History of Furniture

Styles

Ancient to Modern Styles

 History of Styles
Built 1631, the Taj Mahal in India

 Throughout history, the diversity of cultures has found expression in many directions, including
the way people have designed and furnished their built environment. Design is shaped by many
factors, including environmental, religious, and political circumstances. As these factors change,
design reflects these changes while building on previous design theories and philosophies. Styles
of design, therefore, reflect these social surroundings and their foundations.
 The term style generally refers to a segment of design history that is typical of an individual, a
period, or a philosophy of design. Style may also refer to a particular culture or region. Style
categories are developed by historians in an attempt to organize history. In reality, however, styles
do not necessarily have sharp starting and stopping points. History is fluid. Designs from one
region may influence others, and therefore styles intermingle.
 Having a working knowledge of these styles is essential. Such understanding deepens the interior
designer’s aesthetic appreciation of design and serves as a basis to foster creative energies.
 Designers study styles of the past and present to enrich current interior environments. This
pectoral essay briefly outlines the major styles that have had an impact on architecture and interior
design. The first section, Historical Styles and Their Evolution, reviews classical design styles and
how these styles have been adapted through history. The pages on Ancient, Middle Ages,
Renaissance, and Baroque eras define universal design styles based on time period classifications;
the French, Chinese, Hispanic, African, Japanese, English and American pages define styles that
are more typically associated with their respective regions. The second section, Evolution of
Modern Design, looks at the development of modern design and how these styles and philosophies
have been applied.
 Historical Styles and Their
Evolution
 Interior design and decoration dates back to the Upper Paleolithic era (30,000-10,000
B.C.). Drawings found in caves in Spain and France show evidence of wall
decorations using grouping and spacing concepts as well as limited understanding of
perspective. Sculptured figures of stone, ivory, and clay depicted the human form
and often included enlarged reproductive organs, perhaps to influence fertility and
thus the continuation of the species. These drawings and artifacts represent the
following important concepts:
 1. Creative expression is instinctive.
 2. The art of interior design dates from early humankind and serves as an integral
part of the human psyche.

 Design evolved rapidly through the last several millennia. The Egyptians (circa 3000
B.C) with their sophisticated art and architecture, made a lasting contribution to the
interior design field.
Ancient- Egyptian (4500-330 B.C.)
 Known for their pyramids built as
tombs for kings and pharaohs
 Developed trabeated construction, in
which vertical posts support a
horizontal lintel
 Used hieroglyphics (a system of
writing using pictorial
symbols)inscribed on walls
 Columns, perhaps originally made
from papyrus reeds lashed together,
Egyptian chair w/blocked feet created vertical lines, which led to
fluting on columns in later designs
 Utilized the mortise and tenon joint in
their furniture
 Used straw for flooring, therefore
furniture was raised on small blocks
so animal-shaped legs could be seen
 Motifs included the lotus bud, reeds,
papyrus and lilies
Trabeated construction
 Ancient – Greek
(3000 B.C.-A.D. 150)
 Know for their order, proportion, and refinement of
design
 Built temples to honor their gods, surrounded by
open porticos(porches) and columns
 Developed the truss system, a triangulated load-
bearing construction to allow for sloped roofs. The
triangle formed by the truss is called a pediment
 Developed a system of naming the designs and
details of columns. These classical orders of
architecture, still used today, include the Doric The Parthenon Athens, Greece. 438
(plain square capital on top of the column), Ionic B.C.Doric Columns form a portico
(capital with spiral design called volute), and around the building
Corinthian (capital with two rows of acanthus
leaves)
 Mastered the art of carving marble into a human
form. When used for support the human form is
called a caryatid
 Developed the Kilmsos chair

Klismos Chair
 Ancient – Rome
(750 B.C.-A.D. 40 0)
 Known for their engineering expertise,
particularly the development of roads and
aqueducts
 Adapted Greek designs
 Added two classical orders the Tuscan and the
Composite order
 Developed concrete arch, barrel vault and
dome
 Developed pilasters (columns partially
embedded in the walls)
 Motifs included dolphins, eagles, ribbons,
swans and grotesques (fanciful human/animal
forms)
 Roman Column Orders

