Wright Town

When it comes to design, it is always interesting to see traditional materials being used in new ways and one surprising area where this is happening is in, of all things, pine furniture.  Originally pine furniture was the cheap option and one of the first timbers to be used for mass production of furniture.

Then during the 1960s pine suddenly became popular as a light, cheerful alternative to the drab, dark furniture of the preceding decades.  It became something of a victim of its own success because it was also closely associated with flat pack furniture and gradually by the end of the 70s it had again fallen from favour.

Today however, new machining techniques, wider varieties of colours and stains and improved finishes have brought a new lease of life to the pine furniture industry.  Of course for the traditionalists there are still the recognised styles of dressers, chairs and so on available from manufacturers like CPW in Sussex and Devonshire Pine Ltd.  But these companies and others are also producing some impressive contemporary styles of pine furniture, such as the Boston range from PD Global.

New machining techniques have also made it possible to produce more complex styles on an affordable basis and the Grosvenor range, also from PD Global, is a good example.  It features fluted column decoration to the leading edges of cabinets that in the past would have been a significant additional cost.

As more people seek the outdoors or natural look, several companies are now producing ‘rough sawn’ furniture that has roughened surfaces made to look like the furniture of a frontier or woodman’s cabin.  In the right setting it can look very appealing and one such range is the (aptly-named) Rough Sawn range from CPW.

These techniques, together with a host of new colours, leave the way open for some radical new styles of pine furniture to be introduced.  During difficult times, manufacturers will tend to play it safe with new ranges so it will be up to the retailers, especially online retailers, to act as catalysts for the next generation of new, exciting furniture.

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