Perhaps you support us because of our timeless and beautiful designs – drawn on classic principles. Or because we are able to customise pieces for you. Or perhaps because of the choice of finishes we offer. Perhaps it is because nobody else really seems to do quite what we do? Perhaps it is all or most of those things.

We believe that Scumble Goosie embodies a wonderful choice of designs for very long lasting pieces. Most of these can be customised to suit you. They can be finished in a variety of ways by simple waxing, staining or painting. We also believe we offer these to you at very competitive prices.

We are lucky enough to have many wonderful customers who have told us what they like over the last thirty or so years, please see our Testimonials page for more details.

We are not purists! Our influences have been drawn from many quarters:

Firstly, the French look, an example of which can be seen in the French writing table below. This more ornate look is simplified in the Gustavian pieces. These originated from King Gustav III’s fascination with the French court at Versailles in 1770.

Some pieces have a Georgian influence – somewhere in the middle of our ranges – a little more regal than the Empire pieces.

More simple influences include the Country look, drawn from peasant furniture,an example being the Country wooden sofa. Almost lastly, of our influences, is the Shaker look which can be seen in our beaded Shaker pegrails.

And last, but by no means least, comes your influence. Our ranges would be very much more limited, and a lot less rich in variety, without the many ideas and insights you have given us over the last twenty years.

Overall design guidelines

Having qualified as an Architect, I oversee all design decisions at Scumble Goosie. I have long been aware that pieces need to work in a variety of modern situations. They need to fit larger spaces,as well as smaller more awkward ones. To go with other pieces within their immediate surroundings, scaling has always been very important, while maintaining the classical proportions which underly all that we create.

Grecian and Roman buildings and temples, with their columns and plinths and other decoration, lie behind some of our designs. This is simply because they are timeless, and so much furniture design has been drawn from their inspiration.

I believe that we should try to design great hybrids which are pleasing to the eye, and work in the modern environment. Wherever possible, we incorporate storage into our pieces, to make them as useful as possible to you.

Fruitwood – A Sustainable Resource

Our pieces are largely, and usually entirely, made from a solid sustainable hardwood – Mango – which is very strong, durable and dense. It is virtually knot free and hard to dent. It does not leach sap and is very stable. It has a fine grain which lends itself well to staining or waxing, and of course, to painting. It is environmentally sustainable, starting its life by providing a harvest of mango fruit over many years. It can then be recycled into pieces such as ours. It will usually have one or two irregularities, which are characteristics of the wood itself, and the manufacturing process, rather than defects. These irregularities give it character, and lead many of our customers to like the idea of staining or waxing their furniture.

Looked after properly, you will get very many years of good service from pieces made from such a solid and robust wood.

Our workshops are located deep in the heart of Rajasthan in India. For those of you who do not know it, this is an almost unique desert province. Construction of our pieces is carried out close to its awe-inspiring capital, the stone walled city of Jodphur with its Umaid Bhawan Palace and Mehrangarh Fort. This is a place which invokes the Raj. We have been very fortunate to find here standards of reliability which are not easily matched in the modern world.

We have great relationships with small factories employing reliable craftsmen. They create beautiful pieces for fair prices. We do not exploit them, and they do not exploit us. Giving work to good reliable people, who are capable of creating furniture of great quality, at fair prices. It works for them. It works for us. And thus it works for you.

We do not create a mass produced formica look – without a proper design structure – built to an impossibly low budget. Instead, our furniture has a strong hand made element, just as its fore runners from earlier periods did. We use proper locks, and traditional hinges when you can see them, or adjustable ones where you can not. Even the backs of our pieces are made of solid wood, as are drawer bases and door panels – a far cry from cheap thin hardboard or mdf used so often now for these elements.

Treatments – painting, staining, waxing

The choice of treatments is of course yours, and yours alone, but may we guide you? As our designs are based on 18th and 19th century originals, a lightly antiqued, or distressed finish, works better than a 21st century mass produced look. Antiquing glazes help to soften the look whilst at the same time highlighting the detailing of the mouldings and carvings.

As it is largely made in solid hardwood, many of our customers like our furniture to be left in the raw, or simply waxed or stained. Others prefer their furniture painted. We use our six (soon to be nine!) House Colours but for a small additional charge painting can be done in any colour of your choice.

Where ordering is necessary, we think that our pieces are well worth the wait. They are not fashion items, and they stand to last you a lifetime.

Our Panelling

Our MDF panelling has been a remarkable success story for us. I initially developed it to use in my own refurbishment projects. I simply could not find exactly what I was looking for in the builders merchants or shops. I did not realise at the time that so many of you would also love the fact that it looks so much more realistic than the (admittedly cheaper) alternatives.

We started selling this product over 15 years ago and it remains to this day one of the most popular items in the entire range. So much so that we have introduced new sheet sizes and are now working on a number of alternative designs to complement the line-up. Please read more about our range of panelling here.

We hope our range of furniture and accessories brings you as much pleasure in your home, as it does to us.

Thanks for visiting our website, and we’d love to see you in our shop soon.

Jon Madeley – Founder, Scumble Goosie