The popular style of rustic straight line style furniture began life around 1895 when Joseph McHugh produced a simple rush seated chair for the Swedenborgian Church in San Francisco and based the design on the Spanish missions of colonial California at the time.
The style is characterized by straight lines and flat panels, and the wood of choice is normally oak. The style was very popular around the early part of the 20th century and many examples still remain from that time. The style is easily recognisable and most people find that they either love it or hate it. The general consensus is that the style appears puritanical and simple and in the right setting this style really becomes difficult to beat.
The real beauty of mission style furniture lies in its simplicity and this fact is commonly used in homes where there is no defined theme. The mission style fits in with most other established styles and it is this quality that makes it so appealing. It is very often used in the bedroom and examples include bedside cabinets, headboards and beds. Lovers of the style point to the simple lines as evidence that this furniture is a perfect example of a bold yet appealing statement of taste.
A bedroom decorated with mission style furniture
The mission style’s most appealing virtue is its simplicity and this simplicity generally means that every part of the furniture is functional without waste and unnecessary detail. Since the style is functional it lends itself to hard, tough woods and it is not unreasonable to expect a good example to last your lifetime since such wood are almost impervious to wear and tear when properly finished.
If you are considering buying mission style furniture then it pays to ensure that you authenticate the piece. Most good examples have some proof of origin and the best pieces are made from Native American oak with simple and well made joinery. The upholstered parts of the furniture should be completely natural such as leather or canvas and a synthetic material is normally a sign of a modern day repair of the original item. Made-made items are to be preferred to modern machine made items and if they are made of pine, plywood or veneer then this is a sign of a poor quality reproduction of the original style. The mission style is also never painted and again this is a sign that the item is likely to be damaged or poor quality.
The most well known manufacturer is L and J.G. Stickley and it is still possible to purchase original examples of the art. Don’t expect them to be cheap, however, and a small table will cost upwards of $300 and a dining suite as much as $6000.
If you don’t want to pay such prices then consider buying plans for the style. These are commonly available and a number of different providers have appeared on the internet. The style is not particularly difficult to reproduce although you should have some woodworking skills and aptitude.