into consideration the distance between the two mounting screws. If you are replacing an existing pull try and purchase reproduction drawer pulls that are the same sizes and will utilize the same holes when being mounted. Also, be aware that when purchasing your drawer pulls, especially from the Internet, some dealers get their supplies from Europe and, therefore, will list measurements in centimeters instead of inches. Be sure you know whether the measurements you’re looking at are imperial or metric to ensure you get the right sizing.

Choosing the right drawer pulls might take a little forethought and research but if you’re aiming for a certain style the extra work will be well worth it. Know your period décor styles and double check those measurements and you can make any drawer front look amazing with the right reproduction drawer pulls.

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• In a kitchen or bathroom, adding rustic door hardware is a great way to add a rustic touch without going to a great amount of expense or hassle. Rustic door knobs and drawer pulls can be found at almost any hardware stores in many different shapes, sizes, colors, and styles. There are almost as many drawer pulls and door handles on the market as one person could possibly imagine, if not a few more than most people can imagine.
• When decorating in a specific period style, adding the correct type of reproduction lighting puts the finishing touches on a room. With many styles from various time periods to choose from it pays to do a little homework to make sure you choose the right lighting.
• Using reproduction cabinet hardware can give existing cabinets a makeover or put the finishing touches on a handcrafted piece of furniture. Reproduction hardware comes in a variety of styles from Victorian to Modern with many variations in between.
• With the dawn of mankind came the dawn of art. Through the millennia, we’ve found ourselves with baroque and Grecian styles, Victorian and impressionist. Modern Style, the style of shape and lines, is a minimalist style – and it is still very popular to this day.

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Arts and Crafts houses had many windows, partly to admit light and partly because changing ideas about health meant that fresh air, once considered unhealthy, was welcomed into the house. The classic form was 4-over-1 or 6-over-1 sash windows, although there was considerable variation. Elongated window proportions were typical of this style and the pairing of an upper sash bearing small rectangular panes with a tall, single-paned lower sash was common.

Glass doors opened onto porches that could be used as living and sleeping spaces in good weather. Even solid doors were likely to be flanked by window panels. Window glass was essential to Craftsman lighting.

Windows were often left undressed in Arts and Crafts interiors, especially when the glass was ornamented with stained glass sections or leaded panes. Dard Hunter created an arched window with leaded panes and a stylized tulip in stained glass for Roycroft that is still greatly admired. Frank Lloyd Wright’s leaded and stained glass windows were designed to complement his architecture internally and externally. Where window dressings were required, they were very plain. In 1905 the traverse rod was invented to easily draw black drapes and admit sunshine, and it was widely used for natural Craftsman lighting.

The jeweled tones of Craftsman lighting were provided by electric lights during evening hours. Because designers considered incandescent harsh and glaring, they used a variety of shades to soften the glare. Transparent shades were crafted from stained glass, mica, frosted glass, or colored blown glass. These shades were often designed to harmonize with the inspirational theme that, repeated in various ways, unified the interior design. The same motif could be repeated in the stained glass of the window and the stained glass of a lampshade, as well as in textiles or painted friezes.

Mica, a transparent or subtly colored mineral that naturally occurs in thin layers, was highly valued for shades. Shards of mica layered with shellac were placed in a worked metal frame that gave the shade its shape. The mica, in tones of palest ivory through amber, softly filtered electric light and cast the golden glow so characteristic of Craftsman lighting over the rooms.

Table lamps, standing lamps, sconces, and hanging fixtures were used in Craftsman lighting. The emphasis on motifs drawn from nature and use of subtly harmonized materials made harsh incandescent lights conform to the Arts and Crafts aesthetic.

Whether light was provided by the sun or a light bulb, the way it was introduced was an important part of an Arts and Crafts interior. Bright sunlight and soft jeweled tones were both included in Craftsman lighting.

