This craft is found mainly at Sankheda where the local people craft Sagwan wood into smooth, rounded shapes which are put together in set designs to form the furniture; these are mainly made as co-ordinated sets and have specific colour combinations. The upholstery used for the furniture is cloth or jute. The lacquerware is found designed into chair-backs and chair-legs, hand-rests, and specially carved protrusions to make the chairs more attractive. The colours used for lacquering are gold, silver, red, blue, yellow, orange and black. The lacquerware itself has designs using the above colour combinations as dots, squares, and other geometric or floral motifs. This furniture beautifully blends colour and an aesthetic appeal. The lines are smooth, even, and pleasing to the eye. Teak wood, being expensive, is used sparingly for making this furniture.
Sankheda furniture is a common sight in most of the traditional Gujarati households. This furniture made in the town of Sankheda has unique patterns and designs. They are made from teak wood and treated with lacquer. They are painted with traditional bright shades of maroon, yellow and gold. To compete with today’s demand for different modern colours, Sankheda furniture is now also coloured in ivory, burgundy, blue, green,copper, etc. The hichako (swing) and the ghodiyun (child’s cradle) are most popular furniture pieces of Gujarat.
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