Design-history writers like to say that “people didn’t live in stylistically pure interiors”—which is a statement of fact as well as tacit permission for us to embrace comfortably eclectic, personal rooms now. That never stopped visionaries—and the manufacturers who supported them—from imagining compelling settings for a salable lifestyle. The Arts & Crafts movement was uniquely suited to a potent marriage of beauty and commerce.
As imagined by the Works of L. & J.G. Stickley, Inc., this living room takes every opportunity in the effort to sell the full impact of a holistic, integrated Craftsman aesthetic. Every nook and cranny is populated with “product.” Our gaze is drawn to easy symbols of homey warmth: books, teacups, comfy seating, a crackling fire. Beyond artful marketing, the room conveys a spirit.
Despite (or owing to?) the rather indistinct, painterly nature of the rendering, one authentic quality is remarkably clear: texture. With sensual green leather, gauzy rose-tinted curtains, matte blue-glazed tiles, and richly treated walls, along with hand-finished wood, hammered copper, brass tacks, and woven wool carpeting, every treatment evokes and invites touch . . . the hand of the maker reaching out to the hand of the user, in the past and today.
Bo Sullivan is the owner and founder of Arcalus Period Design and Bolling & Company, as well as the former senior designer and architectural historian at Rejuvenation, a leading manufacturer and marketer of classic American lighting and hardware.
