A great advantage of willow furniture is the fact that it seems at home 
with furniture of nearly any type 
White wicker to the left, green willow to the right. A good com¬ 
parison of weaves, and both in harmony with the room 
The Willow and Wicker Furniture Family 
AN INTRODUCTION TO WILLOW, REED, WICKER, PRAIRIE GRASS, FIBRE-RUSH 
AND CHINESE GRASS FURNITURE-THEIR POSSIBILITIES IN FURNISHING THE HOME 
by Katharine Newbold Birdsall 
Photographs by the Author and others 
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O' -v ^ ■' idiun.l ....... 
I T is surprising to find how few home-makers are at all familiar 
with the various kinds of woven furniture. One hears the 
words wicker and willow used almost continually as though the 
terms were synonymous, and both are applied to furniture made 
of reed or prairie grass as well as in their true sense. A few words 
| as to their respective meanings, therefore, and the characteristics 
of the furniture, with some detail photographs showing the texture 
of the various weaves, may help to clear the 
matter up. 
The best of this woven furniture is not only 
suited to the country home, the bungalow, the 
bedroom, but in the all-year-round living-room 
in country or city home, its beauty and utility 
can scarcely be exaggerated. 
The distinguishing features between willow, 
and reed or wicker furniture are slight to the 
average eye. One will find, however, on close 
inspection, that willow-work is always coarser 
than reedwork, by reason of the willow withe 
being the larger. Therefore the workmanship 
on reed furniture is more complicated and more 
elaborate than willow, to give the needed 
strength. A wicker chair will need twelve strands of reed in a 
border where the same style of chair made in willow will require 
only six or eight to make it strong and durable. 
While the heavy furniture that has been popular for some years 
has its advantages, it has also two great disadvantages—that of its 
heaviness and its gloominess. Willow brings a breath of the 
brookside, a flash of the sunlight from the heart of the spring. 
For solid comfort, combined with artistic 
effect and great durability, willow furniture is 
a great favorite. The cheapest in the end is 
perhaps the most expensive in the beginning, 
so one should be careful in selecting ready¬ 
made pieces to observe the workmanship as 
well as the material. Every piece of willow 
furniture is fashioned by hand — every article 
is hand-made from the raw material, with no 
glue and only very occasionally a nail. The 
harshest criticism that has ever touched willow 
pieces is that they occasionally “creak”. 
Much of this creak is due to the shellac with 
which some manufacturers coat the furniture; 
and the creak wears off very soon when the 
> 
These swings cost from $12 up, depending 
upon the length 
One of the first wicker types and still 
a favorite. The smallest cost $15 
A corner seat for a piazza, 52 inches long 
each way, costing $25 
(U7) 
