Peacocks and Polka Dots: Waterfall Furniture

Waterfall furniture is some of my favorite ever. I know that is a big statement to say that one specific type of furniture is a persons favorite, but in my case it is very true. I love it for it's flowing lines, and the fact that it looks great with Art Deco and Art Nouveau style art work, which with the exception of Impressionism is are my favorites. Waterfall was made from the 1920s - 1940s, and at the time was considered cheap furniture. The furniture was some of the first to be mass produced furniture in the United States. Waterfall was created using plywood base (not to be mistaken with the particle board of many inexpensive furniture of today)that was curved along the horizontal edges, then covered with a cleverly laid veneer of fine woods such as but not limited to mahogany, and ebony, with a shellac coating. The hardware on these pieces of furniture was typically solid brass, Bakelite (an early plastic, that was used for many items including furniture hardware, and jewelry), and a combination of the both. It was most commonly sold in bedroom suites but dinning room sets and even pool tables were available but not as common (I could find no pictures of the pool tables). Since Waterfall furniture was considered cheap furniture in it's day it is becoming harder and harder to find a pieces in good condition, let alone intact sets. Also due the furniture being seen as cheap furniture many people pain this furniture, because it is "common" or "no very valuable" when I see this it makes my a little sad inside. As a result of this in recent years Waterfall has gained quite a bit of value. When I was 16 my parents allowed me to re-decorate my bedroom, this included getting "new" furniture my mother found a full bedroom suite(dresser with mirror, dressing table, tall chest of drawers with a mini closet, a vanity, a vanity chair, a regular chair, a night stand, and a bed frame) at an auction that was part of an estate, and a matching cedar lined chest (part of the same estate) that was being sold separately, she got all of the furniture for under $400 or $500. The set had been minimally used and very likely it was never used at all. I have never used the bed frame as I have a cast iron bed frame from 1912 that I just adore, so the frame lives in my parents basement. When my mother bought the set we needed to get a new mirror for the vanity, but the original etched mirror was still part of the dresser, also the Bakelite on one of the handles was broken, but I do still have it so I could fix it if I wanted to. To personalize the set we re-covered (many times at this point) the seats of the chairs. This furniture with the exception of the bed frame which my parents still have is in our guest room. The trunk is in our bedroom and is where I house all of my sweaters, to keep them safe from moths.
Some times you can still make an in expensive Waterfall find, when people don't know what they have. Back in December my husband and I were looking for a side-board for our dinning room, we decided to look at thrift stores first, a very uncommon move for both of us. But we were rewarded for leaving our comfort zone. When we entered the Salvation Army my husband saw an absolutely Waterfall sideboard. It was in immaculate condition (it even has a special felt lined insert in a draw for silverware) and just over $100. We scooped it up with we could. And are very glad that we did. The biggest downfall to this furniture that I have fond it that you must be very careful not to put wet items on it as it could make the veneer come off, and along line you must be careful if the veneer begins to come up you must glue it back down or it will pull off.

Above are heart breaking examples of the fate that many Waterfall pieces have met.

This sideboard is very similar to our Salvation Army find.

The dresser from my set, you can see the Bakelite and brass combo pull that are on all of my pieces

This is my vanity it is the one we had to put a new mirror on. If you look there is a space to add a glass shelf but every time I have tried to replace the shelf I have broken it, so it stays off for my safety.