Added two classical orders, the Tuscan

Vitruvius, a Roman architect, developed
(similar to Doric but without column fluting) and
Standard sizes and dimensions for the
Composite (capital combines acanthus leaves and
architectural orders (columns)
volutes)
 Middle Ages (325-1500)
 Designs dominated by religion, particularly
Christianity
 Four general divisions:
 1. Early Christian era (325-800) characterized
b the development of the basilica church
plan, rectangular, with side aisles and with
clerestory windows lighting the central
space
 Byzantine era (330-1450): church still the
dominant building, with domed structures Rose Window
and elaborate mosaic designs
 3. Romanesque era (Norman in the British
Isles) (800-1150): massive stone structures,
including churches, monasteries, and
castles, with round arches and heavy
columns Gothic Church Plan
 Gothic era (1150-1500): architectural features
commonly associated with ecclesiastical
design include the pointed arch and vault,
tracery, slender columns in clusters, and
buttresses or flying buttresses

Cathedral in Chartres,
France
Renaissance Style (1400-1660)
 Means rebirth
 Major influence came from Italy (1400-1580),
although it spread throughout Europe
 Rejected Middle Ages design and returned to
classic design motifs
 Included work by Andrea Palladio, Michelangelo,
and Leonardo da Vinci
Villa Rotunda, 1550 A.D.

Ivory inlaid Cassapanca

Savonarola Chair

Plan, Villa Rotonda

 Baroque Style – (1600-1715)
 Means “misshapen pearl”
 Major influence came from Italy and
France
 Ornate asymmetrical designs
 Flamboyant and heavy proportions

Baroque Chair and Loveseat

Baroque Cassone St. Peter’s, Rome, Italy

 French Styles – Rococo-Louis XV
(1715-1774)
 Coincides with reign of Louis XV
 Means”rock and shells”
 Flowing, feminine design with delicate
decorative details and free-form curves
 Pastel colors
 Gilded, painted, or chinoiserie lacquered
surfaces on furniture (see Chinese styles)
 Chinese influence introduced by Madam de
Pompadour
 Motifs included fret designs, and Chinese
influences such as exotic flowers, birds,
pagodas, monkeys, and mandarins (officials Cabriole legs Fauteuil
at the royal court)

Tete-a-tete Commode
French Styles – Neoclassic-Louis XVI
(1760-1789)
 Coincides with reign of Louis XVI and
Marie Antoinette
 Similar to Rococo, but focused on straight
lines, rectangular forms, and symmetrical
balance
 Motifs and designs influenced by the
discovery of Pompeii, an ancient Greco-
Roman resort city in southern Italy, which
had been buried by the eruption of Mt.
Vesuvius in A.D. 79
French Styles – Empire
(1604-1850)
 Coincides with reign of
Napoleon
 Characterized by return of
classic Greek, Roman and
Egyptian designs
 Massive, asymmetrical
designs
French Styles – Provincial
(18th Century - Present)
 Designs for lesser nobility
and merchants
 Copied or adapted rococo
and Neoclassic designs in
simpler and unadorned
styles
 Eglish Styles 
Elizabetha, ad
Jacobea
(circa 1440-
1700s)
 Heavy masculine designs
 Architecture characterized
by half-timbering and oriel
windows (bay windows)
 Interiors characterized by
plain, plastered walls or
ornately carved panels
 Furniture frequently made of
oak
 Elizabethan furniture had
bulbous legs
 Jacobean furniture had
turned legs
 Eglish Styles 
Early Georgia with
Quee Ae
1.(1700-1745)
 Symmetrical designs
exhibited dignity and
formality, reflecting classic
Greek and Roman
architecture
 Queen Anne furniture based
on cyma (S) curve
 Most significant piece of
furniture was splatback or
fiddleback chair with cabriole
leg and pad or club foot.
Later chairs had ball and
claw foot
 Eglish Styles 
Middle Georgia with
Chippedale
Furiture
(1700-1745)
 Golden Age of
cabinetmakers, including
Thomas Chippendale
 Chippendale chairs
characterized by yokebacks
with Chinese, Queen Anne,
Gothic, French and
Neoclassic influences
Georgia/Neoclassic
with Adam,
Hepplewhite, ad
Sherato Furiture
(1760-1810)
 Architecture influenced by Roman
Palladian style; even more formal
 Coincided with French Neoclassic
style and the discovery of Pompeii
 Robert Adam and his four sons
designed classical interiors. Known
for their sideboard designs. Utilized
paterae (oval shaped decorations)
 George Hepplewhite designed
furniture with straight, square,
tapered legs usually terminating
with a spade foot. Known for his
shield and heart-shaped chair backs
 Thomas Sheraton designed
furniture with straight lines, and
classical motifs such as urns,
festoons, and scrolls
 Styles 
Coloial
America
(1600-1700)
Influenced by Dutch,

