The furniture of Gimson and the Barnsleys is often described as the Cotswold tradition or style and has inspired designers and makers worldwide.
Use of solid wood; veneers were used occasionally to make the best use of an unusual and decorative grain effect
Use of open construction: note the pattern of dovetails down the sides of a piece of furniture, the through tenons and pinned joints.
Simple but well-proportioned functional pieces
Careful choice of timber to enhance grain effects
Restrained decoration including:
- Gouging
- Chip carving
- Chamfering
- Panelling with half-ovolo moulding including octagonal panels within squares or rectangles. The craftsmen used a specially-shaped small plane to create this moulding
- Inlaid dark and light stringing. Layers of contrasting timber, usually holly and ebony, were glued together then cut by hand with a treadle saw for inlay work.
Furniture was not necessarily sanded perfectly smooth; oak and other similar timbers were usually left with a very slightly irregular surface from the plane and finished with beeswax.
