by Erin Feith, Coordinator of Research & Visitor Engagement
June 23, 2025
By the mid-19th century, cottage furniture, a style that favored functional design and painted details, rose to prominence. Initially found in the summer residences of the wealthy, advancements in technology quickly allowed for the mass-production of cottage furniture, enabling the newly expanded middle class to purchase these pieces for their homes. Indeed, Andrew Jackson Downing, America’s first landscape architect and leading voice of the day, promoted the quality, yet affordability, of the style in his 1850 book, The Architecture of Country Houses, noting that an entire cottage bedroom set equaled the cost of one mahogany wardrobe. These sets often consisted of a bed, dresser, washstand, rocker, and a table with chairs that were constructed of inexpensive woods like pine, poplar, or birch. All surfaces would then be painted, largely by the cabinetmakers who built them, in a palette of whites, lilacs, blues, greens, and pinks. The pieces were completed with hand-painted details such as flowers, leaves, fruits, or landscapes that provided the set with a whimsical aesthetic. In the United States, one popular seller of cottage furniture was Edward Hennessy of Boston, who advertised his furniture in newspapers of the day. Perhaps as a result of such advertising, the Cranes got in on the trend: they purchased a cottage furniture bedroom set, believed to have been for their daughters, Mary and Julia. Today, it is on permanent display at Acorn Hall in what is called the “Summer Bedroom.”
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