Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-21
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COLONIAL FURNITURE
To Select It Well Requires
Considerable knowledge.
WHEN ANTIQUE RULES
q WC
THEN THE REST OF FURNISHINGS
SHOULD HARMoNIzE.
Japanese Tendencies Are Also Quite
Marked Now-Buying
Wisely.
WHEN ANTIQUE RULES
Written for The Evening Star.


Written for The Evening Star.
To be or not to be antique in our furnish
ings is a question that is apt to perplex
the woman who is about to select belong
ings for her home. The present fad, as we
all know. is for old furniture, and for the
real antique if one is fortunate enough to
be able to compass its possession. If the
real is beyond ones possibilities, some of
the very good reproductions are satisfac-
tory substitutes,
To be able to intelligently select the mod
ern antique, if I may use the term, a
knowledge of the different kinds of furni-
ture which have been period making in the
history of cabinet art Is of the greatest
advantage. One is then prepared, so to
speak, to select the sheep from the goats,
the good from the bad in the new.
Unfortunately the really serious matter
of choosing our material surroundings, the
things which make so much for our best
development is left to chance. How often
this selection is more matter of going
sheep fashion with the popular fancy than
of bringing ones individual fancfes and
convictions into the purchase of furniture!
There Is nothing more fascinating than
the furnishing Of a house and the making
Of home in the very best sense of the
word, in which thought and taste have
where everything is adjusted to the attain
ment Of the end of pleasing, of making
people feel happy and at their best within
its walls.
OF course, mere articles of furniture in
themselves cannot bring about this atmos-
phere, but they can very materially help.
We have all felt the influence of house
whose furnishings were harmonious, and it
goes without saying that they were appro-
pirate.
1t Is just In this word appropriate" that
the keynote of all successful furnishing
lies The misapplication of objects really
beautiful in themselves defeats the artistic
purpose and often produces a ridiculous
appearance.
Keep in Harmony.
When the antique Is the motif Of house
hold scheme it is well not to go too far
down the ages for an inspiration. I am
speaking about the average house where
one really lives, not Of the show house
where one is not supposed to be in sympa-
thy with surroundings.
1t seems to me that for the American
home nothing Is more in keeping than "colo-
niaF' furniture, from the fact that not only
were colonial events part Of our history,
but the cabinet making of that time was
derived from the best period of English art.
1t was the era of the Chippendales, the
Sheratons and Adamses, those artists in
form who with their strong, beautiful lines
and general utility and grace of design, eff
fected reform in anterior decorations for
all time. And 1t is not singular that this
should be the case, for it was the superior
minds of these men behind the mechanical
effort which produced such exquisite re-
suits. zyu,,r nm.
The workmen who came over to this coun-
try during colonial times brought with them
the patterns and skill which had made Eng
hsh furniture notable. They even improved
upon their masters in the matter of woods,
using not only the mahogany, which was a
favorite of the English school, but the ma
tive wild cherry and the naples found in
the new country.
Built for Special Place.
Many of these men went from house to
house. building their masterpieces of chairs,
tables and all kinds of household furniture,
and the articles were made with reference
to the space they were to occupy. In some
instances they still stand where they were
first placed.
good furniture as Cmppendale ever made if
the competition of trade was not so great.
We use wood regardless of the fact that it
has not been seasoned long enough, and in
thorough seasoning lay the strength of the
old artists.
The wooden rush-bottomed chairs with
frames painted and glded were favorite
creations of colonial times, and many of
them to De seen To-Day. Iney are OFTEN
COMPOUNDED with the Dutch marquetry
which was engrafted into English designs
in the time of William and Mary, a number
of artisans having come over from Holland
during their reign.
The Louis styles are exquisite for a
drawing room which has no suggestion of
living room To come across a room of this
character without It's curlo table cabinet
is nowadays something of rarity. Such
universal interest is taken in the collection
loo nd Sf1nE Oh ic cot
upon those which the possessor is fortunate
enough to inherit that the ingenuity of cab
met makers has been taxed to the utmost
in supplying receptacles for these treasures.
The happiest specimens of the curio table
are to be met in the old French examples.
China Showcases.
Chippendale made "china showcases
but they were more in the nature Of or
binary cabinets and intended purely for
the use their name implies. They were
made of mahogany, tall and slim. with
glass panels and shelves. The French
cabinets were of walnut. the inside being
lined with pale blue velvet, and had raised
and sunk compartments possibly made to
fit some particular treasure.
This is only one of the styles, but the
French variety was almost infinite.
The years since the centennial have been
called the renaissance of American furni-
ture and certainly we have made great
strides in decorative effects since that
time, not the least of which has been to-
ward cultured simplicity. Morris, with
his beautiful and practical ideas, has mad
more to do with the revolution in interior
adornments than any other one man, and
the Arts and Crafts Society was the out
come of his influence and personal care.
Mission furniture with its precise, prim
lines and ponderous effects can be directly
traced to the primitive English art. when
chairs were inrmovable and tables fixtures
on account of their heavy legs.
For Cottage Use.
The mission style is at its best in coun-
try homes and cottages, and Japanese
background for this, furniture is the hap
piest thing Imaginable. Japanese ten
denotes are very marked N our decora-
tions-not the little fans pinned about, but
the large ideal OF Japanese decoration.
To buy an article simply because 1t IS
old Is a great mistake, as it Is only val
liable when the art, OF producing it Is lost
or in decaderfee. It were better to en-
courage modern manufacture and let our
grandchildren add the "age.' To buy only
what is good and suitable for the rooms
in question, to keep a oneness" Of style
in the general impression and not to over
crowd, are points that should ever be kept
before the purchaser and interior dec