Bespoke flatpack furniture is the perfect way to get the most value and highest quality fitted wardrobes for your budget.
By streamlining the fabrication, delivery and installation process, we can focus on quality materials, lavish finishes and designs that take cues from the entire history of wardrobes and grand furniture whilst also fitting modern interior design sensibilities.
Whilst wardrobes have existed in one form or another for as long as woodworking has, the rise of Queen Anne style interior design, the Shaker movement and the greater accessibility to furniture and interior design that came in the Victorian age literally shaped the wardrobe into its modern guise.
To commemorate this, we have a range of different door styles, finishes and accessories, including Queen Anne style door knobs, brass door pulls and cupboard knobs that evoke the spirit of the Victorian tallboy.
However, one of the most unusual developments in wardrobe development was the trend of using glass doorknobs, which had a remarkable history as a luxury flourish, a necessity and a vintage throwback.
Where it started was at the same crossroads between artisan craftwork and industrial efficiency that our bespoke wardrobes do.
The Industrial Revolution was the making of the wardrobe as we know it today, as the radical changes to how everyday products could be made dramatically lowered the price and allowed not just the aristocracy but almost anyone the opportunity to personalise their living spaces.
Part of the reason why there was a switch from brass door handles to wooden or iron door knobs is that the latter were easier to produce in large quantities. Whilst they started off being relatively simplistic, they evolved in ornamentation exceptionally quickly once mechanical techniques were developed.
We celebrate the elegant simplicity of Victorian design through the rounded cupboard knobs we offer, but that was not the only contribution the era had on wardrobe design.
In the 1820s, the industrial revolution had reached the previously entirely artisanal world of glass through the use of the pressed glass method, first patented in the 1820s.
Initially used to replicate previously hand-pressed decanters and glass, the process would be adapted for use in doorknobs, but not before it was ironically adopted by a movement which stood opposed to mass production.
Born out of fear that the decorative arts were being cheapened or even lost by the ruthless march of progress, the Arts and Crafts movement was established by a number of artists who wanted to establish an approach to design that integrated simplicity, honest beauty, local techniques and materials, personal expression and a harmonious respect for interior space.
The resulting interior design is remarkably recognisable to modern homeowners, filled with clean lines, form following function and a relatively utilitarian and minimalist approach.
At the time, however, it was a revolution that could be felt in nearly every piece of furniture you are likely to buy today, but it had a particular effect on wardrobes. They became simpler in design, more practical in shape and a more beautiful reflection of the craft and materials used to make them.
However, this invites a question when it comes to the doorknobs that would become popular on wardrobes in the fin de siecle part of the 19th century; if glass doorknobs are inherently made using a mass-produced, mechanised process, why were they embraced by the Arts and Crafts movement?
The answer is a mix of novelty, beauty and a respect for the principles of the burgeoning movement.
Around the time the Arts and Crafts movement spread across the Atlantic Ocean, at the same time, pressed doorknobs came the other way.
As well as this, whilst they were certainly ornate, they lacked the “vulgarity in detail” that offended the Arts and Crafts movement in its early years.
Finally, by being clean and bright in design, they often fit well within Arts and Crafts interior design as a welcome flourish.
For all of the aesthetic appreciation of glass doorknobs, they peaked in popularity for largely practical reasons.
Arts and Crafts would fall out of style, but would inspire both the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements, both of which would extensively use ornate decorative glass in their interior design.
Initially a compromise to ration the use of metal in the middle of the First World War, glass knobs became a welcome alternative and started to emerge in a wide range of colours.
This trend continued through the Great Depression and Second World War up until the economic miracle of the 1950s, which led to a return to ornate metal.
However, they have always remained popular as an encapsulation of an era.
