Mission
style furniture is a misnomer for the host of imitators of the furniture
of Gustav Stickley. Stickley was popular in the beginning of the 20th
century for his design ethic that stressed that a home and its furnishings
should reflect the environment around it.
This school of thought came on the heels of the cluttered
Victorian era and featured a return to simplistic and functional lines
made by hand, instead of machine. Though mission style furniture is
technically mislabeled, the designs and styles live on and remain popular
in America today.
Mission style furniture representing the Arts and Crafts Movement of
the early 20th century survives today through originals and replicas
alike. Whether it is the mission style of Stickley, California bungalow
style popularized by Greene and Greene