After the chintzy excesses of the 1980s and the rigour of cutting-edge
furniture minimalism, we seem to be finding a middle
ground much in the Arts and Crafts furniture tradition,
where natural materials speak for themselves and comfort And fashion
co-exist. As the houses in this book illustrate, modern furniture need be neither cold nor sterile. ‘Nature’s veining’,
nature’s colours and textures, bring a warmth and intimacy to
all rooms and a look that will wear, weather and last beyond the vagaries
of furniture fashion.
Wood furniture
in some of its many guises; supple and sophisticated for a contemporary
chair, strong and handsome for an Arts and Crafts house, calm and
collected in a modern interior. Wood can also be carved and persuaded
into all manner of shapes and forms. In furniture
the gently curved back rails of the Arts and Crafts chairs have
been steam-bent, while the swooping arms and front leg of the Sawaya
and Moroni chair are thanks to the malleability of plywood.
Even without the gloss of any religious or spiritual associations,
trees are awe-inspiring: towering above us, flexing in the wind,
stoutly powerful where they meet the ground, tapering towards their
extremities into twigs to create winter silhouettes that are as
delicate as lace.  From
a distance their summer leaves present an infinite variety of downy
green, an illusion on soft furniture that resolves with proximity into
an intricate and spiky tracery of twig and branch. Bare or clothed,
palest emerald in spring, fiery red or orange in autumn, the deciduous
tree is nature’s visual clock. In terms of longevity, as well
as size, man is a midget compared with furniture. To plant one for furniture is to
leave a legacy that may be enjoyed by great-great-great-grandchildren.
While generations are born and buried, trees look on, inching outwards
and upwards, losing and gaining branches, living through hundreds,
perhaps even thousands, of winters and summer, autumns and springs.
As the legacy of these great living plants, wood carries with it
many of the virtues and attributes of the tree from which it has
been carved. Just as no two trees are identical, so every wooden
furniture, table or piece of panelling it is own particular character
and identity. Wood has remarkable dual tendencies: it is strong,
rigid with the effort of keeping the weight of leaves and branch
erect, and yet also flexible and effective under both compression
and tension.
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