Furniture for the Home – Design Origins (Part 3)

The nailed together ‘boarded’ furniture of my previous post remained in use for many hundreds of years and it’s this continued popularity that makes us feel that its worth attention even today.

Early, surviving chests were built for settings such as a church or castle and were large and featured crests to demonstrate their importance. England was a very unsettled place with a large divide between the rich and poor and remained that way for centuries however by the 15^th century change was afoot as agriculture expanded and gave birth to industry. By products from farming including cloth were exported to Europe and the result was a new Middle Class; entrepreneurial country men who could elevate themselves through trade. Now home comforts became increasingly important to a greater number of people and the market for fine goods grew among which smaller boarded chests were popular.

Furniture construction developed and by the 16^th century frame and panel construction was the choice of the rich. Less wealthy but obsessed with displaying their success the middle class stuck by the boarded pieces as they served their purpose well and gave opportunity for a decorative finish which satisfied their need to show off. Beautiful carving perhaps even detailing a traders newly bought ‘ coat of arms’ would take the boarded chest to a higher level but as neither a large amount of time or skill was necessary for building the chest itself simple examples filled the need for utility in the lower classes. By the 17^th century refined work was generally reserved for the joined furniture but being a man of varied skill the country craftsman would keep up the tradition for boarded work right through the 19^th century. He could try his hand at imitating the middle class and there are many examples of roughly carved chests to demonstrate this, they’re not as refined as earlier work but decorative all the same.

The popularity of the boarded chest may have jumped down the social scale but as a utility item the speed and ease of build can’t be bettered. Woodworking by hand today probably has more relevance to the hobbyist than anyone; people who delight in making something useful with their own hands and enjoy the challenge of learning something new. If you’re starting out in woodwork a simple boarded piece can offer both and even if you’re experienced simple work can be satisfying as you enjoy the fast pace or create ways of adapting the look to better suit your taste.