German, Swedish, English,
French, and Hispanic styles
 Most common styles: Salt
Box, Garrison Jetty, Gambrel
and Cape Cod
 Styles 
Coloial
America
(1600-1700)
Most common Early

American interiors included
Tudor, Elizabethan,
Jacobean, and Spanish
Mission/Colonial style
influences
 In southwest America,
furniture designs were called
the Santa Fe style and
incorporated bold colors and
geometric forms
America Styles 
Coloial Georgia
(1600-1700)
 Greatly influenced by
English Georgian styles with
variations in wood usage,
specific ornamentation, and
proportions
 America
Styles 
Neoclassic
(1790-1845)
 Distinctive designs including Federal,
Greek Revival, Duncan Phyfe furniture
and Empire Furniture
 Duncan Phyfe furniture characterized by
fine proportions and simple lines
 Empire furniture was bold and
monumental
 Industrial Revolution (circa 1830s-1900)
brought about machine-made, mass-
produced furnishings and a decline in the
fine art of furniture making
 Federal design emphasized Greek and
Roman design, rejecting English
influence. Thomas Jefferson was an
advocate
 Greek Revival architecture prominent in
the South for plantation homes
 Victoria Era
(1840  1920)
 Coincided with reign of Queen
Victoria
 Nostalgia for past styles prevailed
with machinery producing intricate
designs, details and carvings
referred to as gingerbread
 Four major architectural styles in
America included the following:
Gothic Revival, Italianate, Mansard,
and Queen Anne
 Interiors were profusely decorated
with patterned wall paper, fabrics
and rugs
 Prominent designers include John
Belter and Thomas Eastlake
Early Moderism
(1830  1870s)
 Coincided with Victorian Era
and Traditional Revivals
 Pioneer designers rebelled
against historical eclecticism
 Utilized technological advances
in iron frame construction,
laminated wood, and plate glass
windows
 Bridged art and technology
 Earliest designs came from the
Shakers
 Austrian designer Michael
Thonet developed process for
bending wood into gentle curves
 Thonet’s designs still used
today, including the famous
bentwood rocker and café chair
 Arts ad Crafts
Movemet
(1860s  1920s)
 Revolted against machine-
made products
 Advocated handcrafted
furnishings
 Prominent American
architects and designers
included Gustav Stickley,
Frank Lloyd Wright, Henry
Hobson Richardson, and
Charles and Henry Greene
 Greene brothers developed
the bungalow
Early Moderism -
Skyscrapers
(1880s  1920s)
 Louis Sullivan, father of the
skyscraper, is credited with
coining the phrase “Forms
follows function” Many
skyscrapers reflect the three
parts of a column: the base, the
shaft, and the capital
 The Home Insurance Company
Building (1883-1885), Chicago,
by William LeBaron Jenney,
was the first fully steel-frame
building. Jenney studied in
Paris at L’Ecole Centrale des
Arts et Manufactures.
 Art Nouveau
(1890  1910)
 Style based on nature,
employing organic flowing forms
 Prominent proponents included
Victor Horta, Henri van de
Velde, Hector Guimard, and
Antonio Gaudi
 Called Jugendstil in Austria and
Germany
 Charles Rennie Mackintosh
combined aspects of Art
Nouveau with strong geometric
forms
 Louis Comfort Tiffany is best
known for Art Nouveau stained-
glass designs
 Art Nouveau
(1890  1910)
 The Tassel House (1892-
1893) in Brussels,
Belgium, is one of Victor
Horta’s best-known town
houses and one of the
earliest private residences
designed in the Art
Nouveau style. Swirling
organic forms decorate
the entry. The graceful
stair railings and supports
are fashioned in iron.
 Art Nouveau
(1890  1910)
Moder Styles 
Orgaic
Architecture
(1920-1950)
 Characterized by a building
that appears to “grow out of
the land” (Falling Water
(1936), Mill Run, PA)
 Greatest proponent was
Frank Lloyd Wright
 Wright developed prairie
style house
 Moder Styles 
Iteratioal Style
(1924  1950)
 Style based on functionalism and purity of
line
 “Form follows function” coined by
architect Philip Johnson
 Common materials included reinforced
concrete, stucco, steel, and glass
 Stark white finishes
 Open floor plan and large expanses of
glass
 International design movement leading to
the fully developed style included the
following:
 1. The Secession – an artistic movement
in Austria led by Otto Wagner, Adolf
Loos, and Josef Hoffmann.
 2. De Stijl – a movement in Holland that
reduced design to its basic elements,
including the use of only red, blue, yellow,
black, gray, and white
 Moder Styles 
Iteratioal Style

