Courtesy Merchandise Mart News Bureau.Figure 14.—Harmony in periods in rugs and furniture is shown by this figured Axminster, accurate reproduction of an old floral hooked rug shown with Early American. The design is red, rust, and green on wood tones, harmonizing with the green of the ivy in the wallpaper pattern, and the rust of the draperies.
Courtesy Merchandise Mart News Bureau.Figure 14.—Harmony in periods in rugs and furniture is shown by this figured Axminster, accurate reproduction of an old floral hooked rug shown with Early American. The design is red, rust, and green on wood tones, harmonizing with the green of the ivy in the wallpaper pattern, and the rust of the draperies.
Courtesy Merchandise Mart News Bureau.
Figure 14.—Harmony in periods in rugs and furniture is shown by this figured Axminster, accurate reproduction of an old floral hooked rug shown with Early American. The design is red, rust, and green on wood tones, harmonizing with the green of the ivy in the wallpaper pattern, and the rust of the draperies.
By 1750 the production of good furniture was well under way, with designs based upon Early Georgian models, and 10 years later, in the period of the strongest Chippendale influence, the fine homes of the Colonies were filled with very distinguished furniture of American design, of which thehighboyis a perfect example.
The Adam influence appeared here shortly before the Revolution.
Sheraton and Directoire models were adapted and combined by Duncan Phyfe of New York, who shares with William Savery of Philadelphia the distinction of creating some of the finest American furniture.
The work of Duncan Phyfe belongs to this period, and it is supposed that the White House was first furnished by Thomas Jefferson with furniture of that style. Destroyed by the British in 1814, the White House was rebuilt and furnished by James Monroe in 1817 with Empire originals imported from France. This style, as modified in the United States, with its heavy, classic ornament, and gilt mountings, remained dominant until it was replaced by the ungraceful and ugly adaptations of the style of Louis XV which appeared in Victorian England and were copied here.
"Modern art" is a term used to include aspects of present-day practice which depart widely from traditional or conventional models. It regards period styles as survivals of a past, dead and gone. Avoiding mere prettiness, it seeks dominant simplicity through elimination of ornament on structural forms, and an adaptation of design to function as complete as that revealed by today's motor car or skyscraper. Literally, it is streamlined for comfort and beauty in the modern way.
Broadly speaking there are two modern developments in functional furniture:
1. There is aclassic-moderndevelopment deeply rooted in tradition but adapted to the needs of today.2. There is afunctional-moderndevelopment which, forsaking the past, is giving us a fresh, practical angle in furniture design.
1. There is aclassic-moderndevelopment deeply rooted in tradition but adapted to the needs of today.
2. There is afunctional-moderndevelopment which, forsaking the past, is giving us a fresh, practical angle in furniture design.
Both developments seek comfort, simplicity, and beauty in all ways.
The simplicity features of functional furniture are triumphs in finish and in structure. Surfaces are flat and smooth without applied ornament. The completed pieces are sharp and vigorous in outline, perfection in finish, with long continuous curves replacing the old sharp angles. In the new metal furniture it is not uncommon to note that the entire frame of a chair, settee, or table has been made from a single length of metal tubing. Grace and lightness are natural attributes of these flowing lines.
This contemporary furniture also achieves a sincerity which marks a new high. Without ornamental features which characterize the classic-modern development it is impossible to hide flaws in workmanship. Construction accordingly is emphasized rather than concealed. There are no "fake antique" effects about this functional furniture. No one is trying to make these materials look like something else. Metal is called metal; maple is maple; and neither, sparkling under a brown graining, pretends to be walnut. Finishing processes continue to be used but they aim at developing the individual grain, color, and texture of each species. The following statement quoted from the April 1940, Bulletin of the National Retail Dry Goods Association, is a forcible expression of this viewpoint:
The majority of consumers interpret such expressions as "all mahogany" or "genuine Honduras mahogany" or "all maple" or "all walnut" literally, i. e., that furniture so described is made wholly of mahogany or maple or walnut according to the wood named. The National Better Business Bureau recommends that such terms be applied only to those articles of furniture in which all the exposed parts are made wholly of the wood named. If the exposed parts are composed of more than one kind of wood such article should be described by the names of the principal woods used, viz, "mahogany and gumwood," "walnut and gumwood," not by such description as "combination mahogany," and "combination walnut." Also it is recommended that furniture employing veneered construction be frankly described in advertising as "veneered."
