Vintage furniture adds history and character.
If you recently picked up an antique chair or table from the flea market, you may be wondering classify the period and style of its design. Vintage furniture classifications are based on ornamentation, symmetry, materials used and style of legs, feet and backs. Does this Spark an idea?
Rococo
The Rococo style originated in pre-revolutionary France and is often associated with Louis XV. Rococo isn't as concerned with symmetry as other furniture styles, instead favoring a graceful eccentricity. Rococo furniture is often fanciful, with heavily ornamented pieces featuring many curves and gold and silver accents.
Chippendale
The Chippendale furniture style draws its name from an 18th century cabinet maker named Thomas Chippendale. Chippendale pieces feature graceful lines, ball-and-claw feet, cabriole legs and large decorative pediments. The Chippendale style has French, Asian and Gothic elements; American Chippendale is highly derivative of Queen Anne style. Wing chairs and camel-back sofas are popular Chippendale pieces.
Victorian
The Victorian furniture style is referential, favoring updated elements of past furniture styles, such as the Federal and Rococo styles. Victorian dining chairs have open, rounded backs with curved legs. Victorian furniture also has a notable Gothic quality, and pieces are often heavy, ornately carved and constructed from dark woods. Victorian furniture persists in popularity, in part because it was the first furniture style to be mass-produced.
Federal
The Federal furniture style, also known as American Empire, is known for highly contrasting wood inlays, straight lines and light construction. Duncan Phyfe, the cabinet maker associated with Federal style, frequently used lyre motifs and X-shaped supports. Federal furniture tends to look more delicate than other styles, and Federal dining chairs have straight, thin, often tapered legs.
Mission
Mission style furniture, also known as arts and crafts, originated in late 19th and early 20th century America, somewhat as a response to the perceived excesses of the Victorian furniture style. Early Mission furniture was sturdy, reliable and handcrafted usually from oak; the style was seen as a rejection of mass production. Mission furniture is symmetrical and simple in construction. Flat panels, vertical and horizontal lines and visible construction are hallmarks of Mission style.
Mid-Century Modern
Mid-century modern furniture was influenced by the then-popular 1950s Scandinavian furniture and features a clean, symmetrical design style hallmarked by bold color, clean lines and inorganic materials, such as plastics and steel, although some pine, mahogany and teak are used. Mid-century modern design furniture tends to be low to the ground, with short, thin legs, and minimally adorned.
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