Hello,

I love arts & crafts and Art nouveau but all the furniture I see online is WAY out of my price range. I just got married and we're going to be moving into our first house before too long so I will need to decorate does anyone have any suggestions for me?

Jen

I am sure the purists will scoff but you can get "mission style" furniture kits from AFO (american furniture outfitters) they sell Sauder kit furniture which comes in more than one style. The furniture is attractive composite wood with a fruitwood veneer in the mission style(among others) and very very affordable. Just google AFO and you should find it

Thanks so much. I would be a purist if I could but I can't so...
Jen

There are numerous pieces of original arts and crafts furniture available at reasonable prices that are either unmarked or marked by shops other than Stickley/Roycroft/Limbert etc.

You will find these everywhere from garage sales to flea markets to country auctions. Look for quality features - quarter sawn boards, through tenons, original finish. You might get lucky and pick up an original Stickley for a bargain price. Please don't think you need to buy kit furniture to get involved with A&C.

i strongly agree with stonecat, there are many pieces out there at very reasonable prices. they may not be the famous names, or turn up in the high end auctions, but are very well designed and highly functional. i just posted some pics in an album of bargains i have found, ranging from $40 for four dining chairs (chips, rough edges, but a little oil and look great) a desk for $100 and a great rocker for $100. you just have to be diligent and keep your eyes open and have good brakes when you see something in front of a shop.

ebay still has lots of good buys, just look for unsigned stuff and you may get a good deal, but local estate sales, yard sales and antique mall rough rooms are a good start too.

Hi Jen,

I don;t know about way out of your price range.. i know on my furniture, there are people that sell furniture cheaper, and there are more expensive makers.. the main thing you need to look at is how the piece is built... Set a price range for yourself.. make a priority list.. You probably won;t get a whole house full of furniture at one time.. but decide what starter pieces are most important.. shop around a little.. look at various designs, and decide what is right for you. i don;t know that any of us have all the furniture we want or need.. I have only 2 of my own pieces... (just because it is busy) .. but I think part of the enjoyment of arts and crafts is the process of collecting. maybe start with a few pieces, and set aside $50 or so a month into a furniture fund..

look for better quality.. And that does not necessarily mean high price.. there is alot of mass produced garbage mission furniture.. If it is put together with screws, is not all solid woods.. it is a bad investment. (LOL) for example, a cheap made table will run $75-$100 , a well built side table will run you $250-$400 .. but the well build table will last you the rest of your life, while the cheap one if taken care of will last 5 years.. So what table is the better investment?

~Rob

Yes I would much rather have decent quality pieces than mass market junk. Most of the mass market stuff is really *off* to me for one reason or another. Thanks everyone

The warning about sticking as close to originals as you can get is a valid one. Although some manufacturers have jumped on the arts & crafts/mission bandwagon, I learned the hard way that it may not be worth the cheaper prices. I bought a mission style sofa from Basset; it looked great in the store, but we ordered it with a sleeper option and the mattress shows, hanging down under the seat! Not only that, the weight of the sleeper has made the frame pull apart a bit. Had we bought a real mission style settee, we'd still have been able to sleep someone on it (although not two), and it would undoubtedly not be falling apart. And aside from letting the company know what we thought of their lousy design, there wasn't much we could do about it. Caveat emptor!

Hello Jen,
As an example I am attaching a Charles F Limbert Tabouree circa 1905 that I duplicated in Feb of 2005 as a celebration of his work.

I also make many other Arts and Crafts Furniture
that is very affordable and relatively ecomimical to ship.

Shold you be interest in anything I might build for you don't hesitate to email. Ralj7@AOL.com

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones London, Ohio

I bought a set of 4 dining chairs about 6 weeks ago for $100. The seats need to be recovered and one has no horse hair padding left, but I am quite pleased.

There's a lot of unmarked stuff out there. Go to second hand stores and garage sales and you'll find something. I buy stuff all the time for under $100. Most of it needs to be refinished, but since it's unmarked, that's not such a sin as it would be with a vintage Stickley piece.

Hi Jen, in addition to the great advice given thus far, invest in some research materials. Scour the internet, purchase some quality catalog reprints from the "known" makers and get yourself some great reference materials from your local bookstores.

There's a wealth of info out there, and it's always a good idea to know what your looking at.

You'll find what you're looking for even if it's one piece at a time, just be patient. Happy hunting. Rick

Jen,

I don't know where you are but in some parts of the country it's very difficult to find even decent generic A/C pieces. That's the case here in Texas. In spite of that, I agree with those who have encouraged you to buy period pieces or at least good quality repros. That said, you might find, especially if you're in an A/C rich region, that good generic period pieces are less expensive than good repros. Even some of the more common stuff by Limbert and Stickley is affordable. My own experience is that by continually checking eBay and a list of dealer's websites, I've been able to start a decent collection without too much financial distress. Even if I pay high shipping fees, the cumulative total is probably less than I'd pay in the unlikely event that a decent piece showed up locally. You won't be able to furnish your house overnight and in the beginning you'll think it will never happen. Soon enough, though, you'll look around and be pleased with what you see.

It is quite possible that Jen may not read these reponces to her post of 3 years ago. It is still good to have the information.

Good point Fred, I didn't even notice the original date. If she bought that particle board stuff it's fallen apart by now.

quote:

Originally posted by Ray Fleck:
Jen,

I don't know where you are but in some parts of the country it's very difficult to find even decent generic A/C pieces. That's the case here in Texas. In spite of that, I agree with those who have encouraged you to buy period pieces or at least good quality repros. That said, you might find, especially if you're in an A/C rich region, that good generic period pieces are less expensive than good repros. Even some of the more common stuff by Limbert and Stickley is affordable. My own experience is that by continually checking eBay and a list of dealer's websites, I've been able to start a decent collection without too much financial distress. Even if I pay high shipping fees, the cumulative total is probably less than I'd pay in the unlikely event that a decent piece showed up locally. You won't be able to furnish your house overnight and in the beginning you'll think it will never happen. Soon enough, though, you'll look around and be pleased with what you see.

Another option is to have something built new. There are a LOT of people out here building custom furniture. You have to be careful and shop around, but 'custom' doesn't have to mean 'expensive'.

Hello Kirk,
How true,how true I am one of those crafters who make furniture and have now been recognized nationally as some of my furniture is from sea shore to sea shore and border to borded.
I am attaching a piece that is destend to go to Los Angeles, California as soon as I get it crated and weighed.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones

That's a nice table, Ralph.

As you know, most of what I've done in past few years is Mission 'themed', although i try to change it up enough that it doesn't look like somebody doing a copy.

You may recognize this mesquite dining room from posts on the WOOD site... my sister recently moved to a NYC walkup, and it's in storage right now!

KC,

Welcome to the forum and what a wonderful dinning set. Mesquite.... That can be tough on your blades. Here in Tucson we get a few nasty windstorms and the sand gets locked into the wood.

Very nice and I like the high back on the sideboard.

Actually I did just check on the subject since we're finally buying our first home.