274 AMERICAN HOMES AND 
Pnmmaaitns 
sihettiatte 
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GARDENS 
August, 1912 
There is nothing that makes a porch so delightfully home-like as well-chosen woven furniture, whether it is of willow or of rattan 
Woven Furniture 
By Harry Martin Yeomans 
Photographs by Jessie Tarbox Beals and T. C. Turner 
toned rattan and is known chiefly by the “Canton” or “hour- 
glass” chair, which is one of those useful pieces of furniture 
which possesses the virtue of looking well no matter where 
it is placed. The discerning homemaker has long appre- 
ciated its adaptability and as an extra chair for living-room, 
informal sitting-room or studio, it cannot be excelled. This 
sq N TIL a few years ago the only woven fur- 
niture of American manufacture which could 
be found in the shops was so over-elaborate 
in detail and of such poor design that it was 
rejected by persons of discriminating taste 
and so gradually fell into well-merited disuse. 
But a revival of interest in all matters 
pertaining to weaving, basketry and the 
handicrafts has brought woven furniture to 
the fore again, and much time and thought 
has been expended on designing woven 
furniture of willow and rattan. The shapes 
are simple, so that the material used in their 
construction adapts itself readily to the 
honest, straightforward designs which have 
redeemed this style of furniture, and have 
made it worthy of our consideration when 
furnishing the home. 
The Chinese rattan furniture, known as 
“Canton Furniture,’ has been imported 
steadily by the shops that deal in products 
from the Orient. It consists mostly of 
chairs, settees and tabourets of a brown- 
A comfortable willow armchair 
Chinese furniture is exceedingly handsome 
for the porch or terrace and the dampness 
has no injurious effects. 
Furniture of closely-woven rattan, after 
designs which reflect the modern Viennese 
art movement, is substantial and dignified 
and its brown stained surface suggests its 
being used in a living-room with a brown 
and yellow color scheme. 
It is willow furniture of American make, 
however, upon which the homemaker must 
depend when furnishing, as it is especially 
appropriate for the little country house and 
there is no limit to its possibilities. From 
being used as an “‘occasional” or easy chair, 
this comfortable and satisfying furniture 
has gradually grown in scope and now 