 3. Baushaus – an experimental design

school in Germany formed to simplify
design to its purest state, incorporating
machine-age manufacturing. School was
closed by the Nazis in 1933, and
designers fled to America. Most famous
proponents included Walter Gropius,
Marcel Bruer, and Ludwig Mies van der
Rohe. Mies coined the phrase “Less is
more”.
 4. Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard
Jeanneret-Gris) a giant of modern
architecture;studio was in Paris.
Designed the Villa Savoye, the chapel at
Ronchamp, and classic furniture pieces
LE CORBUSIER CHAISE
LOUNGE
BAUHAUS DESIGN MODERN


PERIOD
Description :
The Le Corbusier Chaise Lounge (LC4) is the best known and most successful of
his designs that first exhibited at the Salon D' Automne in 1929. The Le
Corbusier Chaise Lounge (LC4) was designed in 1928 for the furnishing of a villa
in the Ville d' Avray, and utilizes exposed structural elements with padded
leather cushion and headrest.
 Le Corbusier was borne Charles Edouard Jeanneret, and is widely considered the
most important Modernist chair designer in France. As a spirited advocate of
Modernism, he created a range of chairs that express his ideals with great
sophistication. The Le Corbusier Chaise Lounge (LC4) allows you to select from
the various choices of positions for guaranteed comfort. Chrome plated frame
structure and matte black steel base. Along with Walter Gropius, Mies Van der
Rohe and Theo Van Doesburg, Le Corbusier was the father of Modernism. Born
Charles-Edouard Jeanneret in 1887 in Switzerland, Le Corbusier had great
interest in the visual arts at an early age. At age 23, he was an active designer
and during time in Berlin, met the famed Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe. It was a
meeting that would have vast impact on 20th century design. During his career,
Le Corbusier spent much of his efforts on designing building and environments
for urbanism. His designs called for large blocks of cell-like individual apartments
stacked one on top of the other, with plans that included a living room,
bedrooms, and kitchen. Around this thought process, he design entire cities.

Le Corbusier's impact on furniture continues to impact current design. He

designed several chromed steel tubular designs between 1928 and 1929.

Made in Italy.

Dimensions: H 28 3/4" x D 22 1/2" x W 63"

 Materials: Chaise, tubular chrome frame and base with upholstered mattress
and foam headrest. Base made of black lacquered steel.
 Black leather and pony hide are in-stock. Colored leathers are factory direct.
  Wassily Chair
Bauhaus Desig
 Moder
 Description : Marcel Breuer's Wassily chair (1925) is one of the

Period
most famous products of the Bauhaus. It is a club armchair with all
the stuffing taken out, leaving an almost skeletal framework and
taut lengths of fabric on which to sit and rest one's back and arms.
 Marcel Breuer is considered one of the fathers of Modernism.
During his career he was an architect, teacher and furniture
designer. Breuer is famous for number of furniture designs, though
perhaps no chair design is more famous than his Wassily Chair.