The majority of consumers interpret such expressions as "all mahogany" or "genuine Honduras mahogany" or "all maple" or "all walnut" literally, i. e., that furniture so described is made wholly of mahogany or maple or walnut according to the wood named. The National Better Business Bureau recommends that such terms be applied only to those articles of furniture in which all the exposed parts are made wholly of the wood named. If the exposed parts are composed of more than one kind of wood such article should be described by the names of the principal woods used, viz, "mahogany and gumwood," "walnut and gumwood," not by such description as "combination mahogany," and "combination walnut." Also it is recommended that furniture employing veneered construction be frankly described in advertising as "veneered."
To achieve the finish and structural beauty of functional furniture the modern craftsman works with various materials. The whole world is bringing to the markets choice cabinet woods to be used in producing hitherto undreamed-of effects. Magnolia, amboyna, bubinga, macassar, satinwood, narra, makore, padouk, and thuya—these are familiar names. Glass—clear, white, and colored—has won acceptance as a structural material. Aluminum, stainless steel, and chromium plate are popular. Cork veneer with its velvety texture and warm coloring is excellent surface finish for wood furniture. Metal frames with veneer tops often are shown in designs suitable for use as kitchen, sunroom, porch, and even living-room furniture. Linoleum tops for tables and desks afford variety in color. Various synthetic products are converted into tops which have been proofed against heat and liquid stains, thus popularizing them for cocktail and coffee tables. Colored lacquers reminiscent of the orient have been appropriately used. Textile designs which are largely dependedupon to supply the necessary ornament for rooms, employ the straight lines, acute angles, and whirling curves of the futurists as well as natural forms drawn with little or no attempt to representation. The end is not yet predictable, but there is much to be learned now.
We may use style appeal in selling furniture of any quality except the poorest to customers of any level of taste except the lowest. The salesperson should have some appreciation of the importance and dignity of furniture, and a fair working knowledge of the forms, materials, and ornament of the several period styles.
We must remember three things:
1. All furniture is derived, however remotely, from earlier forms and therefore can be identified with a style appeal.2. American women have become style-conscious in matters of decoration.3. The home-furnishing art is studied in colleges and secondary schools; books dealing with it are widely read; at least 25 million persons read national magazines which devote space to it; hundreds of newspapers publicize it; powerful agencies are actively engaged in widening popular knowledge of it.
1. All furniture is derived, however remotely, from earlier forms and therefore can be identified with a style appeal.
2. American women have become style-conscious in matters of decoration.
3. The home-furnishing art is studied in colleges and secondary schools; books dealing with it are widely read; at least 25 million persons read national magazines which devote space to it; hundreds of newspapers publicize it; powerful agencies are actively engaged in widening popular knowledge of it.
In order to enhance the desirability of an article through an appeal to beauty of design or style, we must cause the customer to see in it something desirable which she has failed to see for herself. To do this we must be able to notice this "extra something" ourselves, and to convey a clear and interesting picture of our observations.
Many never see more than a part of the sales possibilities of what we have to sell. Our merchandise is as common to us as an old shoe. We are prone to forget that its forms are the result of age-long processes of development, its ornament the heritage from an immemorial past. Often we forget its romance, its quickening appeal to the imagination, its promise as a way to richer and more stimulating life. To us a chair is a chair, and a rug is just another rug.
You will sometimes find it effective in building up appreciation of a fine machine-made rug to tell how much time would have beenrequired for weaving alone had it been made by hand. Count the number of tufts per square inch; multiply by 144 to get the number per square foot; then by the number of square feet in the rug, divide the total by 2,500—the average number of knots tied by a Persian weaver in a full day's work—to arrive at the number of working days. Make a few of these calculations based on rugs of standard weave and size at your leisure, and remember the results for use when required.
To equip yourself to emphasize style in furniture, first go through your stock carefully, and identify the style of all pieces that are accurately reproduced or closely adapted from historic designs. It may surprise you to learn how many pieces can be definitely assigned to one of the historic styles.
