Wicker and Cane Care Regular cleaning of cane and wicker furniture is essential for lasting durability. The key idea is to be gentle: Martha likes to add just a small amount of detergent or oil soap to a bucket of warm water, then dunk a soft-bristled brush into the solution and carefully brush it over the piece. The chair should then be dried off with a soft cotton cloth (such as an old dish towel). If a wicker piece is very dirty or dusty, vacuum it first, then clean with a brush. While you are cleaning, check over the piece for any breaks or loose pieces; if they are minor, you can repair them with wood glue. After cleaning, allow wicker furniture to dry completely (in the sunlight, if possible) before using.The biggest enemy of cane is dryness. To care for your cane furniture, simply mist it with plain water from a spray bottle about once a month. Be careful not to soak the cane. If the surrounding wood gets wet in the process, wipe it dry with a soft cloth.Your Guide to Buying Modern Dining Room Chairs imageDining chairs tend to be the glue which holds together dinner parties and nightly family dinners.
Modern dining room chairs come in a wide variety of options. Regardless of the type of design style a consumer...Read More about Your Guide to Buying Modern Dining Room Chairs“Perfect Unto Their Purpose”: The Faith and Philosophy Behind the Furniture of the Shakers “That which has in itself the highest use possesses the greatest beauty.” For a society that was founded on secluding itself from and abandoning the preoccupations and ideals of the “outside world,” the Shakers would end up creating some of the most universally appealing furniture the world has ever known. This guiding tenet of the Shaker religion and its “working communities” had a profound effect on the way Shakers created everything from baskets to chairs—and, in a touch of irony, was responsible for beautiful pieces that non-Shakers coveted for their fantastic construction, perfect proportions, and nostalgic charm. Antique American Shaker furniture is simple, functional, and without ornament.
Shaker craftsmanship, without meaning to, was responsible for some of the most beautiful furniture created in American history. And, in a world that was slowly becoming more automated, predictable, and closing in on the instant gratification and uniformity of the Industrial Revolution, Shaker society was an almost utopian island for furniture design in the 19th century—without intention, at first. The Significance of Shaker Simplicity Unselfconscious and built without any focus on decorative ornament, Shaker furniture stood out in a time when furniture was a stage for craftsmen to stretch the limits of their talent: carving, inlay, gilding, molding, applied gesso, silvering, painting, and more. Shaker pieces were simple, yes, but not for the sake of being simple or easy to make—they were simple because the alternative was essentially a sin. Coming up with clever innovations to streamline furniture-making was not, however. Shakers weren’t against eliminating pointless work—again, their focus on purpose guiding them in their approach to every aspect of life.
One can assume Shakers would have marveled at today’s modern technology. Religious beliefs– principles of functionalism, in manifestoes, edicts of the Central Ministry gave rules that dictated how they behave, and all of their work. so what beauty they did achieve in their furniture was almost by accident—certainly not deliberate. A Brief History: Understanding Shaker Religion The Shakers originated in London in the 1700s, a small group branching off from the Quakers. Their founder was Mother Ann Lee, a practicing Quaker who had numerous visions while imprisoned for her religious practices, the dancing, shaking, and screaming that sometimes ended in members passing out (and how the “Shakers” earned their name). The climate was hostile in England, and “The Believers” were wholly rejected by society, often imprisoned or beaten in public. Their noisy, fervent rituals and evangelist beliefs made them difficult for society to swallow. Fleeing England by boat in 1774, “The Believers,” came to America, tucking in to a farmhouse in Upstate New York and seeking peace and isolation from the sinful “outside world.”
Converts came to join their community, and, guided by their four principles, they built an industrious, thriving community. Among those principles, however, was celibacy. This, and their quiet seclusion, shrouds the Shakers and their crafts in an aura, and a bit of mystery. You can never remove their powerful religious beliefs from the equation—and even in their end, their religion dictated their destiny responsible for the dwindling and disappearance of their population, and the growing scarcity of authentic Shaker furniture. “[N]ot only did the Shakers engage in many industries, and work hard at producing superior products, but they also regarded work as a form of worship.”Shea, 1971, p. 8 The Shakers had been flourishing for decades in New York and New England. They crafted furniture for their community, and eventually for sale to the outside world, based on their religious beliefs that “anything may with strict propriety be called perfect which perfectly answers the purpose for which it was designed.”
In other words, there was no ornamentation at all, aside from colorful webbed seats and their beautiful woven textiles. Whereas craftsmen like Chippendale and Hepplewhite had their names attributed to their fabulous decorative furniture, Shaker craftsmen took themselves out of the chair design process altogether—pride and superfluous decoration were, quite literally, sinful. The results were magical. “The only thing that rivaled the Shakers’ dedication to God was their appetite for hard work.”Shea, 1971, p. 16 Theirs was a culture of work and industriousness, and can be credited with more than a few ingenious inventions, although they rarely sought patents. Their furniture was strong, although light and delicate. The structure of the pieces was made possible by their discipline and workmanship, and is clever even by today’s standards. Everything was crafted by hand with simple tools and machines. The beauty of the pieces is really only a side effect of them being so well-made.
That humility was a breath of fresh air. They used mortise-and-tenon joinery, dovetail joints, and lapped joints, and were known for using linseed oil in their paint, stains, and varnishes. Weaving materials included hardwood splits, rush, colored tape, and cane. Their chairs were superior, and this “exceptional comfort did not happen by accident. Every component of their structure was carefully measured and fitted to suit the human body…. Shaker craftsmen… experimented with proportions in relation to physical requirements until they hit upon just the right balance of parts.”Shea, 1971, p. 39 “Over one hundred years later, functional designs, devoid of nonessential embellishment, became the basis of Bauhaus design philosophy. And, of course, today… in contemporary construction. But the Shakers got there first—and considering the superb craftsmanship they invested in their effort, it may well be contended that their performance was supernaturally inspired.”