Marcel Breuer designed the No. B3 chair, commonly known as the

Wassily Chair, in 1925 for Wassily Kandinsky's residence at the
Dessau Bauhaus. Eventually the chair took the name "Wassily"
from its intended recipient.
 The Wassily chair was later produced in collaboration with Karl
Koerner, who was the head smith at the Junkerswerken in Dessau.
Over the next four years, the chair went through a transformation
while Marcel Breuer was employed by Standard-Mobel. The
Wassily chair was again redesigned for Thonet, after his
resignation from Standard-Mobel, and would remain the
permanent design for Marcel Breuer's revolutionary chair.

Made in Italy.

Dimensions: H 29" D 30 1/4" W 30 1/4; SH 16"; ArH 22 1/2"

 Materials: Armchair with hide and tubular steel frame. Chrome
plated or lacquered. Steel back and armrests in hide. Welded and
polished caps
 Marcel Breuer-
Cesca Cae Chair
Bauhaus Desig -
Moder Period
 Description : Marcel Breuer designed the Cesca Chair in 1928
with the interest of comfort in mind. He choose to use one
continuous steel tube in a cantilever style, a style that many
designers at the time were using, including Mart Stam and
Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe. He rounded the front edge of the
Cesca seat so as not to cut into the sitter's legs. Breuer's version
with a beech wood seat and back was nevertheless a brilliant
solution to the structural stiffness of a cantilever frame. This
Breuer chair was named "Cesca" as a tribute to his daughter
Cheska.

Marcel Breuer, designer of the Cesca Cane Chair, is considered

one of the fathers of Modernism. During his career he was an
architect, teacher and furniture designer. As a student and
teacher at the Bauhaus School, Breuer focused on the
integration of technology, materials and art.

Breuer is famous for a number of furniture designs, though

perhaps no chair design is more famous than his Wassily Chair.
Designed in 1925, the Wassily chair was the first bent-tubular
steel-framed chair. The chair is very simple in form; yet quite
comfortable and exemplary in its use of the Bauhaus design
philosophy.

Made in Italy.

Dimensions: H 31 1/2" D 23 1/2" W 18 1/2"

 Materials: Steel tubular structure, chromium-plated or lacquered.
Seat and back in cane with natural or black beech edge.
Marchel Breuer
 Bauhaus
Desig
 Marcel
Breuer
Wassily
Chair
$1029.00

 Marcel
Breuer
Cesca Cae
Chair
Moder Styles -
Art Deco
(1909  1940)
 Decorative style advocating
strong geometric forms
including the pyramid, ziggurat
(stepped pyramid), zigzag, and
sunburst
 Inspired by the glamour of
movies and stage, jazz music,
African art, and new technology
 Prominent designers included
Paul Frankl and Donald Deskey
 Eliel Saarinen, a Finnish-born
designer, started the prestigious
Cranbrook Academy in
Michigan
 Moder Styles 
Post World War II
(1950s  1970s)
 New architectural directions
 New technology included air-
conditioning, suspended ceilings,
synthetic fibers, and plastics
 Scandinavian designers included
Alvar Aalto, Eero Aarnio, and Hans
Wegner
 Italian designers in particular
exploited the use of plastics
 American designers included the
following:
 1. Charles and Ray Eames –
pioneered chairs constructed of
molded plywood and fiberglass
 2. Eero Saarinen – came to the
U.S.with his fater Eliel; known for
his womb and tulip chairs
 3. Buckminster Fuller – known for
his geodesic domes
 Moder Styles 
Post Moderism
(1960s  Preset)
 The style borrows from the past but
in extremely contemporary terms
 Major exponents include Michael
Graves, Robert Venturi,Robert
Stern, and Philip Johnson
 Furniture styles include the Craft
Revival, Art Furniture, Ergonomic
Furniture, and most recently
furniture to meet the needs of a
mobile work force
 Other design trends:
 1. High tech Style
 2. Memphis Style
 3. Classic Modernism
 4. Deconstructivism – Frank o.
Gehry
 Moder Styles 
Post Moderism
(1960s  Preset)