Cane Without Creakiness

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 267, 1 February 1928, Page 7

Cane Without Creakiness

THE NEW FURNITURE Designs Vastly Improved SUCH great strides have recently been made m the manufacture of cane, wicker and reed furniture that they are returning to use in the home. We have been liable to consider this class of furniture as appropriate only for the garden, for passengers’ comfort on the promenade decks of great liners, and for occasional use in the nursery.

The criticisms that have been levelled against the cane class of furniture have been that it was bad in degign and appearance, that it was creaky, unstable and uncomfortable, and that its natural straw-like colour 4id not lend itself to the evolution of effective furnishing schemes. These points were certainly not in favour of its use in the interior of the home, but the criticisms can no longer exist. In the first, place, the designs have Ijeen vastly improved. Chairs, settees and other pieces are now made in cane, wicker and reed which can be said to be as good in appearance as many types of wooden furniture. Arms and seats have been shaped to make for added beauty as well as for additional comfort, while understretchers have now been included to provide a better appearance as well as greater strength. As far as the durability end comfort of this class of furniture is concerned, this has been greatly enhanced. Split and whole cane are now woven closely together and are worked on a solid foundation of thick, whole cane, so that no piece can be accused of being rickety. Reed is used in one type of furniture, and the material is woven on a loom in much the same way as carCts and textiles are manufactured. By is means great rigidity is secured/

and there is an absence of “creakiness,” further guaranteed by the use of strong understretchers. It can almost be said that cane and reed furniture is as stable as wooden furniture, while it has the additional advantage of being light to move and thus of being labour-saving. One of the most important points in the construction and design of modern cane furniture is the introduction of colour. In the reed type of furniture, the woven material is dyed throughout in a range of a dozen or more colours. The pieces thus form * very definite part of the colour scheme of a room. In ordinary cane furniture, inlays of coloured and •namelled cane are used. This enamelled work is used in many ways to give the right colour-touch to various pieces of furniture. Inlays **** used on seats, arms,' legs and

backs. In this connection, it may be well to recall the large number of articles which are now being made in cano and reed. In addition to chairs, settees, and stools, we have floor standard lamps with reed lampshades, fringed with silk, writingdesks, and bureaux, dining-tables and chairs, occasional tables, and easy chairs, waste-paper and 'soiled linen baskets, and several other pieces. Added comfort is given to cane or reed furniture by the use of padded and well-sprung upholstery. Ordinary cane-work is liable to become uncomfortable if used for a long time, and for this reason the manufacturers have fitted lounge chairs with gay cretonne and artificial silk cushions. In some instances these are filled with some stuffing material such as hair or wool, while in other instances rows of springs, vertical and of stout copper, are used to give the same resiliency that is found in an ordinary upholstered chair. These upholstered cane chairs are very different from the old “Derby” chairs which were in vogue several years ago. Although these are still used to a certain extent, the most interesting and the newest models have loose cushions, padded or sprung.

The upholstery is not attached to the seat and back, and the cushions can be taken off for shaking, dusting, recovering, or substituting. The new type of cane and reed furniture is particularly suitable for the lounge. A bright and gay, quaint and colourful restroom can be furnished admirably in this type of work, and many rooms which contain coloured cane or reed furniture, with happy cretonne covers, cushions and curtains to match, carpet or rugs of bright hues, and wallpaper of an all-over English flower pattern, have achieved an unconventional and original effect which is wholly beautiful and restful. At th€i same time, the inclusion of one or two cane chairs, in colours to harmonise, with the rest of the furnishing, has added greatly to the charm of the bedroom which is furnished in the modern style.