“Millennials don’t want brown furniture”, writes Arabella Byrne in The Spectator.
You probably have nothing but brown furniture, most PLU (People Like Us) do. Barmeath only has brown furniture, of course. When my grandparents lived in a lodge on the Batsford estate in the Cotswolds, between the wars, my grandmother bought elegant, small antiques with an eye to returning to live at Barmeath. I inherited most of this – enough to furnish a much bigger house than Number 56 – so most of it is still at Barmeath. If I need more furniture I go to a local auction house and buy brown furniture. It is cheap, same price as IKEA nearly, beautifully made Edwardian, Victorian, Regency, Georgian pieces. But I will start with a confession. I cannot reach the top shelves in my study and, in a moment of weakness, ordered this from IKEA.
When not in use as library steps it is where books on my “to read” list are kept. The chair is a repro planters’ chair with a cane seat and back and extendable arms, so on a warm evening the user can get a breeze up their shorts. I do have other modern pieces but they are repro brown furniture to fit in with everything else. When I needed steps for the book shelf in a bedroom I bought this – so much more elegant.
The problem some have with inherited antique furniture is it was made for larger houses and millennials have down-sized.
The chair is repro; the rolltop desk was used by my sister in her bedroom at Barmeath; the chest of drawers is from Barmeath. Note the rug with the Bellew Arms and the waste paper basket with the Bellew crest. I bought a pair of Regency hall benches which are perfect for books at the end of beds.
The rolltop Davenport desk on the right was my desk at Barmeath. I rescued it from The Old Nursuries, an abandoned wing now rescued. (There is an Airbnb and my nephew, niece and their children live there.) My mother, sensibly, objected to it transferring to the library as it was riddled with woodworm but I was allowed to keep it after rigorous treatment.
I’m not saying that all brown furniture is suitable for modern living in small houses. Sideboards, dining room tables and wardrobes do not always fit in. I have disposed of one wardrobe and I sometimes eat at my dining room table at Barmeath.
I flick through the FT Weekend supplement: House and Home. It is rare to see houses with brown furniture featured. They are houses I could not possibly live in. The best thing about beautifully made antique furniture is it’s so cheap. But, in the context of his paintings, Winston Churchill begged to differ: “I cannot pretend to feel impartial about colours. I rejoice with the brilliant ones and am genuinely sorry for the poor browns.”
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I was reading the same Spectator article last night! We have family “brown furniture “ to dispose of, as we are selling our Sussex house.
Sad story: in 1991 my Mother gave us £1000 to buy a piece of furniture as her wedding present to us. We bought a simple mahogany drop-leaf table and still have it. When it needed repair recently my daughter, who buys and sells pieces, said “don’t spend any money on it, Dad, I can get you one just as good for £60”. I did the repair (luckily underneath and out of sight) myself.
Such a poignant piece. Thank you for this. Craftsmanship,connectivity and civilization…and losing touch with our roots.
The world is on the move for sure.Destination unknown.Let’s plant trees and hope it’s just a passing fad.
Don’t be ashamed of your table/steps from Ikea. It’s well designed and useful, and the best people have them. Mine doubles as a bedside table.
I agree with the rest!
There is far less good brown furniture here in the U.S., and the cost of even moderately distinguished pieces can be eye-watering. I found two George III tables online and it was cheaper by far to buy them remotely, have a special wooden crate constructed, and pay the exorbitant shipping fees to send them to the West Coast from England than to purchase anything comparable already in the ‘States.
The UK dealer said 20 years ago, he could have gotten more than ten times the price for each table, but now nobody wants such things. (Meanwhile, many people seem to want cheaply made furniture in “neutral” colors for generic, impersonal rooms that look like they were furnished by a “luxury” hotel conglomerate.)