August, 1919 
A 
23 
NEW PHASE OF AN OLD FASHION 
Hutches , Cabinets and Consoles Are Again in Vogue as 
Accessory Furniture for the Dining Room 
MARY H. NORTHEND 
HAT an attractive dining 
room!’’ This exclamation 
pleased me, for I knew I had trans¬ 
gressed from the ways of my prede¬ 
cessors. I had added odd and 
interesting pieces of furniture, 
grouped them to the best advan¬ 
tage and the result was unusual 
and charming. 
It was while dining with Grand¬ 
mother one day that I realized the 
necessity of changing old customs. 
Living as she did, in the old fam¬ 
ily house, she had kept intact her 
belongings. Against the wall in 
the dining room still stood the old 
mahogany sideboard flanked by 
Sheraton chairs. While this was 
all in good taste, it was dull. I 
wanted to change their positions, 
grouping them to better advantage, 
but refrained, realizing the indig¬ 
nation it would cause. 
This set me to thinking about 
dining rooms in general and the 
importance of the proper placing 
of the sideboard. 
Shearer and Hepplewhite 
Now sideboards are well worthy 
of place in ever}' home. In creat¬ 
ing their designs the great cabinet 
makers put something more than 
mere artistry. Let us study Shear¬ 
er, who first brought them into 
existence; Hepple¬ 
white, who has giv¬ 
en us masterpieces, 
and Chippendale 
who preferred to de¬ 
sign serving tables 
only. These various 
sideboards are easi¬ 
ly distinguishable, 
as each great crafts¬ 
man left behind him 
a determining mark, 
which enables us to 
place them in the 
right period. 
Shearer originated 
the sideboard, as 
shown by his book 
of designs in 1778. 
This gave the sug¬ 
gestion to Hepple¬ 
white who later in 
his work perfected 
the curves, using 
them in the center 
with concave curves 
on either side. These 
sideboards often 
were finished with 
straight tapering 
legs, square, which 
sometimes developed 
into a spade foot. 
They were finished 
w i t h handles of 
brass, topped on 
The small sideboard against a large wall space can be made the 
central figure of a group when flanked with chairs and backed with 
a piece of brocade 
Instead of a sideboard, a console can be used. A mirror or flower painting may l 
If a sufficiently large console is chosen the silver can be placed on it without crowding 
Dodd, decorator 
Dutch and Spanish 
Cabinets 
either side with mahogany vases 
or urns. 
While Hepplewdiite sideboards 
seldom showed fluted legs, Shera¬ 
ton made a specialty of them, using 
the square legs as well. Another 
feature was the brass railing at 
the back, often elaborate in de¬ 
sign. These are perhaps the finest 
examples of cabinet making to be 
found among the old pieces and in 
some ways are superior to Hepple- 
white’s. 
We must not look for sideboards 
before the latter half of the 18th 
Century—for it was then that they 
superseded side-tables. The gap 
between was filled by Chippendale, 
who preferred what he termed 
“sideboard tables.” These were 
usually of mahogany, the frame 
being elaborately and beautifully 
carved in designs of birds, flowers 
and shells. These were about 5 y 2 ' 
in length and often were topped 
by marble. 
Any of these pieces are appro¬ 
priate for the modern Colonial 
dining-room, so much in vogue to¬ 
day. But the sideboards, unlike 
those of a century ago, have usually 
a background of old brocades or 
old block prints, outlining them to 
better advantage and pronouncing 
their position in the group. 
hung above. 
Chamberlain 
It is a liberal 
education to study 
these old pieces 
and familiarize 
ourselves with the 
expressions used 
by the craftsmen 
of different coun¬ 
tries and periods. 
They doubtless re¬ 
ceived their in¬ 
spiration from rare 
bits that found 
their way into their 
own country from 
other lands. This 
is particularly true 
of a Dutch cabinet 
which shows an 
Italian influence in 
the design, due 
probably to some 
contact with Italian 
cabinet makers. It 
is particularly ap¬ 
propriate for a din¬ 
ing-room where the 
walls are hung 
with paintings, 
representing scenes 
along the canal of 
the Hague. For a 
( Cont. on page 58) 
