COTTAGE OR PROVINCIAL TYPES   95
Spanish Colonial. Spanish colonists preceded the English, lo-
cating in what is now California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas,
and Florida. Their architecture and furnishings were patterned
after those of Spain and Mexico, but were modified by Indian de-
sign, unskilled Indian labor, and crude materials. See pages 9, 75,
and 106.
Spanish influences resulted in sparse use of furniture, with em-
phasis on textural variety and bold contrasts. The furniture in the
missions was large, crude, and rectangular, but entirely appropriate..
In the homes it was more varied, colorful, and light. Chairs up-
holstered in leather or painted in brilliant colors enlivened the
shadowy interiors. The chests and vargueno cabinets were the
most characteristic items. Original Colonial Spanish articles can be
seen in many missions and museums.
The home furnishing of the Spanish colonists has had in this
century an enthusiastic revival, followed by a reaction against it.
Manufacturers made reproductions and adaptations, sometimes un-
fortunately stressing its more superficial features. Monterey fur-
niture is one kind of Spanish Colonial In Santa Fe and the vicinity
Spanish Colonial furniture is well used with Indian and Mexican
rugs, pottery, basketry, tinware, straw inlay work, and religious
symbols. A worthy development of Spanish Colonial was the
severe temporary Mission style.
Shaker. In the nineteenth century, the Shakers, an English re-
ligious sect, established colonies in the Atlantic states, particularly
in Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts, where some still
live. They are exponents of healthful communal life and teach
their members farming, carpentry, furniture making, weaving, and
the other simple crafts necessary to make themselves self-sustain-
ing. Their simple strong houses as well as their furniture, are
plain, unadorned, and well constructed, designed solely for utility
and suitability. Their furniture is made of local woods—fruit, nut,
pine, and maple* See page 263.
Shaker furniture is a truly American rural type which might
well be used today where strong plain furniture is desired, as in
farm houses, rustic houses, studios, cottages, or in men's dormi-
tories* For use in a home it must be accompanied by a sufficient
amount of overstuffed furniture, possibly in a straight line, non-
period style, like a Lawson sofa.