nets. China cupboards with their
double-hooded tops and soft colored brocade linings were used to display
the wonderful china collections so much in vogue. There was much
upholstered furniture covered with beautiful petit-point, which is
perfectly reproduced nowadays, but is naturally expensive. Silks,
velvets, and damasks were also used, and Queen Mary had a "beautiful
chintz bed."

The handles used were of various kinds, the favorite being the drop from
a round or star-shaped boss. The furniture was beautifully polished but
did not have a bright gloss.

When Anne came to the throne in 1702, the English cabinet maker had
became an expert craftsman, and we have the beginning of the finest
period of English cabinet-making, which later, in the Georgian period,
blossomed into its full glory. The furniture of this time was of walnut.
The chairs had a narrow, fairly high back, with a central splat
spoon-shaped and later fiddle-shaped. The corners of the back were
always rounded. The cabriole legs were often carved with a shell on the
knees, the acanthus being used in the more elaborate pieces of
furniture, and ended chiefly in a club foot. Stretchers became less
common, but if they were used were pushed back and did not form such an
important part of the chair design. Seats were broader at the front
than at the back, and all furniture showed a real desire for comfort and
convenience. Marquetry and lacquer were both in great favor, and there
are wonderful examples of both reproduced, but especially lacquer.
Petit-point, damask, velvet, and chintz were all used for upholstery and
hangings. Chintz was becoming more plentiful, but it was not until the
Georgian period that it reached its perfection.

The Georgian period covers the work of Chippendale, the Adam Brothers,
Hepplewhite, and Sheraton, who gave to the eighteenth century its
undying decorative fame.

[Illustration: A glassed-in sun-porch furnished with comfortable wicker
furniture adds much to the joy of life.]

When Chippendale began his fine work, the Dutch influence of Queen
Anne's reign was still strong, and this shows in his furniture; but his
genius lightened and improved it. The characteristics of his style which
remained fairly stable through his different phases were the use of
mahogany, a certain squareness and solidity of design which has no
appearance of heaviness because of the fine proportions, chair backs
with a center splat reaching to the seat. Th