Finding a Sofa, Part I

Good Craftsman/Arts & Crafts style furniture is tough to come by.  Many pieces are considered antiques.  Many pieces actually ARE antiques. 

This makes it tough for an amateur old bungalow owner to find something like a sofa, if you want to match the style of the house.

Stickley is THE name in American Craftsman style furniture.  http://www.stickley.com/  They have been around since 1900, and the style of their furniture is distinctive. 

Unfortunately, at least based on their website they only really have one sofa model that has the sort of hand-crafted wood frame and comfy seat cushions that I’ve generally associated (in my amateur way) with Craftsman-style homes.  They call it the “Spindle Settle.”  http://www.stickley.com/OurProducts_Details.cfm?id=2797&q=sofa&view=all&view=complex&finish=&Collection=. 

I’m just not big on this particular design.  Among other things, the rails on each of the arm rests are narrow, and don’t look quite right. 

This is NOT a slam on Stickley.  They can do chairs, and all sorts of other things (as I’ll discuss in future posts).  I’m just not big on their sofas.

Fortunately, we found just the place to find the iconic Craftsman-style sofa (more on this tomorrow).  Though it wasn’t with the iconic Stickley…

The Craftsman Attitude

I confess that until around 2003, I never really knew that there was something called the "American Craftsman Style."  I also didn't know anything about the "Arts and Crafts Movement," which I always associated with summer camp and after-school activities.

I did know that I liked the unpretentious style of the houses found in south Berkeley and north Oakland, including the hand-made look of the lights and other detailing.

I'll be posting a lot about various Craftsman-style stuff over the next few weeks.  Before I do that, however, I want to say a bit about the Craftsman Attitude.  Some people take the American Craftsman style and/or the British Arts & Crafts Movement VERY SERIOUSLY.

I DO NOT take it that seriously.

Purists and historians may find fault in my characterization of Craftsman-related stuff.  For example, I recall a discussion with our realtor when we were looking for a house.  We had looked at a bungalow, and I said "I really love Craftsman houses like this."  Her response?  "That's a bungalow, not a CRAFTSMAN."

Ok.  That seemed very snooty and elitist (since we were priced out of the larger homes that she considered American Craftsman and/or Arts & Crafts homes).  But if you want to be a purist, who am I to stop you.  I got past the remark, we continued to use this realtor, and she did a great job helping us buy our bungalow.

On this blog, I'm not going to suddenly develop that sort of pretension.  If an attribute of a mere bungalow seems Craftsman-like to me, I'm going to say so, even if a historian and/or Craftsman hobbyist or enthusiast might disagree.  If I blog about furniture that seems like it is in the Craftsman style, I'm also going to say that, even if it wasn't made by Gustav Stickley himself.

I figure most folks will know what I'm talking about.  Craftsman enthusiasts are free to correct me in the comments.

Accidental Owners of An Old Bungalow

In December 2003, we became the proud owners of a bungalow in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, California.  The bungalow was built in 1916.  We knew at the time that it was an old bungalow.  But we did not quite appreciate what that might mean...  This blog is the continuing saga of the owners of that old bungalow, lessons learned, advice imparted.