Good Morning Friends,
Following is an excerpt from a book by Paul Hemner/Peggy Zdila called Building Arts and Crafts furniture that I thought you might be interested in.

In America during the Arts and Crafts period, the use of native hardwoods in architecture and furniture was highly valued. The use of local materials was emphasized (a carryover from the British Arts and Crafts movement). Because it was acceptable to use local materials during this period, a true vernacular approach to using lumber and other building materials developed. This idea was articulated by William Morris,whose writings were highly respected. According to Morris, " Good decoration, involving rather the luxury of taste than the luxury of costliness, will be found to be much less expensive than generally supposed."

Gustav Stickley, who was a follower of Morris, said that the goal was to "substitute the luxury of taste for the luxury of costliness;to teach that beauty does not imply elaboration or ornament;to employ only those forms for simplicity, individuality and dignity of effect."

Although many different hardwoods and soft woods were used for decorative woodwork in Arts and Crafts period homes, furniture, at least of the manufactured variety, was a different matter. The factory furniture that was made during this period set the style, and the wood most emphasized was quarter sawn white oak, usually in medium to dark finishes, and often in massive-looking designs.
This posed quite a visual contrast to earlier mass produced "golden oak" furniture such as pressed-back chairs and other furniture " hand carved" by machines.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones