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Painted Coffee Tables
During the past few years painted furniture such as the painted coffee table has been, and continues to be, very fashionable.  It may be surprising to learn therefore that painted furniture is not a new phenomenon but has a history nearly as long as furniture in wood finishes.  The early makers of furniture did not have access to the vast range of stains, waxes, sealants, varnishes, lacquers and so forth that are available today.  In fact it is likely that most early wood treatments would probably only have consisted of a coating of beeswax or tallow, simply to provide some protection from dirt and damp.  Paints, such as they existed, were usually locally made and available in a limited range of colours according to whatever animal, vegetable or mineral products were available to create colour.  Examples include burnt limestone (making limewash), cows’ blood and dye-making plants such as the madders plant.   

The fashion for painting furniture could well have coincided with the spread through Europe and Britain of the Renaissance and Baroque styles during the Jacobean era of the 17th Century (though I’m open to correction on this point).  The Renaissance ideal was a culture that appealed to the highest standards of achievement and sophistication in all fields of human endeavour.  It is not difficult to imagine therefore, the appreciation people would have had for the skills of the artisans first in creating paint, then successfully applying it to wood, and ultimately in producing items that looked so completely different from the wooden furniture that had been the norm.  Of course, this would not have applied to painted coffee tables as such furniture did not appear until the Victorian age.

Painted furniture for Puritans
But to return to the story of painted furniture in general.  The Puritans – and the English Commonwealth under Cromwell – despised any displays of ostentation or luxury, so it might be thought that painted furniture would have fallen foul of this outlook, but this turned out not to be the case.  When the Protestant movements such as the Amish left Europe for America they took examples of painted furniture with them and also made painted furniture after arriving in the New World.  The trend for Amish or Shaker style to move away from painted furniture is attributed to Henry Lapp of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania who copied the unpainted style of his Welsh immigrant neighbours.

During the Victorian period, with its revival of the Gothic style, it might be supposed that dark oak was the universal finish for the furniture of the well-to-do, but famous designers of the period such as William Burges (1827 – 1881) were also responsible for highly decorated painted furniture, often in styles of an imagined medieval age.  This was also when the painted coffee table is likely to have first appeared.   

The modern age and the development of contemporary and shabby chic styles
During the more recent past, painted furniture has undergone something of a divergence into two distinct categories: contemporary and shabby chic.  Contemporary styles of painted coffee tables and painted furniture in general have simple lines and minimal decoration.  A common variation is to retain the tops or flat, horizontal surfaces in wood finishes.  Colours are usually cream, ivory or similar and are great for adding light and brightness to a room. The completely uniform finish, in comparison to the colour variations of wood grain, helps to reduce the prominence of the furniture itself and focus more attention on the soft furnishings and room accessories.  Painted finishes are a popular choice for bathrooms, conservatories and interiors aiming for a fresh, seaside appeal.   

Painted, shabby chic-style furniture may also be referred to as French-style or French painted furniture and has a completely different history.  The origins of its popularity in Britain lie in the 1950s and 1960s when, in an attempt at a fairer distribution of the nation’s wealth, the taxation of landowners and the owners of grand properties was greatly increased.  The effect of this, together with shortages of cheap skilled labour, meant that many of the larger, more affluent homes could no longer be maintained to the necessary standard and literally thousands were demolished and the contents sold off.   

In such ‘reduced circumstances’ it gradually became acceptable and then even fashionable, to have interiors furnished with elegant pieces that were not just patinated but had a distinctly worn appearance and the shabby chic look was born.  This fashion applied to both painted and wood finished furniture but, as the look gained popularity and became more widespread, most of the painted furniture was sourced from France where painted Rococo styles had remained popular amongst the rural population long after its passing elsewhere.   

The genuine faded antiques could not supply the growing demand – and painted coffee tables were almost non-existent anyway – so an industry has grown up around producing new furniture that has many of the style attributes of the faded elegant, shabby chic furniture.