Mission Furniture 101: Everything You Need to Know

The History of Mission Style Furniture

The term “mission style furniture” was first coined by New England furniture craftsman Joseph McHugh. McHugh built a collection of stylistically similar furniture based on inspiration from a chair he discovered in a church in San Francisco, CA in the 1890s.

The word mission is an ode to the spanish missionaries who settled in Northern California during those times, although the design inspiration for mission furniture has little to do with the religious Spanish missionaries and their culture.

Moreso, mission style furniture was a counter-movement to the perceived excessive ornamentation of Victorian style furnishings that became popular in the mid- to late- 1800s.

Around the same time, there was a sentiment that the industrial revolution of the early 1800s had caused us to devalue high-quality, handmade goods in favor of those that could be cheaply mass-produced. Mission furniture took hold between the years of 1900 and 1915 as a response to both of those movements.

Mission vs. Craftsman vs. Arts & Crafts

Mission furniture rose to prominence during the Arts & Crafts movement of the early 1900’s, also known as the American Craftsmen era. The movement brought with it an appreciation for high-quality, handmade goods and the people who made them. Because of this, the terms mission furniture, arts & crafts furniture, and craftsman furniture are forever linked and mostly interchangeable.

Gustav Stickley

One of the most influential mission style furniture craftsmen of the time was Gustav Stickley, although he loathed the term “mission furniture” in favor of “craftsman furniture.” Stickley operated a manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania, and his work has more or less defined the terms mission and craftsman style furniture.

Mission furniture remained among the most popular furniture styles until the 1930’s, when it was succeeded by the art deco movement. It experienced a renaissance during the 80’s and remains popular today.

Mission vs. Shaker Style Furniture

Mission and shaker style furniture are often associated because both styles have been adopted by traditional furniture craftsmen. The Amish are often cited as the source of both design philosophies, although that’s not true in either case.

Whereas mission style furniture was birthed into existence by Joseph McHugh and furthered by Stickley, shaker style furniture originated from the Shaking Quakers in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. It wasn’t for another few decades that mission style furniture began to emerge. Both styles originated in New England.