2.01: Historical Furniture

Styles

Colonial: Jacobean

• Straight lines• Rigid designs• Sturdy

construction• Ornate

carvings• Dark finish

Colonial: William and Mary

• Gate legs• Bun feet• Highboy and

wing chair introduced

Colonial: Queen Anne• Oriental influence• Vasiform splats• Cabriole legs with

pad or paw foot• Shell motifs

Colonial: Chippendale• Chinese latticework• Pierced splat back• Cabriole legs with ball and claw feet• Changed the course of furniture

design

Colonial: Rococo• Elaborate carved

forms• Natural motifs • Asymmetry• S and C curved forms,

Rocaille (pronounced rock-eye) broken shell motif

• Acanthus leaf

Postcolonial Georgian: Hepplewhite• Tapered legs• Decorative back in the

shape of a shield, an oval, or a heart

Postcolonial Georgian: Sheraton

• Rectangular, square backs• Slender, tapered legs• Some are decorated with

reeding (vertical lines)

Postcolonial: Empire• Inspired by Napoleon• Meant to imply power• American craftsmen

incorporated patriotic motifs, such as eagles with spread wings.

Postcolonial: Duncan Phyfe• Decorative, lyre-shaped back• Fabric seat• Curved, decorated• Draped swag • Lion paw feet• Elegant appearance

Postcolonial: Shaker• Created by the

Shakers, a religious group that settled in New England

• Simple, plain furniture with little ornamentation

Victorian• Highly carved dark

woods• Curving lines, inlaid

floral patterns, and rich upholstery

• In general, think of a cluttered environment, full of heavy furniture, and surrounded by plants, heavy fabrics and lots of china and glassware

20th Century: Art Nouveau

• Reaction against Victorian design

• Gentle arches • Elongated curves;

whiplash • Fluid-looking edges

that flow together• Illustrated botanicals

and animal life

20th Century: Frank Lloyd Wright

• Represented the beginnings of modern design

• Style is described as organic or Prairie style

• Commonly used horizontal lines, geometric shapes, flat surfaces, and slats.

20th Century: Bauhaus (Marcel Breuer)• Influenced by the Bauhaus

philosophy of “form follows function” and designs should be simplified

• Contemporary design with clean lines

• Used tubular steel frames with canvas, cane, wood, or leather seats

• Most famous design was the Wassily Chair.

20th Century: Scandinavian

• Inspired by Nordic skis

20th Century: Art Deco• Reaction against Art

Nouveau by using more geometric shapes

• Mass produced

Contemporary Furniture• Furniture that is currently popular; latest designs