A Brief History of How The Spanish Southwest Influenced Mission Furniture Design
Much like Gustav Stickley, a dominant influence of the Spanish settler’s furniture designs in the early colonization of America, was the lack of good tools. While, like other settlers from other countries, the Spaniards brought the influence of their home land, they were so isolated in the New World that they succumbed to native materials and primitive tools.
From 1560 through the mid nineteenth century and geographically from New Mexico, California, and Texas to Louisiana and Florida, the United States saw many influences brought from Spain. Because of the extreme isolation of many of the Spanish settlement the residents were not able to acquire the decorations for interior design that they may have otherwise used. Because of this, even the wealthiest Spaniard’s homes were considered sparse.
Priests set out to build missions with a crude set of tools that eventually wore out or broke. Because of the remoteness of their settlements these tools were not replaced. They would have to learn to craft their own devices or do without when constructing these missions. Many people from the east considered these settlements in California to be crude and primitive. These same structures would later influence great designers who brought us Mission style designs.
A prized possession of any Spanish home was the trasteras. The trasteras was a tall cabinet, often with grill work inserted in its doors, used to store valuables or even meat. The solid wood, often hand painted “trastero” or sideboard was the most traditional of Mexican furniture. This piece worked for both serving and storing.
Pine was a dominant wood of choice in most of this early furniture. Brightly colored paints set the Western furniture apart. A technique called chip carving was a standard among furniture makers in this genre, especially when built in pine. After the Santa Fe Trail more tools were made available and this style was popularized. Chip carving, or spoon carving, is a style of wood carving that utilizes knives to remove small chips of wood from the surface in a single piece.
As in the organic designs of Mission, earthenware pottery, wood, copper and iron, and even native stone was used to bring the outside in. Geraniums were often a highlight in many New Mexican homes. When Mission designs came to rescue the American patrons overindulged in Victorian gilding, the natural sparseness of the West was its influence.
Tags: Gustav Stickley, Interior Design, Mission, Mission Furniture, Santa Fe Trail, solid wood, Spaniard, trastero
