Handicraft House Furnishings 
FURNITURE AND FURNISHINGS THAT LEND DISTINCTION TO THE SMALL HOUSE—REAL ARTICLES OF 
HANDWORK AND STOCK MATERIAL OF ARTISTIC EFFECT THAT MAKE THE HOME ATTRACTIVE- 
STENCILS AND STENCIL WORK 
by Sarah Leyburn Coe 
Photographs by the Author, J. T. Beals and Others 
UST about the time somebody decided that great¬ 
grandfather’s mahogany drawing-room furni¬ 
ture was infinitely superior to the black walnut 
and antique oak crimes of the seventies and 
eighties, somebody else discovered that great¬ 
grandmother’s kitchen and bedroom furni¬ 
ture had good lines and was worthy of re¬ 
production. Then a third somebody was bold 
enough to make a hand-woven rag rug and 
declare it better looking than Brussels and two- 
ply ingrain, and the whole handicraft scheme 
was launched. 
That it was not merely a fad, to be driven 
to death one day and forgotten the next, is 
proved by the way that it has steadily in¬ 
creased in popular favor by the demand for 
furnishings designed on simple lines and by 
the way that the large manufacturers are turn¬ 
ing out substantially made articles' to meet 
this demand. 
When we speak of handicraft furniture 
here let it be taken to mean all that vast 
supply of materials that are either hand¬ 
work or give the impression of handwork: those things that 
have the feel of being exclusive because they appear to be made 
only for the location in which they are used. Many of them are 
stock patterns and stock designs, but they give the effect of a 
certain individuality. 
The handicraft scheme, which one invariably associates with 
the Puritan and Colonial types of furniture, may be quite cor¬ 
rectly described as the exponent of simplicity and straight lines, 
and therefore of good taste and restfulness. The Puritans had 
to be simple whether they chose to or not, and householders of 
the present day are profiting by their example—in one respect at 
least. Following close on the revival of this type of furniture 
came the vogue of the conventionalized design, a result of the 
reaction from the carved atrocities and over-elaborate decora¬ 
tions of the antique oak period. The earnest promoters of the 
handicraft idea adapted this improved form of decoration for 
their hand-woven rugs and hangings, and an entirely new and 
original form of house furnishing resulted, one that is at once 
artistic and satisfying, dignified and ornamental. 
Of course, the handicraft scheme is not suitable for every type 
of house, and in the formal mansion it is quite out of place; but 
for homes of moderate pretension, where simplicity and good 
taste are of first consideration, there is no more satisfactory plan 
for furnishing. 
One of the most delightful characteristics of handicraft is its 
genuineness. There is a distinction naturally, between the hand- 
woven rugs and hand-made furniture of the handicraft enthu¬ 
siast and the machine-made furnishings of the person who is 
content to buy and not create; but in either case the rug is made 
of strips of cloth and does not try to hide it, the curtains are of 
the simplest materials with no pretense at imitation of expensive 
stuffs, and the furniture stands for what it is, without masquerad¬ 
ing as mahogany or oak under a protecting veneer. 
Fortunately for those persons who are particular about having 
the genuine hand-made articles, there are enthusiastic handi- 
crafters on every side who sell their products, so that such fur¬ 
nishings are really a question of expense and not of individual 
talent or energy. On the other hand, however, one can buy in 
the shops, rugs, hangings, wall-papers, couch-covers and pillows 
designed and decorated in handicraft patterns, and it is only a 
matter of taste and careful selection to achieve satisfactory re¬ 
sults at comparatively small cost. 
While it is true that good taste is just as essential in planning 
a room of this sort as in one more expensively furnished, the very 
simplicity of everything seems to make for good results. If one 
decides on a satisfactory color scheme and is consistent in carry¬ 
ing it out, things seem to adjust themselves, as it were, and there 
is less chance of failure than when furnishings and decorations 
of a more elaborate nature are attempted. 
To most persons it is quite likely that the very sound of the 
word handicraft suggests stencils and Russian crash, table-run¬ 
ners and strange-looking pillow-tops, for these are the first 
symptoms of the handicraft craze. It is quite true that in one 
way stenciling has been done to death, but in another it plays an 
important part in some of the most artistic schemes of decora¬ 
tion and furnishing; just how important it is hard to realize until 
one takes the trouble to look into the subject. There is a whole 
lot of difference between the work of a decorator who, by a 
judicious use of stencils, gives a distinctive touch to a room or 
brings out certain details in design, and that of a woman who 
buys a $2.50 stencil outfit and in the first flush of her enthusiasm 
This interior gives the effect spoken of above as handicraft. The cur¬ 
tains are printed with a border, the furniture is comfortable, simple, 
and distinctive 
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