As I’m writing this note, I’m sitting in a comfy chair at Manderley Manor The Home Of Stickley Toronto, one is invited to view a wide selection of arts and crafts and mission style furniture… Looking around, my thoughts are sparked by the colourful and relaxed atmosphere…

Gustav Stickley once said, “Art should be brought into homes and become a part of the everyday life of people…” The current Stickley Toronto furniture collections certainly carry forward his legacy of combining art with usefulness.

I think if Gustav walked into either Stickley Toronto or Manderley Manner, he’d be very pleased with what he started back in 1898. His original concepts of bringing usefulness and beauty together are still very much in demand today.

In fact, at Manderley Manor The Home Of Stickley Toronto , we tend to think Gustav was a genius… In addition to being a master craftsman, and innovative engineer who created some cutting-edge manufacturing processes that enabled him to use machines to create the basic parts of the furniture which was then hand-finished.

Stickley also published his own magazine, The Craftsman, whose masthead announced its purpose as being “in the interest of better art, better work, and a better, more reasonable way of living”. Each issue was filled with illustrations of his designs, and exciting interior design ideas – everything from tiles and pottery to gardening and landscaping.

He even designed and sold model home plans in the Craftsman, and wrote two books on home designs. Stickley invented “the furniture of the American ideal,” according to a 1983 New York Times article, “simple, sturdy, unpretentious; functional, natural–a homemade style that was an ethic to live by.”

Coming back to the furniture collections here at Stickley Toronto, let’s look a little closer at some of the specific pieces of furniture, and how they meet Gustav’s vision:

Take, for example, the Harvey Ellis Fall Front Desk – it’s a work of art with its nature-inspired inlay and stringing, and the extended top line that lightens this beautiful and completely functional piece. It’s the perfect height and size to hold a laptop computer – and it even offers hidden electrical and power bar locations!

Other examples of secret hiding places for modern conveniences (and necessities) abound in the many collections here at Stickley Toronto.

If you’re ready to relax and let it all hang out, is there a better or more comfortable resting place for your bottom than a Stickley Toronto Morris chair? (I’d bet my bottom dollar that there’s not, because that’s what I’m sitting in right now, as I’m writing to you!) There probably isn’t another piece of furniture that represents the entire Arts and Crafts movement or Mission furniture than the Morris chair. At tribute to William Morris who started the English Arts and Crafts movement, Leopold Stickley designed the Bow Arm Morris Chair in 1910. Some of its many features includes an arched front stretcher, long, graceful bow arms, four adjustable back positions and in the oak version, quadralinear post construction.

Later variations of the Morris chair include Gustav Stickley’s 1912 Spindle Morris Chair with the ubiquitous and beautiful narrow spindles. Or consider the Eastwood Craftsman Chairs and Rockers. This offers Morris’ reclining back combined with a separate footstool foresees the modern recliner.

Innovating, Stickley Toronto also offers the popular Mission styles of Bow Arm and Spindle Morris Chairs as recliners for those who prefer their footstool attached. Laze back and enjoy a snooze! Explore all the Stickley Toronto furniture and design options on our website, www.manderleymanor.com.Pages from Mission