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• Mission or Craftsman tables were plain, simple, and solidly built. Devoid of ornamentation, they were an American interpretation of English Arts and Crafts furniture. William Morris, one of the founders of the movement, felt that furniture fell into two categories: state furniture, “sideboards, cabinets, and the like, which we have quite as much for beauty’s sake as for use,” and daily furniture, which included “chairs, dining and working tables and the like, the necessary work-a-day furniture.” He felt that daily furniture should be “simple to the last degree; nay, if it were rough I should like it better.” This precept had a profound effect on American designers.
• In a Craftsman house, the design of the house and the interior decoration are considered together, two parts of the same whole. Architects designed interiors as well as houses. Gustav Stickley, Greene and Greene, and Frank Lloyd Wright all created interiors that were as carefully thought-out as the buildings they designed. Some of these wonderful Craftsman houses still survive – but even if you aren’t lucky enough to own one, you can still have a Craftsman style interior in your home.
• Admired for its simplicity and directness, Craftsman architecture is experiencing a resurgence of popularity today, more than a hundred years after its beginnings. Like the architecture of the Arts and Crafts movement in Europe, it relied on readily available native materials and reflected the historical influence of the builder. Architects sought to harmonize the structure with the site, blurring the line between interior and exterior. New ideas about health encouraged outdoor living on terraces and porches.
• Mission or Craftsman style furniture is the American version of Arts and Crafts furniture. It has a distinctive organic appeal that makes it popular today, a hundred years after its introduction.
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The Arts and Crafts movement began in England as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and the excesses of the Victorian era. It emphasized fine craftsmanship, a design rooted in nature, and solid construction. William Morris decreed that furniture “should be made of timber rather than walking sticks.”

The furniture produced in America, influenced by Shaker design, was more austere than English furniture. American designers like Gustav Stickley and Elbert Hubbard were happy to employ machines in furniture-making, and the plain lines of their designs were very suitable for machine production. Their severe lines foreshadowed 20th-century modern style.

Architects like Frank Lloyd Wright or Greene and Greene designed furniture to complement their houses. Although their designs were somewhat more sinuous, the construction methods were much the same as Stickley’s. Their furniture, too, is often referred to as Mission or Craftsman style furniture.

Strictly speaking, only furniture designed by Gustav Stickley can be called Craftsman furniture, since that was the name of his workshop. He first displayed his new furniture style at the Grand Rapids Furniture Exposition in 1900, and advertised it in Chicago newspapers in the same year. It was plain and simple, used mortise-and-tenon joinery, and was made of oak. The grain of the wood was an important element of the design, adding greatly to its beauty. The wood was quarter sawn to show off the grain, and it was fumed before finishing to further emphasize the beauty of the grain. Although Stickley did use machinery in making his furniture, all the finishing was done by hand. It was labor-intensive, time-consuming, and relatively expensive.

Stickley wrote, “In the beginning, there was no thought of creating a new style, only a recognition of the fact that we should have in our homes something better suited to our needs and more expressive of our character as a people than imitations of the traditional styles.” He wanted to make “simple, strong, comfortable furniture” that would last for generations, and he succeeded. His pieces are highly valued by collectors today.

The simple lines of Stickley’s designs were easy to imitate, even though the details of his craftsmanship were not. Furniture manufacturers in Grand Rapids translated his designs into affordable items and successfully marketed them to the masses. Companies like the Grand Rapids Chair Company, Limbert Comapny, and the Michigan Chair Company produced aesthetically pleasing Mission furniture, and other companies made cheap knock-offs. Retailers like Sears & Roebuck marketed Craftsman style furniture nation-wide.

Today, the clean lines of Mission furniture are again popular. L. & J.G. Stickley Co. still owns the rights to Gustav Stickley’s designs, and his beautiful Craftsman style furniture is still being produced.

