The Trend of Modern Furniture 
INTERESTING QUALITIES REVEALED BY A STUDY OF RECENT DESIGNS IN AMERICAN PRODUCTIONS—THE 
MODERN TURN TOWARD FURNITURE DESIGNS THAT COMBINES USEFULNESS, COMFORT AND ELEGANCE 
by Waldo Campbell Hibbs 
The so-called mission style has probably influenced this new phase in furniture, prin¬ 
cipally in the qualities of simplicity and strength which it advocates 
T HE woman who 
was willing to 
put up with ugly fur¬ 
niture if it was rest¬ 
ful and especially if 
it was supplemented 
by that one touch of 
“swellness,” a gilt 
chair, should not have 
been laughed at. She 
was vaguely striving 
for comfort and ele¬ 
gance. The two are 
not incompatible, but 
her knowledge of 
good furnishing was 
vague. 
There may be among 
us still little of that 
culture which permits 
admiration of a thing 
for its intrinsic value 
as an art or craft pro¬ 
duction, instead of for 
sentiment connected 
with it or the amount 
of gilt on it; and per¬ 
haps little knowledge 
of real assembling. However, as an ever-increasing offset against 
the desire of many for possessions that are considered to indicate 
only social standing, and are too often measured in quality by 
cost, there is the laudable ambition to have a thing worth having 
in furnishings if it be 
without question s u i t- 
able to its environment. 
In furniture each pure 
fashioning has its pecu¬ 
liar qualities, which 
should be understood as 
an aid to proper assem¬ 
bling. Choice of furni¬ 
ture for the home should 
be influenced by more 
than one's own liking. 
Without analysis, we 
may assume that the req¬ 
uisite of practicality is 
most important and the 
element of simplicity de¬ 
sirable. 
We are no longer ham¬ 
pered by the egotism that 
evolved the monstrosities 
of what might be desig- 
nated the “American” 
period in furniture. We 
still produce monstrosi¬ 
Observe how the straight lines of 
these chairs are softened by the 
skillful use of curves at the most 
effective points in the design. Note 
the beauty of the splat 
ties. Yet, with a 
knowledge gained 
from true study and 
an earnest desire to 
produce furniture 
suited to the essentials 
of the American life 
of today, we have 
passed the beginning 
of a new period in 
which it might be said 
that American de¬ 
signers and makers of 
furniture rank among 
the best. 
A number of con¬ 
ditions have contribut¬ 
ed to practicability and 
simplicity in modern 
furniture and fur¬ 
nishing of a high 
class. Among them 
are the revolt from 
the burden of over¬ 
ornamented and too 
many household 
things, the evolution 
of the living-room as 
against the little-used “parlor,” and the growth of art influence 
in America, which has taken place during the last decade. 
And it is just at this psychological moment, so to speak, that 
there appears in the furniture world a new phase, shown by the 
best American m a n u- 
facturers, and already 
winning an assured po¬ 
sition among purchasers 
of high-grade and artis¬ 
tic furniture. 
The so-called mission 
style (in evolution con¬ 
siderably removed from 
its progenitors, the old 
California - mission 
pieces), has probably in¬ 
fluenced this phase, prin¬ 
cipally in the qualities of 
simplicity and strength. 
But important in it is an 
application of old princi¬ 
ples of practicality that 
made for the quaintness, 
distinction and beauty as 
shown in examples of 
the Hepplewhite-Shearer 
manner of the eighteenth 
century. 
Mission and Hepple- 
A thoroughly modern china-closet, 
yet possessing much of the charm 
of Georgian pieces. Its simple de¬ 
sign makes it an admirable setting 
for the table service 
( 93 ) 
