THE DRAWING ROOM AT SANDRINGHAM HOUSE.
(From a Photo by Bedford Lemére & Co., by permission of H.M. The King.)
There is, of course, in very many cases, an individuality gained by the "omnium gatherum" of such a mode of furnishing. The cabinet which reminds its owner of a tour in Italy, the quaint stool from Tangier, and the embroidered piano-cover from Spain, are to those who are in the habit of travelling, pleasant souvenirs; as are also the presents from friends (when they have taste and judgment), the screens and flower-stands and the photographs, which are reminiscences of the forms and faces separated from us by distance or removed by death. The test of the whole question of such an arrangement of furniture in our living rooms, is the amount of judgment and discretion displayed. Two favourable examples of the present fashion, representing the interior of the Saloon and Drawing Room at Sandringham House, are here reproduced.
There is at the present time an ambition on the part of many well-to-do persons to imitate the effect produced in houses of old families, where, for generations, valuable and memorable articles of decorative furniture have been accumulated, just as pictures, plate and china have been preserved; and failing the inheritance of such household gods, it is the practice to acquire, or as the modern term goes, "to collect," old furniture of different styles and periods, until the room becomes incongruous and overcrowded, an evidence of the wealth, rather than of the taste, of the owner. As it frequently happens that such collections are made very hastily, and in the brief intervals of a busy commercial or political life, the selections are not the best or most suitable; and where so much is required in a short space of time, it becomes impossible to devote a sufficient sum of money to procure really valuable specimens; in their place, effective and low-priced reproductions of an old pattern (with all the faults inseparable from such conditions) are added to the conglomeration of articles requiring attention, and taking up space. The limited accommodation of houses built on ground which is too valuable to allow spacious halls and large apartments, makes this want of discretion and judgment the more objectionable. There can be no doubt that want of care and restraint in the selection of furniture, by the purchasing public, affects its character, both as to design and workmanship.
These are some of the faults in the modern style of furnishing, which have been pointed out by recent writers and lecturers on the subject. In "Hints on Household Taste,"[27] Mr. Eastlake has scolded us severely for running after novelties and fashions, instead of cultivating suitability and simplicity, in the selection and ordering of our furniture; and he has contrasted descriptions and drawings of well designed and constructed pieces of furniture of the Jacobean period with those of last century's productions. Col. Robert Edis, in "Decoration and Furniture of Town Houses," has published designs which are both simple and economical, with regard to space and money, while suitable to the specified purpose of the furniture or "fitment."
The ruling principle in the majority of these designs has been to avoid over-ornamentation, and pretentions to display, and to encourage good solid work, in hard, durable, and (on account of the increased labour) expensive woods, or, when economy is required, in light soft woods, painted or enamelled. Some manufacturing firms, whose high reputation renders them independent of any recommendation, have adopted this principle, and, as a result, there is now no difficulty in obtaining well designed and soundly well constructed furniture, which is simple, unpretentious, and worth the price charged for it. Unfortunately for the complete success of these sounder principles, really good and appropriate furniture meets with a fierce competition from more showy and ornate productions, made to sell rather than to last: furniture which seems to have upon it the stamp of our "three years' agreement," or "seven years' lease." Of this it may be said, speaking not only from an artistic, but from a moral and humane standpoint, it is made so cheaply, that it seems a pity it is made at all.
A revival in taste, which has been not inappropriately termed "The New Renaissance," and has produced many excellent results, has been brought about by several well-known architects and designers. Mr. Street, R.A.; Messrs. Norman Shaw, R.A.; Waterhouse, R.A.; Sir Alma Tadema, R.A.; T. G. Jackson, R.A.; W. Burges, R.A.; Walter Crane, Thomas Cutler, E. W. Godwin, W. Morris, B. J. Talbert, S. Webb, and many others, have devoted a considerable amount of attention to the design of furniture; but it is scarcely within the writer's province to attempt a description of the character of their respective work.