Modern Furniture

Traditional is a decorating term that describes the general characteristics of the period styles. Traditional implies certain design influences that can be seen in the graceful shapes and stylings of classic furniture designers such as Chippendale or Sheraton. Traditional decorating schemes are not exact re-creations of period styles, but are combinations of an individual’s favorite motifs, colors and patterns from different periods. Lavish and detailed, traditional bedrooms feature rich woods and patterned fabrics in distinctive colors.

Traditional bedrooms are cozy and comfortable, often decorated with a mix of patterns on walls, windows and beds. These bedrooms are the perfect place to express your own personal taste with favorite antiques, family photos and collections of personal memorabilia.

Traditional bedrooms are lavishly decorated with various fabrics, from elaborate tapestries to sateen, with long draperies that flow luxuriously onto the floor. The bed is often dressed with layers of bedspreads and bed skirts. Furniture of rich mahogany or cherry, with intricate details, is common in traditional rooms, as are brass lamps, bishop sleeve curtains, ruffled pillow shams and four-poster beds.

English traditional reflects the cold, damp climate and the warmth that is desired in an English home. This warmth is found in English tweed, as well as hunter green, royal blue, crimson and mustard. Warm English colors also include natural browns, grays and creams, as well as the bright colors of garden flowers.

English traditional style includes Victorian cabinetry, Regency furniture in black and gold, Edinburgh or Waterford crystal and Chippendale desks. A traditional English country bedroom is large and spacious.

French traditional has some similarities to English traditional, but the character and flavor is much different. Since the climate of France is warmer and less rainy, French rooms don’t focus so much on a central fireplace. Pastels don’t work well with the deep, ruddy shades of English traditional, but a French style can be flavored with more subtle shades, such as peach, rose, beige, pale lemon, Wedgwood blue, muted green and rich cream.

The materials used in traditional French rooms are more lush and luxurious. There is much more use of fabric than in traditional British decor. French traditional also includes intricately detailed Austrian shades, with lots of molding, trim and borders.

If there is one universal traditional style, it is wicker. In the East and West alike, the internationally known willow is bent and twisted to a desired shape. Wicker furniture can be found in traditional styles as well as modern, country and Oriental.

Period styles reflect the design motifs that were created at various periods in history. They are usually a reflection of the social and economic trends popular at that time. Certain colors are associated with particular period styles. Colonial and Federal periods are rich with deep, dark reds, greens and blues. The English periods include the graceful 18th-century Georgian period, which produced the furniture styles of the great cabinetry makers of the era: Adam, Chippendale, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton. This period also featured colors with rich hues and scenic wallpapers.

The American Federal period was inspired by the neoclassical revival. Walls were painted plaster or covered with formal papers from Europe and Asia. Symbols of the eagle and other classic American revolutionary symbols were prevalent. The best-known example of the Federal style is Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello.

Colonial style recreates the look of nineteenth-century European colonial experience, when the early settlers had to make do with furnishings that were primitive, imported or both. The popular Colonial Revival in the late 19th century created what many people today think of as Colonial style: a mixture of American Country with its painted wood paneling and stenciled folk art, Boston rocking chairs and Windsor chairs of early Federal style.

French period styles include elaborate scrollwork and decoration. Neoclassical Louis XVI furniture featured straight lines and geometric motifs.

The Victorian period includes a great diversity of styles. The look we generally think of as Victorian is a mixture of many characteristics. During that period, known as the “Industrial Age,” people were surrounded by such inventions as proper plumbing, the motor car and the first electric lift. Designers were able to take advantage of an incredible range of new chemical dyes. The styles reflected the prosperity of the time. Interior design motifs ranged from the elegant lines of the early Victorian interiors with light greens, lilacs and yellows, to the mid-Victorian period, characterized by overstuffed furniture and richly colored dark rooms. Victorian style also includes needlework rugs, floral prints and patterns, elaborate window treatments and grandfather clocks.
Victorian furniture, in all the different styles of the period, is still relatively cheap—one reason this design style remains popular throughout the world.