BAKER NEWS

October 2008
THE STATELY HOMES COLLECTION DRAWS INSPIRATION FROM THE PAST FOR ITS LATEST DESIGNS

CHICAGO (October 20, 2008) – Baker plumbed deep within its archives to select the latest designs to join its prestigious best of class Stately Homes Collection. Unveiled at the Fall 2008 International Home Furnishings Market were an array of dining, cocktail and occasional tables, a server, one chest, two cabinets, an étagère, two styles of poster beds, dining side and arm chairs, a torchere, two looking glasses, and a George II wing chair. Impeccably crafted by Baker, the collection brings back some of the most regal pieces of the collection's history, each form expertly rendered using the finest in materials, craftsmanship and attention to detail that has become synonymous with the Baker brand.

Sir Humphry Wakefield, Baronet and owner of the 800-year-old Chillingham Castle, and foremost authority on English antiques, continues to direct Baker in its choices. Sir Humphry has personally selected unique and engaging items from the castles and country estates of the British peerage, which are still used every day by their aristocratic owners. Each rendering within the collection showcases the original designs of some of the greatest minds of the golden age of furniture.

Through Baker's relationship with Sir Humphry, and its ability to faithfully replicate pieces employing the elements of Old World craftsmanship, Stately Homes made its commercial debut in 1980. Baker has added to the collection over the years, creating a repository of works as diverse as the lifestyles with which these items are associated. The designs hearken from such romantic locations as Burton Agnes, Chatsworth, Blair Castle, Port Eliot, and Floors Castle, to name a few, reinforcing Baker's important traditional category with an extraordinary breadth of exquisite furniture rarely seen in today's marketplace.

The pieces are true to the original designs, crafted from mahogany and walnut solids and decorated in a rich display of mahogany, walnut, rosewood, sycamore, ash, yew wood, ebony and satinwood veneer work. Warm Aged Walnut, soft Faded Mahogany and rich English Mahogany finishes grace many of the designs, while others boast glossy black lacquer with touches of gilt, and brilliant brass appointments.

A stunning example of meticulous craftsmanship that Baker brings to this collection is the Penshurst Chinese Chippendale Display Cabinet. Penshurst Place is in Kent, England, and is acknowledged to be the finest 14th century baronial manor in England. The rare and exotic quality of the cabinet is emphasized by the fact that the original 1760 design is included in the authoritative Dictionary of English Furniture, Vol. 1. Rendered from mahogany solids and finely figured mahogany veneers, the cabinet is crowned with a pagoda shaped pediment decorated in pierced fretwork and carved acanthus leaves and scrolls. The upper cabinet has two glazed doors intricately overlaid with finely molded astragals. When opened, it exposes an Ivory silk interior and houses three adjustable glass shelves. Separating the upper cabinet from the lower cabinet is an elaborately carved frieze featuring chinoiserie moldings and blind fretwork. The lower cabinet has two paneled doors carved with foliage and set with moldings. The interior has one drawer and an adjustable mahogany shelf. The cabinet rests on shaped bracket feet finely carved in the Chinese taste.

Another exacting 18th century design executed in the finest detail is the George III Oriental Lacquer Cabinet. Two paneled black lacquer doors and sides are elaborately decorated in a raised gilt and ochre landscape design, its pastoral scene includes pagodas and trees framed by a fine trellis border and stamped cushion molding. Finely cast and chased brass mounts and hinges finished in Dark Antique Bronze decorate and secure the doors, which when opened, expose two drawers fitted with liner pads and two fixed wood shelves. The chest rests on a Chinese Chippendale stand finished in black lacquer. Square chamfered legs meet the cabinet in pierced fretwork angle brackets and are decorated with sprays of flowers.

Baker Knapp & Tubbs, Inc. includes Baker furniture, Baker Knapp & Tubbs Showrooms, and Baker Stores. Along with McGuire Furniture Company, Ann Sacks tile, stone and plumbing company, Kallista plumbing, and Mark David hospitality furniture, it is part of the Kohler Interiors Group and wholly owned subsidiary of Kohler Co., a global leader in kitchen and bath designs.

Founded in 1873 and headquartered in Kohler, Wis., Kohler Co. is one of America's oldest and largest privately held companies. Kohler is a global leader in the manufacture of kitchen and bath products, engines and power generation systems, cabinetry, tile and home interiors, and international host to award-winning hospitality and world-class golf destinations.