History of Custom Wood Furniture
Solid wood furniture provides us with comfort and pleasure and brings the essence of nature inside our homes. We hope you will enjoy each piece of custom furniture that American Custom Cabinetry crafts for you!
Chairs may have been the earliest piece of furniture created — Pharoahs in Eqypt sat upon cedar which was ornately decorated with gold and gemstones. The French, American, English and German craftsmen created very detailed chairs which displayed the unique markings of the wood used.
Writing desks were the must-have for all educated gentlemen; just look at all the fabulous portraits of the English royalty! Here are some interesting timelines of various styles of 18th century English furniture which was custom made by hand:
- 1702-1714 Queen Anne — distinguished by cyma curve contours, cabriole leg, clubfoot, simple claw and ball foot, simple shell carving or none, marquetry and lacquer and walnut veneering.
- 1714-17145 Early Georgian Period — Queen Anne style-period cotinues with claw and paw feet, eagle and lion head carvings; french cabachon and leaf ornaments.
- 1745-1770 Chippendale Period — Many gifted cabinetmakers appeared including Thomas Chippendale with strong construction and design originality. Straight, square legs were introduced ladder-backs for chairs and tripod bases for small tables; mahogany wood.
- 1770-1795 Adam and Hepplewhite Styles — Furniture was made from the designs of the architect Robert Adam which included delicate and restrained use of carving, extensive use of painted decoration and applied ornaments, urns, swag and fan motifs. Wheel-back chairs and heart-shaped backs for chairs were introduced; round and square tapered table legs including pedestal tables. Thomas Shearer introduced sideboards.
- 1837-1901 The Victorian and Edwardian Period — Victorian peferences for highly decorative surfaces arrived due to a small group of designers who catered to the newly rich.
- 1918-1939 Art Deco — Also known as Moderne became a far reaching design movement which started in France.
- 1900-2000+ The Twentieth Century and Beyond — Modern furniture includes many styles influenced by the age of technology and rationalism. Other designers in Europe and France preferred individual expression and used processed wood. The taste for complex, highly decorative surfaces ended with the Depression and World War II which ended the trade for luxury items. However, in the US with the advent of desk telephones and kitchen appliances, designers were hired by corporations like Westinghouse and Bell Telephone. It wasn't until the 1970's and 80's that decorative surfaces emerged again in Italy where they used symbolic and eclectic references in response to the modernism. Buckminster Fuller and Charles Eames favored a do-it-yourself approach which created inventive combinations of materials and construction. The arrival of the information age and constant technological advancements will continue to drive the direction of design.
Source: Maitland-Smith.com