The ideal way, of course, would be to have each piece styled and marked by the manufacturer; this may come in time. Another way would be to have the style names agreed upon by the entire sales force, after discussion, and marked on the tags, so that everybody will be telling the same story. But if no definite plan is used, study the stock by yourself. After all, the man who wants to travel ahead of the crowd must expect to do some pioneering, and you will be the one to profit.
Every clever oriental-rug man realizes the sales value of an identifying name. He knows that women particularly like to know the name or weave of a rug and any facts connected with its design, because these things make them feel more assured in buying and give them something to talk about pridefully to their friends.
In presenting your furniture under its historical names, be careful not to make claims you cannot establish. They will expose you to the ridicule of a well-informed buyer, of whom there are many.
Never say that a piece is a reproduction unless really it is. Say that it is "in the style of" or "inspired by," or "derived or adapted from," or "a present-day adaptation of," or "a twentieth century interpretation of" the style to which you have assigned it. Having said this, proceed at once to give it whatever additional importance or value you can draw from your knowledge of the history, personalities, or practice of the period. Do not lecture but try to dramatize your merchandise.
The highest use of language is pure self-expression. Only your choice of words and expression can give your customer kinship with what you feel. An encyclopedia of information is not of itself complete customer service when you are dealing with style, period, color, harmony, and satisfaction.
Suppose, for example, that you want to sell an ordinary loose-cushion sofa in blue velvet, with machine-carved cabriole legs, rolled arms, and straight-lined back with curved ends.
It is easy to say, "Here is a handsome, well-made sofa in blue velvet. Just the right thing for your room; the price is $95."
But it is almost as easy, and in many cases far more effective, to say, in substance: "This, as I understand it, is what you may have in mind. There is nothing striking or extreme about the design. Notice the graceful curves of the cabriole or f scroll legs, which are completely adequate to hold up the heavy body; note how those same curves are echoed in the arms and suggested in the back, so that the whole piece reveals harmonious lines. This sofa expresses the quality of repose which makes it so important in the properly furnished modern home." Or, suppose you have a reproduction of a Chippendale ladder-back chair. With 9 possible buyers out of 10, it would be foolish to try to sell such a piece through the bald statement that it is a beautiful Chippendale chair.
A better approach would be as follows: "Here is an armchair reproduced from one of Chippendale's masterpieces. If you will set it off by itself you will see its extraordinary grace and harmony of line. In this piece we have Chippendale's conception of the ladder back—a very old form of chair expressed in flowing curves which descend rhythmically from top rail to floor. As a chair it is perfect—staunch, thoroughly comfortable, and enduring; it is even more desirable as a work of art. Anyone may well be proud to own it."
This language is not intended to be "stilted." If delivered casually, with no thought of reciting a memorized paragraph, or of delivering a set speech, these ideas will be effective in sustaining interest while, informally, you direct attention to other features. "High-lighting" or dramatizing your merchandise is as difficult as it is necessary when one must guard against failure by enhancing the desirability of the merchandise.
Your description should not be left to chance or to the inspiration of the moment. Think them out at home or in your free time in the store, and plan just how and when you will use them.
These "high lights" may be based upon history, beauty, and sentiment. To illustrate:
History.—"In this suite we have a reflection of the last of the great decorative styles developed in France under the Bourbon Kings.Louis the Sixteenth was king of France when our forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence. There was great gratitude and admiration for France in those days, which inspired the importation of a good deal of furniture of this style for the statelier homes of America. Washington bought some of it for Mount Vernon, and Jefferson for Monticello."
Sentiment.—"This suite called Louis XVI, named for an era made brilliant by the later courts of France, is reminiscent of the days of Marie Antoinette. Lovers of style and beauty the world over have for decades, even centuries now, looked back to the days of the last lavish escapades of the French courts whenever there is a resurge of the human appetite for the ornate, gilded opulence of color and design that you see characterized in these pieces."
Beauty.—"In this suite we find the slender proportions, fine lines, chaste ornamental forms and delicate grace of the style of Louis Seize. See how skillfully the strength and dignity of these pieces is insured by the straight vertical lines of the frames, and their effect of soft and luxurious ease by the curves of the top rails and mirrors."
History.—"This piece was certainly made in America, and it may have been made within the past 2 months—it is new in our stock. Yet in every line and detail it recalls to us the great age of the Italian Renaissance, when the New World was being discovered and explored, and the Old World made over for the development of modern life."
