Lounge & Dining Suites
The rapid growth of suburban housing around all major cities and a rising standard of living meant that many, especially young, people were furnishing a complete home from scratch for the first time. Furniture makers and retailers responded by offering matching ‘suites’ of furniture for each room—Lounge, Dining room and Bedroom. Department stores were the key purveyors, and some of these had their own designer and cabinet making workshops, such as Heals (Sir Ambrose Heal), Waring & Gillow (Serge Chermayeff), and Peter Jones (J D Stark). Others like Caplans produced and sold the designs of independent designers like Maurice Adams. Perhaps the most innovative British Art Deco suites were those produced by comparatively small East End firms like those of S. Hille and the Epstein brothers, Harry, Louis (H & L Epstein) and Sidney (Epstein & Goldman). These were often custom made within an overall style and sold direct to the customer, especially newly-weds. Buyers of Epstein ‘Cloud’ furniture could furnish their whole house in a consistent design theme that conveyed a sense of sunshine with fluffy clouds, fresh air and exercise. It was these that were promoted as the key to a healthy mind and body.