Pine being a soft wood is not easily carved or engraved so traditionally has been used in simple designs.
These days Painted Pine covers a range of wildly different styles, e.g. the Victorian Style Bedside (right) or the Devonshire Tarka Painted Pine Range (below)
Painted Pine Furniture
To some purists, hiding the grain pattern of wooden furniture with paint is an act of desecration, but painted pine furniture has a surprisingly long and diverse tradition. Today painted furniture can be the ideal accompaniment to a wide range of decorative styles as shown here.
Origins of painted furniture
Painted Furniture appears to have it origins firmly in Europe, most notably in Italy and France from which developed the flamboyant painted styles of Rococo and Louis XIV furniture. As always, the styles of the rich were copied by the less affluent majority and this produced the cruder peasant-style painted furniture that today is frequently referred to as French-style Painted Furniture.
Perhaps less well-known is that Painting Furniture was also favoured in the kingdom of Prussia (which included modern day Germany and Poland) and was therefore the traditional style of furniture used by the German emigrants to America who founded the various Shaker religious communities. What is today regarded as the typical Shaker style of furniture is usually unpainted, but this was a fashion copied by the Shakers from the communities of Welsh miners that had settled in the coal producing areas of Pennsylvania.
Decorative styles that use painted furniture
Rococo/Louis XIV
These flamboyant, highly decorative styles can vary in complexity – and price – from the affordable pine and mdf collections that echo the styling flourishes to the ultra-expensive pieces that may be decorated with semi-precious stones, gold leaf or other ‘exclusive’ embellishments.
French Style/Shabby Chic
Originally shabby chic was meant to convey the use of high Quality Furniture and soft furnishings that, although well worn, were still used in preference to poorer quality modern replacements. Now however, the well-used, slightly down-at-heel look has taken on an appeal of its own and distressed painted furniture supplemented with interesting fabrics and ornaments, produces a charming look that is unique to the individual.
Shaker
Shaker style is less fussy than the styles mentioned above. It can either be presented in a similar distressed look or immaculately finished where the simple lines of the furniture are enhanced by pristine, neat paintwork.
Colonial/New England
This look is very bright and fresh, with neat paintwork usually chosen in preference to the distressed finish. It is often chosen for bathrooms and seaside homes to add to the clean, fresh atmosphere.
Mexican
Another surprise here is that traditional Mexican Furniture was often painted and not the distressed pine look most usually associated with the style today. Research suggests that the pine look came about when Mexicans put their unwanted old furniture onto verandas or other exposed or semi-exposed locations. After many years the paint would have been sandblasted away by the prevailing weather and the resulting furniture was then bought by American tourists who regarded it as the ‘traditional’ Mexican furniture style.
Contemporary
Of course many contemporary furniture designers appreciate the look that can be achieved by Painted Furniture and there is a wide range of modern painted styles from which to choose.
Examples of all these furniture styles can sometimes be difficult to find in high street shops but a number of internet retailers offer comprehensive selections of painted pine furniture. One such company is Right Price Furniture
