An introduction to Antique Furniture

Furniture has come a long way since its earlier primitive forms, when furniture was considerably more basic in its design and construction. It was during the 1600’s and the 1700’s that the construction of furniture increasingly developed, designs increased in sophistication and style, and the execution of their construction became an art form.

It was during the 18th C that famous cabinet-makers such as Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton produced many fine antique pieces of furniture. By the later part of the 19th C alongside the Industrial Revolution, and with rising demands on production furniture steadily became mass-produced with the advent of new technology.

Today there is an extensive range of antique furniture available to buy online, ranging from Regency, Edwardian, Elizabethan, Georgian, Victorian, Art Deco and Vintage. Buying antique furniture online for your home may seem daunting, but the following tips can help to make the process of purchasing the perfect item, for the space you have in mind, as seamless as possible. 

Furniture by definition is movable items that are used to make a room or building suitable for living and working in, such as beds, tables, chairs and wardrobes.  Antique furniture shows the items that have been built over many different historical periods, such as Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian, and how those items have changed over the years.

Furniture started being made when people learnt    to farm and had started to live in permanent settlements as early as 2,000 BC.  The Stone Age farmers of the time are known to have lived in stone huts and made the earliest forms of furniture inside, such as beds and cupboards. 

The other eras which had a part in developing furniture as we know it today, include Ancient Greek, Roman, Saxon and the Middle Ages.  The Ancient Greek furniture was basic, storage was kept in wooden chests, or a simple dresser was used to display cups. People reclined on couches, which also acted as beds that were made from simple wooden frames with rope webbing and mats laid for comfort.  Roman Furniture was one of the first examples of wealthy furniture showing fine upholstered and carving work.  In contrast, the poor Roman furniture was basic and spare.  Saxons boasted a heavy and a basic style of furniture, such as wooden benches or tables.  The Middle Ages furniture for the rich were usually made with Oak wood, and whilst remained basic, introduced wool tapestries and painted linens. 

16th Century Furniture

The 16th Century had led to a greater divide between the rich and the poor, and so life had become more comfortable for the wealthy.  The growth of furniture as a statement and for the home had meant it had become more plentiful, although it was still basic.  Most furniture was made from oak and was heavy and large in size.  The idea behind making the furniture so grand was to make it last for generations.  

In the 16th century comfortable beds, chairs and tables had become more common and the increasing number of middle class meant they began to live more comfortably-for example many more people had begun sleeping on feather mattresses, as opposed to  straw ones.  Stools and benches were used by the poor, children and the rich’s servants, whilst chairs were made for the middle class.

Throughout the Tudor times the wealthy slept in four-post beds hung with curtains to prevent drafts, while the poor maintained a basic style of furniture with benches, stools, tables and wooden chests.

17th Century Furniture

With the wealth and poor divide continuing to grow since the 16th Century, the 17th century took furniture into a much more decorated era for the rich.  The wealthy had become more comfortable and finely decorated, their furniture was often made from more expensive woods like walnut and mahogany, as well as the Oak used in the 16th century. 

Furniture began being decorated in new ways, such as Veneering, Inlaid and Lacquering. Veneering – thing parts of expensive wood laid on core panels usually cheaper wood.  Furniture was sometimes inlaid – wood carved out and hollowed, then filled with the mother of pearl.  Lacquering arrived in Great Britain in the 17th century and meant items of furniture were coated with lacquer and bright colours.

Another key influence on furniture which occurred during the 17th century was the introduction of new types of furniture.  Chests of drawers became common, as did bookcases and the famous Grandfather clocks.  Other developments were the improvements to basic furniture to make items even more comfortable, e.g. chairs were upholstered and padded to provide comfort, and around 1680 the first armchairs appeared. 

Whilst most of the above appeared in furniture for the wealthy, the poor’s furnishings remained very plain and basic.

 
18th Century Furniture

The 18th century comfortable upholstered furniture was the norm for the wealthy, however the poor’s furniture remained basic and sparse.  The rich continued to design their furniture and it was becoming more and more beautiful, some of it was veneered or inlaid.  Famous furniture makers like Thomas Chippendale and George Hepplewhite had begun making a name for themselves by designing fine antique furniture. 

 

19th Century Furniture

The Victorians began living in much more comfortable houses than previous eras, although their servants lived in squalor.  The Victorian era was the first time furniture was mass-produced, and so it became cheaper and more affordable.  Unfortunately, one of the downsides of mass-production was that furniture fell in design standards. 

In the early 19th Century skilled workers were living in houses with two rooms downstairs – the front and back room, and two upstairs. The downstairs front room was kept for the nicest furniture and ornaments, and the family spent most of their time in the back room, which would have served as a kitchen and living room.  As the 19th century passed more and more Victorians began to be able to afford this lifestyle, and it became a common trend through to the 20th century.  However, the poorest people were still struggling to afford nice furniture, and continued sleeping on piles of straw because they could not afford beds.     

20th Century Furniture

The 20th century saw a rise in living standards for ordinary people, this meant that it was possible to furnish all rooms properly rather than just the one front room like people in the 19th century.  During the 20th century ordinary people’s furniture greatly improved in quality and design. 

With the ending of the Victorian era in the early 20th century, furniture designers were being influenced by new ways of thinking due to artistic movements that challenged the old century and ushered in the new. 20th century furniture is often referred to modern furniture, as it was generally produced from the late 19th century all the way through the 20th century, and is influenced by modernism.  

The post-World War 2 ideals of cutting excess, commodification, practicality of materials in design heavily influenced the aesthetic of the furniture.  It was a departure from all the furniture design before it.  There was an opposition to the decorative arts, which included Art Nouveau, Neoclassical and Victorian styles.  Dark or gilded carved wood and richly patterned fabrics gave way to simplistic and geometry polished metal.  Furniture had evolved from visually heavy items to visually light.  

The 1920s and 1930s was the beginning of a new style of furniture and architecture – Art Deco.  Art Deco used geometric shapes instead of the flowing lines of the earlier Art Nouveau.  The name Art Deco came from the famous event held in Paris in 1925, which was called the Exposition Internationale Des Arts Decoratifs.

The late 20th century Britain became an affluent society and standards of furniture for ordinary people continued to rise. 

Typical characteristics of example styles of furniture from the 20th Century:

• Victorian – Ornate woodwork and complexity of construction
• Art Nouveau – Simpler designs, often wood, but departing from the ornate
• Art Deco – Geometrical and symmetrical, employing veneer, glass and ‘exotic’ influences
• Bauhaus – Light and minimal structures often using steel or bent wood