---
title: "Maine Cottage Furniture Journal"
url: https://mainecottagefurniture.com/
description: "Drawn studies in painted cottage furniture: colour families, finish layers, surface wear, slipcovers, woven forms and case-goods proportion."
---

# Maine Cottage Furniture Journal

[PLATE 01](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/colour-families)

## [Colour families of painted cottage furniture](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/colour-families)

COLOUR

PLATE 01 / COLOUR / DRAWN FOR MAINE COTTAGE FURNITURE JOURNAL

Sixteen flat colours grouped into four working families. Painted cottage furniture is usually chosen family by family rather than piece by piece, so a chest and a bed can sit in one room without competing.

[PLATE 02](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/paint-and-finish-layers)

### [Paint and finish layers](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/paint-and-finish-layers)

PLATE 02 / FINISH

A section through a painted panel, from bare timber to the layer that takes the wear.

[PLATE 03](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/painted-surface-wear)

### [How painted surfaces wear](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/painted-surface-wear)

PLATE 03 / FINISH

Edges, handles and seat fronts lose their film long before flat panels do.

## New writing

[01**Best Underlayment for Laminate Flooring on Concrete**Sep 16, 2026](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/best-underlayment-for-laminate-flooring-on-concrete/)

[02**Is Wax Paper the Same as Parchment Paper?**Sep 14, 2026](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/is-wax-paper-the-same-as-parchment-paper/)

[03**Pelican NaturSoft vs SoftPro for NSF Certification**Sep 10, 2026](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/pelican-natursoft-vs-softpro-for-nsf-certification/)

[04**Who's the Best for Commercial Plumbing: Ferguson vs Plumbing Supply and More**Sep 03, 2026](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/who-s-the-best-for-commercial-plumbing-ferguson-vs-plumbing-supply-and-more/)

[05**Top 5 Plumbing Distributors for Regional Expertise**Aug 25, 2026](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/top-5-plumbing-distributors-for-regional-expertise/)

[06**Top 5 WhatsApp Business API Platforms for Ecommerce Stores Who Need Multi-Channel Support**Aug 02, 2026](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/top-5-whatsapp-business-api-platforms-for-ecommerce-stores-who-need-multi-channel-support/)

## Secondary plates

[PLATE 04](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/textiles-and-slipcovers)

### [Textiles and slipcovers](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/textiles-and-slipcovers)

PLATE 04 / TEXTILES

How loose covers sit against a painted frame, and where the seam line falls.

[PLATE 05](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/wicker-and-rattan-forms)

### [Wicker and rattan forms](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/wicker-and-rattan-forms)

PLATE 05 / FORM

Three weave densities at one scale, and what each does to a painted seat.

[PLATE 06](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/case-goods-proportions)

### [Case-goods proportions](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/case-goods-proportions)

PLATE 06 / FORM

A bed and a chest measured against one wall run, footprints drawn beneath.

## Features

[PLATE 07](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/how-cottage-furniture-got-its-colour)

### [How painted cottage furniture got its colour](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/how-cottage-furniture-got-its-colour)

Colour on furniture followed the paint trade, not the cabinet trade. When mixed colour became something you could buy rather than grind, the summer house was where it landed first.

PLATE 07 / COLOUR / MAINE COTTAGE FURNITURE JOURNAL

[PLATE 08](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/reading-a-furniture-joint)

### [Reading a furniture joint](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/reading-a-furniture-joint)

Paint hides grain and it hides tool marks, but it rarely hides a joint. Three joints, and what each one tells you about how a piece was put together.

PLATE 08 / FORM / MAINE COTTAGE FURNITURE JOURNAL

## The archive and what it files

Every study and feature on this site is filed by plate number and by discipline. The plate number is the filing order of the publication, running from Plate 01, and the four disciplines — Colour, Finish, Form and Textiles — describe what each plate is about rather than when it was made.

The complete index lists all eight plates grouped by discipline. The editorial scope page sets out what this publication covers and what it deliberately leaves alone.

[Complete archive](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/archive)

[Editorial scope](https://mainecottagefurniture.com/about)