Painted furniture with images

July 15, 2018 8:16 PM

A style of furniture common to beach Victorian homes is painted with figures (often with an Asian look, as here) or flowers, etc. Is there a name for this style? And where would I learn more about it? Here is an example.
posted by mmf to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Chinoiserie!
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:33 PM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Yes, Chinoiserie is the Asian-influenced style of the picture. But is there a name for this style of painted furniture? Often one large picture on a chest of drawers, sometimes various different floral motifs on each drawer.
posted by mmf at 9:00 PM on July 15, 2018

Best answer: Cottage furniture was popular in Victorian era, but I don’t think the example in your photo is from that period. One large image spread over the whole piece looks more repro to me.
posted by Ideefixe at 9:43 PM on July 15, 2018 [3 favorites]

I've seen this in beach houses too, though usually with a "beach" theme (paintings of the beach, shells, etc.) rather than the quasi-chinoiserie look. I think of it as an variant of "shabby chic," sometimes done on upcycled old furniture (that's what the one you posted looks like) but also often from Home Goods/Christmas Tree Shops. I don't know if it's part of some larger/longer tradition.
posted by mskyle at 7:57 AM on July 16, 2018

Tole painting is similar, but tends to be more fruits & florals from what I've seen.
posted by gennessee at 8:34 AM on July 16, 2018

Another page on various styles of decorative painting.
posted by gennessee at 8:37 AM on July 16, 2018

Best answer: Painted cottage furniture. I have not seen the Asian theme, have seen floral themes. A lot of cottage or informal furniture is pine or other wood that is less valued, and was painted rather than varnished. Thanks for posting, that's a nifty example.
posted by theora55 at 1:30 PM on July 16, 2018