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• Mission or Craftsman tables were plain, simple, and solidly built. Devoid of ornamentation, they were an American interpretation of English Arts and Crafts furniture. William Morris, one of the founders of the movement, felt that furniture fell into two categories: state furniture, “sideboards, cabinets, and the like, which we have quite as much for beauty’s sake as for use,” and daily furniture, which included “chairs, dining and working tables and the like, the necessary work-a-day furniture.” He felt that daily furniture should be “simple to the last degree; nay, if it were rough I should like it better.” This precept had a profound effect on American designers.
• Craftsman style is a distinctively American version of the international Arts and Crafts style. The Arts and Crafts movement, though remembered for its distinctive architecture and interior design, originated in social and political philosophy. By the mid-nineteenth century, a strong reaction to the Industrial Revolution – and the corresponding excesses of Victorian taste – was developing. Critics such as Pugin, Crane, and Ruskin looked back to the tradition of medieval guilds, and embraced the ideal of objects made “for the people and by the people, and a source of pleasure to the maker and the user.”
• Admired for its simplicity and directness, Craftsman architecture is experiencing a resurgence of popularity today, more than a hundred years after its beginnings. Like the architecture of the Arts and Crafts movement in Europe, it relied on readily available native materials and reflected the historical influence of the builder. Architects sought to harmonize the structure with the site, blurring the line between interior and exterior. New ideas about health encouraged outdoor living on terraces and porches.
• The Craftsman bungalow is a particularly American version of the bungalows found at the English seaside, which itself originated in India. The one-story thatch-roofed native houses in the province of Bengal were called “banggolo” or “bangla.” British colonists adapted these houses for use as summer homes, adding deep verandas to shelter themselves from the sun. The kitchens, dining room, bedrooms, and bathrooms were arranged around central living rooms. This efficient plan was adopted by American architects. Bungalows exemplify structural simplicity, efficient use of space, and understated style.
• The Craftsman style home has been an American classic for over a century. These houses are characterized by the use of natural materials, an emphasis on structural form, and the integration of interior and exterior spaces. Their open floor plan prefigured the ‘ranch’ houses so popular in the second half of the 20th century.

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When you’re looking to add reproduction cabinet hardware to your cabinets to achieve the look of a certain time period you have to first get acquainted with what was popular during that time. The Early Colonial period, from 1607 to 1830, saw cabinet hardware without elaborate details. Most pieces were made from iron during this period but reproduction cabinet hardware of today can also be made from stainless steel with a black powder coating.

Cabinet hardware from 1789 to 1865, known as the Federal Age, brought designs into the home such as cornice moldings and Greek inspired architecture. Reproduction cabinet hardware from this period is created mainly from brass. Cabinet knobs were made from porcelain and a classic rope design adorned rosettes and edges of the hardware.

The Victorian era, from 1837 to 1914, started an explosion of creativity and designs became more intricate. Many pieces were also created out of brass but the details were much more elaborate. The patterns of this type of reproduction cabinet hardware should be more complex and you’ll have the choice of an antiqued or highly polished finish for this type of décor.

The years from 1830 to 1920 ushered in the Arts and Crafts era. Decorations returned to a more understated style. The materials used were usually copper iron or forged brass, which were hand hammered to create the hardware needed. Reproduction cabinet hardware should be dark in color and finishes should consist of oiled bronze or antique brass.

Lastly, there is the category of Modern reproduction cabinet hardware. This period is from 1920 to 1960 and saw many new innovations in hardware occurring. Chrome and nickel plating were used during this time and designers began using processes to chemically age metals and powder coat brass. This means a larger selection in styles and finishes that will be suitable for decorating cabinets during this period.

Now that you have an idea of the period style you need, you’ll need to choose exactly what type of reproduction cabinet hardware you want. Cabinet knobs are the usual choice, which are available in styles such as glass, brass, cast iron, wood or porcelain. As a decorative alternative, cabinet latches are both functional and lend character to your cabinets. These are mounted on either side of a locking cabinet door and are available in either turn style or slide style and suit almost all periods from Victorian to modern.

The right hardware can take otherwise plain cabinets and turn them into reproduction masterpieces. Get to know the style of the time period you’re decorating in and add that extra touch with the right reproduction cabinet hardware.

