Solid Oak – Early Furniture in Modern Interiors
large beech top supported on four oak legs mortised straight into the top, the metal chairs around it are from contemporary furniture retailers the Aram Store in London and the paintings are modern British. Another room from the same house
For years interior styles have embraced minimalism and the ‘retro’ look, but now designers are mixing real antique pieces with modern design heralding the return of early furniture, writes Kate Thurlow, Gallery Forty One
shows a good oak and elm 18th-century Windsor armchair contrasting but complementing the modern art alongside it. The white minimalist space acts as a blank canvas for the collection.
Interiors are increasingly embracing the colour and patina of antique solid country woods, including oak, elm, walnut and fruitwoods, to add warmth and originality to 21st Century interiors. The addition of an antique country-made dining table combined with modern chairs, antique rugs and contemporary paintings looks stylish, welcoming and very modern. The interior illustrated shows a contemporary house which has been furnished with a mixture of modern British art and country furniture such as this 18th Century Normandy beech and oak table.
opportunity to acquire good-quality, well- made pieces which do not fit into the ‘best of’ or the ‘rarest’ categories; pieces which
Opposite: This 18th-century Normandy table sits well alongside contemporary metal chairs and modern art
Another room from the same house shows a good yew wood and elm 18th Century Windsor armchair complementing the modern art alongside it. Just as top early oak continues to attract the highest prices, good country and folk art pieces will always command a premium. However, there is still a huge opportunity to acquire good-quality, well-made pieces which have survived and been enhanced by the centuries and remain robustly usable. During the 17th Century the new wealthy merchants commissioned local furniture makers to create new designs to reflect their prosperity. The resulting furniture is still buyable, and often cheaper than ‘retro’ mass-produced furniture which is so beloved of today’s lifestyle magazines. It is ironic that good mid-20th Century design pieces now command higher prices than good mid-17th Century furniture.
As well as looking beautiful, early furniture is functional and can, contrary to prevailing opinion, be very comfortable. Late 17th Century French and Italian upholstered armchairs are better suited for an evening’s reading than their modern counterparts.
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Right: A yewwood and elm 18th-century Windsor armchair, the white walls act as a blank canvas
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BEST PIECES Just as top quality early oak continues to attract the highest prices, good country and folk art pieces will always command a premium. The finest English and European furniture from the 16th and the 17th century is hard to find and fetches increasingly higher prices, putting it into the domain of the collector rather than the interior designer or homemaker. The James I jointed oak box stool, above, recently sold at auction for £32,500, including premium and taxes. However there is still a huge
class of wealthy merchants commissioned local furniture makers to create new designs to reflect their prosperity. The resulting furniture is still buyable today, and often cheaper than ‘retro’ mass-produced furniture pushed out centuries later, which is so beloved of today’s lifestyle magazines. It is ironic that good mid-20th century design pieces now command higher prices than good mid-17th century furniture. As well as looking beautiful, early furniture is functional and can, contrary to prevailing opinion, be very comfortable. Late 17th- century French and Italian upholstered armchairs are better suited for an evening’s reading than their modern counterparts.
enhanced by the wear and faults of time. During the 17th century the growing
encourage good posture. The fact that the design has been reproduced over the centuries is evidence that they got it right all those years ago. At the moment there is not much price
difference between original late-17th to early- 18th century pieces and those that were copied in the 19th and 20th centuries. If an early armchair is in good condition and well upholstered it is worth choosing it in prefer - ence to a later version. Recently manufactured pieces, in my opinion, should be avoided as they are, in comparison, poorly constructed and usually made of an inferior wood. This pair of Italian late 17th- century
Extract courtesy of
walnut armchairs (above), which have been recently upholstered in antique kilim, is a good example of comfort combined with looks.
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