The strippers and dippers worked studiously to reveal the natural beauty of the wood underneath. In many cases, however, instead of restoring the piece to its original glory, they were actually causing damage, and in many others, what lay underneath wasn’t so radiant in the first place.
“People had this weird idea that wood wasn’t really wood unless it was stripped down,” says Orla Kelly, a design consultant. “It was based on a misconception. Irish country furniture was meant to be painted. It was usually made from cheap pine that was never intended to be stripped and varnished.”
Country furniture became extremely unfashionable for at least a decade, but now it is coming back into vogue.
Before the advent of fitted kitchens, traditional dressers provided storage and display, with shelves above and cupboards below. A dresser was an important piece of furniture, so the carpenter usually added carved decoration before it was painted. Many had space at the bottom for brooding hens. There were many types of dresser; the plainest was the “clevy”, shallow with an array of pegs or hooks to hang cups, mugs and jugs.
Another key piece of vernacular furniture, the settle, was a high-backed bench with a box-like seat that opened out into a bed. Settle beds were often used for children as they were close to the ground and had sides. The “creepie” was a wooden stool or chair with very short legs so people could sit close to the fire while staying below the smoke.
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Rosa Meehan, of the Museum of Country Life in Castlebar, says: “Irish country furniture is part of our cultural heritage, created by craftspeople whose skills were passed from generation to generation. Its appeal lies in the fact that each piece is hand-made and therefore unique. Having a handmade piece of furniture is something special.
“Most country furniture was intended to be painted. The paint protected the timber in damper homes and was easier to keep clean than unpainted wood. Today the paint is an intrinsic part of the history of the furniture — without it, you might as well buy a new piece.”
Kelly is a design consultant for the Irish Landmark Trust, a charity set up to rescue heritage properties and bring them back into use as short-term rentals. The interiors are decorated as authentically as possible, often using country furniture.
“Because of the darkness and the smoke, the furniture was painted in incredibly bright high-gloss colours,” she says. “And the one thing you don’t do is remove the paint. It’s quite alright to paint over the layers, but stripping damages the wood underneath. And dipping is even worse — it destroys furniture.”
Irish country furniture is hard to come by now. Prices are relatively low at the moment, but according to Victor Mitchell, an auctioneer, this means people are reluctant to sell. “The value of antique pine has dropped enormously and there are only a small number of pieces available, but you can pick up a dresser in good condition for anything from €500 to €1,000,” he says. “The prices for tables depend on length. A 6ft table will cost about €200, but a 4ft table could sell for under €100. Chairs could cost as little as €50.”
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Mitchell finds people are often afraid of antique pine because of a fear of woodworm. “Old furniture often does have woodworm, but it’s treatable. If you see holes in the wood, it means the worm has already gone, but if you see traces of fresh powder, the wood may have live worm in it. Either way it’s safest to treat the piece with a product such as Cuprinol.”
Do’s and dont’s