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• It’s all in the details, and using the right reproduction drawer pulls can put the perfect finishing touch on that period style desk or cabinetry. From classic Victorian bail pulls to modern stainless steel handles, there’s no shortage of styles to adorn your drawer fronts.
• When decorating in a specific period style, adding the correct type of reproduction lighting puts the finishing touches on a room. With many styles from various time periods to choose from it pays to do a little homework to make sure you choose the right lighting.
• When decorating a home in a period style using reproduction door knobs adds the perfect finishing touch. Thanks to talented craftsmen there are many styles and finishes of reproductions available to suit your décor and personal taste.
• Quality, handcrafted reproduction furniture is a great alternative to buying antiques. These pieces, when made well, have all the charm and character of real antiques but gives you options you can’t get with the real deal. Custom made reproductions can be created with your choice of size and design in mind and, for those on a budget, tend to come with a lower price tag as well.
• Whether you use it to hold an entertainment center or your wardrobe, you will be happy with an unfinished armoire. These handsome pieces of furniture, once restricted to the bedroom, are now found throughout the house. They are made from many different woods and produced in a variety of styles.

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The high quality of unfinished wood furniture cannot be matched by prefinished furniture in the same price range. Unfinished wood furniture is constructed from real wood, not particle board – a product made of bonded wood chips. Real wood furniture can last for decades, providing service and pleasure to generations. Particle board seldom survives more than a decade of normal use. Much prefinished “all-wood” furniture is actually made of particle board covered by a wood veneer, while unfinished wood furniture is typically made from high-quality kiln-dried wood that has been carefully handled and is free of knots, cracks, and other weaknesses.

Look for the same indicators of quality construction in an unfinished furniture store that you would search for wherever you buy furniture. The construction of drawers is generally a good indication of overall furniture quality. Some drawers have no guides, which can cause the drawer to bind when it is opened and closed. Others have wood-to-wood center guides, nylon-to-wood center guides, side-mounted roller guides or center-mounted metal guides. Many drawers have glue-blocks to strengthen the bottom, always a sign of good quality. The bottoms of the drawers in an unfinished furniture store are likely to be solid wood.

Feel free to ask the dealer to explain construction methods of the items in unfinished furniture stores. Mortise-and-tenon joinery, so popular with the Arts and Crafts Movement, is always a sign of excellent craftsmanship, as are doweled and dovetailed joints. However, modern bonding blues and pneumatically driven staples coated with resin are quite durable and save on construction costs.

You will see fully assembled models on the sales floor of unfinished furniture stores, but the item you take home may look quite different. Some unfinished wood furniture is purchased fully assembled, but some requires partial assembly. Table legs and pedestals often must be attached, and desk components often need to be screwed together. Assembly is usually straightforward and simple, and the necessary bolts or screws are included with the purchase. Dealers are happy to advise you if you have questions. You may be tempted to purchase the floor model, but don’t do it. Hundreds of people are likely to have handled the item, and the oils from the skin cling to wood. This can hinder the smooth application of stains and finishes.

Retailers in unfinished furniture stores can also advise you on finishes for your furniture. Many retailers are members of the Unfinished Furniture Association and have completed the association’s highly regarded Real Wood Furniture Finished Your Way® certification program. You couldn’t ask for better advice!

Visit unfinished furniture stores when you’re looking for beautiful and durable furniture and expert advice.

Related Posts:

• People who want high-quality furniture at an affordable price often purchase unfinished wood furniture. So do creative people who want to make a truly individual statement with their furnishings.
• Whether you use it to hold an entertainment center or your wardrobe, you will be happy with an unfinished armoire. These handsome pieces of furniture, once restricted to the bedroom, are now found throughout the house. They are made from many different woods and produced in a variety of styles.
• You can make the nursery beautiful with unfinished baby furniture. Let your imagination run wild, and create a beautiful, happy environment for your infant.
• If you want both beauty and storage space, an unfinished corner cabinet is the choice for you. You can show off a favorite china collection or store a television and stereo system on its shelves, and you can finish it to match your decor.
• An unfinished computer desk can be as simple as a table or as complex as a wall console. It offers sturdy construction at a reasonable price, and can be finished to harmonize with any décor.