Archive for May, 2008

Earmarks of the Duncan Phyfe Style Part 2

WHILE Duncan Phyfe did a great deal of completely original work, he was influenced very strongly by Hepplewhite and Sheraton, though more especially the latter. Many of Phyfe’s pieces show the same straight, narrow, high-shouldered effect that proved one of the charms of the Sheraton style. In his original work he developed a use of [...]

Duncan Phyfe Furniture Part 1

ANYONE who is fortunate enough to own some old piece of Duncan Phyfe furniture will be sure to tell you at once that it has more real personality than any other furniture he owns. There is a certain delicate elegance in the swing and flare of such pieces of “gentleman mahogany” which allows them to [...]

Sofas of Distinction Part 3

A very good example of fine lines in an unpretentious sofa may be found in the two-seat model covered in dark-grounded cretonne here shown in the three-quarter size, but obtainable also in the larger style. There is a fineness of proportion and a lack of overweight, emphasized by such desirable details as the thin rolled [...]

Sofas of Distinction Part 2

In choosing a sofa the size of the room must be considered, as well as the scale of the other furniture with which it is to be used. If space must be conserved there is no better way of doing it than by selecting a sofa of three-quarter size, which is more than adequate for [...]

Sofas of Distinction Part 1

IN THE enthralling business of furnishing her home, almost every woman looks forward expectantly to the exact moment when she can afford to buy her sofa. For rarely can a living room start life successfully without this furniture piece of greatest comfort, which may be counted on to yield untold hours of cozy enjoyment before [...]

The Perfect Home Part 3

A Comparison between American and Italian Homes
Part 3 of a 1927 magazine article on The Perfect Home
THE LADIES’ HOME JOURNAL has played an extremely important part in this betterment for more than a generation and will continue to do so on an increasingly elaborate scale in the future. Of the influence already exerted by this [...]

The Perfect Home Part 2

A Comparison between American and Italian Homes
Part 2 of a 1927 magazine article on The Perfect Home
T0 THE dwellers in the Florentine villa the little half a twin house in Philadelphia would be awful to contemplate, and the same would be true to the young couple who find unbounded satisfaction in the efficiency housekeeping made [...]

The Perfect Home Part 1

A Comparison between American and Italian Homes
Part 1 of a 1927 magazine article on The Perfect Home
THERE are twenty-room villas on the lovely hillsides of Florence, Italy, that can be had for fewer dollars than the purchase price of half a twin house in the reclaimed swamp region of South Philadelphia. These villas have no [...]