Sentiment.—"Women, of course, counted greatly during the Italian Renaissance; but they did not dominate the design of furniture as they do today. Note the virility of this design—its straight, vigorous lines, its solidity and strength, its unyielding angles, and its simple, sparse ornament."
Beauty.—"There are times and places when delicacy and daintiness fail to please. For the room that has such a place nothing could be more appropriate and satisfying than this cabinet, designed in the virile spirit of the Italian Renaissance. There is a beauty in straight lines, in strong and noble proportion, in rich dark coloring."
These tabloid statements are of course to be regarded as suggestions, not as models. Make up your own, couched in your own language, and based upon your own merchandise and your own customers. But do not assume that this sort of thing cannot be done in your store and with your customers, or that it is old-fashioned, and of no value. It must be done at certain times if we want to sell furniture in volume and on other bases than utility and price.
In making a style appeal based upon period decoration you will occasionally encounter customers who belong to either of two classes, both small, but important enough to merit brief mention—
1. Those who express contempt for modern machine-made furniture.2. Those who have no use for period design and often for the whole matter of style.
1. Those who express contempt for modern machine-made furniture.
2. Those who have no use for period design and often for the whole matter of style.
Nothing will be accomplished by argument. But the one who scorns style probably does not carry that idea over into his purchase of clothing for himself or of the automobile he drives. In dealing with this type of customer it may be worth while to point out that the machine at least has enabled us to reproduce the truly beautiful pieces of the old masters with their full beauty preserved and to make them available to people of ordinary means. Certainly society could not support the immense number of craftsmen that would be necessary to make good furniture by hand.
Nor is it a question of paying more for style. When one chooses well-styled furniture it is true that he pays for materials and labor, but he gets in addition the distinction that comes from rich historical associations, and aristocratic lineage.
1. How would you make a style appeal based upon period decoration to a customer who professed contempt for modern machine-made furniture?
2. What steps would you take in selling a reproduction of the Chippendale splat-back chair?
3. What are the characteristics of the four outstanding furniture periods known as the French, Early English, Georgian, and American? (Consider each period from the viewpoint of historic date, lines, proportions, woods, upholstering fabrics, and modern use).
4. Why may Sheraton, Hepplewhite, and Duncan Phyfe furniture be used together?
5. What is meant by the following: "Modern arises from the fact that its designers are neither bound by traditions of the past nor wedded to the present, but move alertly up and down the centuries—combining the old and the new—with a refreshing disregard of dynasties and dates?"
6. To what extent is streamlining, now an accepted feature of kitchen equipment, appearing in metal and wood furniture?
7. Contemporary furniture finds expression in honest construction. Construction is emphasized rather than concealed. In what ways would you saysinceritywas the most revolutionary characteristic of contemporary furniture?
8. What has been contributed in domestic comfort by the idea of interchangeable unit furniture?
9. What unusual service features are afforded by the sectional sofa? Is this trend likely to become "fixed" as a furniture emphasis or is it merely seasonal?
10. Where are the great furniture manufacturing centers in the United States? Where and when are our big furniture style shows held? By whom?
Burrows, Thelma M.Successful Home Furnishing.Manual Arts Press, Peoria, Ill. 1938.
Burrows, Thelma M.Successful Home Furnishing.Manual Arts Press, Peoria, Ill. 1938.
Fales, Winnifred.What's New in Home Decoration?Dodd, Mead & Co., Inc., New York, N. Y. 1936.
Fales, Winnifred.What's New in Home Decoration?Dodd, Mead & Co., Inc., New York, N. Y. 1936.
Goldstein HarrietandVetta.Art In Every Day Life.The Macmillan Co., New York, N. Y. 1925.
Goldstein HarrietandVetta.Art In Every Day Life.The Macmillan Co., New York, N. Y. 1925.
Kimberly, W. L.How To Know Period Styles In Furniture.Grand Rapids Furniture Record Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. 1912.Koues, Helen.How To Be Your Own Decorator.Tudor Publishing Co., New York, N. Y. 1939.
Kimberly, W. L.How To Know Period Styles In Furniture.Grand Rapids Furniture Record Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. 1912.
Koues, Helen.How To Be Your Own Decorator.Tudor Publishing Co., New York, N. Y. 1939.
