About wooden writing bureaus
The "bureau", often refferred to more recently as a writing desk or writing table in the UK, dates back to around the 17th Century where it appeared first in France. The writing bureau took on the simple state of being a flat table with drawers just below the top surface, this became known as the bureau plat. As time went on the bureaus style changed with the addition of a kneehole space, tiered drawers on each side and a single drawer in the centre above the knees. Bureaus have always been made from wood and popular woods to use have consisted of pine, oak, walnut, teak and mahogany. Commonly seen these days are the pine bureau and oak bureau.
The bureau did not appear in the UK until late on and when it arrived its purpose and meaning was poorly defined. In those days a bureau was any standard desk with drawers. Then in the 18th Century one form of bureau using the sloping writing flap was designed. These bureaus were often designed to have a bookcase sitting on top, which was quickly adopted by the Dutch, and therefore the bureau-bookcase was formed and spread through Europe due to its clever design on many small compartments and storage space.
The bureau has taken on a number of meanings, for example in the US a bureau refers to a chest of drawers whereas in the UK it refers to a writing desk. The writing bureau usually consists of a hinged writing door, which flaps down and rests at a horizontal angle enabling it to be used as a writing surface. With the door flap down a selection of smaller drawers and storage units are revealed for holding pens, paper and other stationary. These forms of bureau are the most common with the oak writing bureau and pine writing bureau often seen in peoples furniture collections.
Furniture these days often represents the lifestyle of the time, therefore less focus is placed on furniture for sitting at reading and writing letters as today the desk is more commonly used along with emails for sending letters to friends and family. This has caused the writing bureaus popularity to fall in the sense of a functional piece of living room furniture however due to its stylish form and elegant reputation people often purchase them as a feature for their home. Alternatively many large manor houses or grand homes use them to fit in with the rest of their antique styling.
For a great selection of writing bureaus, pine bureaus and oak bureaus for writing simply browse this site to find quality online furniture stores who can supply you with the wooden bureau you want for a great price! Find your favourite pine writing bureau or oak writing bureau here!
For more information on writing bureaus in oak and pine check out the following sources of information:
Wikipedia – writing tables and desks
Britannica – information on bureaus
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