Children's room furniture, Spring Exhibition of The Association of Applied Arts 1907, archival photo

In 1907, at the spring exhibition of the Society of Applied Arts, Vilmos Wessely exhibited a children’s room as part of an eight-room middle-class home, whose furnishings were designed by various applied artists. The colourful painted furniture was intended to meet children’s needs. The seating furniture—armchairs, bench, chair, stool—brings in mind peasant furnishings, and are decorated with painted flowers. The applied artist designed a railed cot for small children, and decorated the bed for older ones with carved elements. The doors of the two cabinets feature playing squirrels, and have arched openings at the top. The upper part of the chest of drawers is fashioned in the same way. There are birds and rabbits on the cot, and playing rabbits are featured in the decorative wall painting. The pieces of the furniture were simple in structure, and the shapes were designed for practicality rather than aesthetic concerns. A carpet decorated with flowers completed the interior design. Toys designed by Wessely, in colours identical with, or close to, those of the furniture can also be seen, including a wheeled dog, a tumbler, and a small wagon. The rocking horse was also painted, decorated with stylized Hungarian motifs. The furniture and toys were made in the State School of Toy Making in Hegybánya-Szélakna near Selmecbánya (Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia). A photograph of the nursery was published in the New York magazine The Craftsman in 1908. This photo was published in Magyar Iparművészet, 1907, 131.