Popular Woodworking 2008-08 № 170, страница 54

pieces. By the next year they were designing complete environments down to lighting fixtures and fireplace tools. Two years later the firm was designing most ofthe furniture and household items for truly grand residences, now known as "Ultimate Bungalows."

The Blacker, Ford, Gamble, Pratt and Thorsen houses, built between 1907 and 1910, constitute an amazing body of work in a fully realized, mature style; the culmination of a brief yet astounding period of development.

This article is the first in a series examining the Greene & Greene style and a marvelous evolution. The focus here is a broad overview of how the style evolved. The next article will

explore details ofthe brothers' well-known furniture designs. Even everyday objects can be beautiful, so the third article will focus on doors as well as kitchen and bath cabinets.

The Vocabulary of the Style

Attempting to deconstruct and explain a masterpiece is a risky business. We can describe component parts but any narrative is bound to be incomplete - genius is always more than the sum of its parts. Yet an understanding of those parts, the design vocabulary, is helpful.

Greene & Greene designs are rich with many notable elements. Among the best-known are cloudlift forms, ebony pegs and

breadboard ends. Liftsand pegs, in particular, have been the subject of countless words and rightly so. They are beautiful and essential to the look and feel ofthe style.

Other elements are equally important but less well-known. These include finger joints, "tsuba" shapes (a tsuba is a Japanese sword guard), carved details, wonderful handles and pulls, and intricate inlays.

A "typical" piece of Greene & Greene furniture, if such an item exists, is constructed of mahogany or teak with ebony accents. The shapes are organic and sensuous. The silky surfaces shimmer and beg to be touched. At their cores these designs are straightforward.

Unifying Themes

Unifying themes. The Gamble house inglenook is home to fabulous architectural details. The post and beam timbers are a dominant design detail in the living room.

Exteriors share design themes. The scroll detail from the Blacker entry hall appears on an exterior beam.

Room-specific detail. The scroll is featured in the Blacker entry, but largely absent elsewhere in the house.

Architectural details appear in the furniture. Lifts and carved details in the living room furniture evoke the feel ofthe architecture. The common vocabulary provides unity.

Attention to detail. The stairway in the Blacker house entry turns mundane items into beautiful design features.

68 ■ Popular Woodworking August 2008