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THE HOUSE AND ITS EQUIPMENT. 



ARCHITECTURAL FURNITURE 



Nineteenth Ccnlurv Ideas of Furniture Architects and Furniture Design The Screening of Radiators 



} arving Motifs in Design and Craftsmanship 



T 



HE title of this chapter is intended to suggest a name for that type of lurmture which is buiit 

 into the fabric of the house, forming part and parcel of it ; yet it is a little misleading, as all 

 good furniture is architectural, whether it is a fixture or not. The influence of architects 

 on furniture design has, on the whole, been sound, often keeping the cabinet-maker awa\ 

 from tlamboyancy in detail and guiding him in the paths of sensible construction. This 



can be readily seen in all the early 

 Gothic work, and especially in the 

 pleasing mouldings which help to finish 

 many a Jacobean cabinet. The in 

 fluence of later men like Chambers 

 and Adam on the crafts of their period 

 is, of course, well known. So much, 

 then, for the title ; it may remain as 

 preferable to &quot; Fitments,&quot; which is 

 jumpy, or &quot; Fitted Furniture,&quot; which 

 is not much better ; and the subject is an 

 interesting one whatever we dub it. 



The particular significance of 

 people s desire to beautify their houses 

 with architectural furniture is that it is 

 evidence of a certain belief in their own 

 judgment ; that it shows in them the 

 coming again of that home - making 

 instinct which has been supposed to be 

 peculiarly British. Certainly up to the 

 middle of the last century this was the 

 case, and the Englishman s home being 

 his castle, he made it as comfortable as 

 he could. His Turkey carpets were 

 the genuine article, and his mahogany 

 table had no need to be screened by a 

 chenille cover because the legs only 

 were 1 ol that wood. Horsehair and repp 

 conveycel the impression that per 

 manency was the aim. In the succeed 

 ing generations, it was just this quality 

 that was lacking, and the average home 

 of that day suggested that the owner 

 was a bird of passage who, having 

 bought the effects of a previous migrant, 

 was prepared to pass them on at the 

 shortest notice to a following one. The 

 furniture was deplorably made and 

 ve-ry cheap ; far too cheap to have been 

 made under fair conditions, and it 

 appeared to be considered an advantage 

 that so soon as it became shabby, which 

 it very speedily did, it was a matter 

 of trifling expense to renew it. Pretty 

 came into use as an adjective, and a 



Ifj. MORNING-ROOM AT HEATHCOTE, ILKLEY. 