Powell, Lydia.The Attractive Home.The Macmillan Co., New York, N. Y. 1939.
Powell, Lydia.The Attractive Home.The Macmillan Co., New York, N. Y. 1939.
Seal, Ethel Davis.Furnishing The Little House.Century Co., New York, N. Y.
Seal, Ethel Davis.Furnishing The Little House.Century Co., New York, N. Y.
Stewart, RossandGerald, John.Home Decoration.Garden City Publishing Co., Inc., Garden City, N. Y. 1938.
Stewart, RossandGerald, John.Home Decoration.Garden City Publishing Co., Inc., Garden City, N. Y. 1938.
United States Department of Commerce, National Committee on Wood Utilization. Furniture: Its Selection and Use. 1931.
United States Department of Commerce, National Committee on Wood Utilization. Furniture: Its Selection and Use. 1931.
Whiton, Sherrill.Elements of Interior Decoration.J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, Pa. 1937.
Whiton, Sherrill.Elements of Interior Decoration.J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, Pa. 1937.
Wright, Agnes Foster.Interior Decoration for Modern Needs.Frederick A. Stokes Co., New York, N. Y. 1917.
Wright, Agnes Foster.Interior Decoration for Modern Needs.Frederick A. Stokes Co., New York, N. Y. 1917.
FOOTNOTES:[4]For thousands of years the chair was a symbol of state and dignity, and not an article for ordinary use. Common people were not permitted to sit on chairs, and few of the great lords were permitted to sit on chairs in the presence of the king. The chair did not become common until the sixteenth century; before that, chests, benches, and stools were used.[5]These hutches, or small chests, held the clothing, personal belongings, and materials for the mass when the baron was en route from one castle to another, and were carried on the backs of pack mules. From this rudimentary beginning all modern forms of case goods have evolved.[6]The French "qu" or final "que" as in "baroque," is pronounced like "k." The accent is always on the final syllable.[7]The French "e" and "et" are pronounced like "a."[8]Pronounced Kănz.[9]Pronounced fo-tuh-ye, the "uh" having almost an "r" sound as in "burn," the final "e" practically silent.[10]Pronounced "sehz," practically the English word "says."[11]Pronounced dē'rĕk-twär.[12]A Handbook of the American Wing; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N. Y., 1928. Price $1.
[4]For thousands of years the chair was a symbol of state and dignity, and not an article for ordinary use. Common people were not permitted to sit on chairs, and few of the great lords were permitted to sit on chairs in the presence of the king. The chair did not become common until the sixteenth century; before that, chests, benches, and stools were used.
[4]For thousands of years the chair was a symbol of state and dignity, and not an article for ordinary use. Common people were not permitted to sit on chairs, and few of the great lords were permitted to sit on chairs in the presence of the king. The chair did not become common until the sixteenth century; before that, chests, benches, and stools were used.
[5]These hutches, or small chests, held the clothing, personal belongings, and materials for the mass when the baron was en route from one castle to another, and were carried on the backs of pack mules. From this rudimentary beginning all modern forms of case goods have evolved.
[5]These hutches, or small chests, held the clothing, personal belongings, and materials for the mass when the baron was en route from one castle to another, and were carried on the backs of pack mules. From this rudimentary beginning all modern forms of case goods have evolved.
[6]The French "qu" or final "que" as in "baroque," is pronounced like "k." The accent is always on the final syllable.
[6]The French "qu" or final "que" as in "baroque," is pronounced like "k." The accent is always on the final syllable.
[7]The French "e" and "et" are pronounced like "a."
[7]The French "e" and "et" are pronounced like "a."
[8]Pronounced Kănz.
[8]Pronounced Kănz.
[9]Pronounced fo-tuh-ye, the "uh" having almost an "r" sound as in "burn," the final "e" practically silent.
[9]Pronounced fo-tuh-ye, the "uh" having almost an "r" sound as in "burn," the final "e" practically silent.
[10]Pronounced "sehz," practically the English word "says."
[10]Pronounced "sehz," practically the English word "says."
[11]Pronounced dē'rĕk-twär.
[11]Pronounced dē'rĕk-twär.
[12]A Handbook of the American Wing; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N. Y., 1928. Price $1.
[12]A Handbook of the American Wing; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N. Y., 1928. Price $1.