In British history, living conditions for the ordinary man and woman began to steadily improve from the 17th Century onwards. One of the consequences was that even people of relatively humble status began to want their own furniture. Furniture was traditionally made of hardwoods, especially oak and beech, but the woodland from which it was sourced was owned either by the Crown or wealthy landowners.
Given that much of this wood was earmarked for shipbuilding (for trade and defence) someone hit upon the novel idea of using pine; hence solid pine furniture came into being. Solid Pine furniture was the furniture equivalent of the Ford Model T. It may have been made in small workshops up and down the country, rather than being mass-produced, but it increasingly became the way for ordinary people to become furniture owners. One of best selling Solid Pine Furniture ranges would be
Devonshire Pine Badger.
The only pine species native to Britain is the Scots Pine, but with over 100 species of pine found worldwide, supplies could be readily imported to fulfil the growing demand. Being a softwood it cannot be carved as easily or intricately as hardwoods, so while furniture makers such as Chippendale produced highly decorated hardwood furniture, pine furniture was relatively simple and designed to be functional. Those with a desire to emulate oak or mahogany experimented with various methods of staining or simply painting their pine furniture.
The popularity of pine furniture enjoyed a huge boost in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In post-war Britain, the dark, gloomy, buildings of the Victorian era were swept away in an urge to live in clean, light conditions. Heavily ornate Victorian furniture was out of favour and pine came into its own. Shops such as the newly-established Habitat and suppliers of Scandinavian-style furniture used pine.
It was seen as light and fresh and fitted perfectly with the desire for a new style of living. This association of pine with new and fresh outlooks is still just as strong today with, for example,
www.pineview.co.uk offering a new life to the over 50s.
Did you know?The
side table's alternative name of console table is derived from the original meaning of the word console, which was 'to provide support.' Over the years console has evolved to mean emotional support, whereas the word as applied to
side tables is now also used for aircraft, ship and automobile instrument panels, as well as computer controls.