Prior to the fifteenth century, furniture in England and throughout Europe was built mainly for practical and functional considerations. A picture taken of the furniture in a typical home at that time would consist of nothing more elaborate than crude tables, bench seats and beds. Only in the homes of the very rich, where the owners wished to convey their nobility to the viewer would we find any furniture where any real attention had been given to artistry of design.
This lack of artistry in furniture design was due to many reasons, not the least of which was lack of raw materials. With the onset of exploration and settlement beyond Europe, new types of wood and even fabrics were introduced. While early English furniture was primarily made from oak which was then plentiful in England, oak was largely replaced by walnut, and walnut was eventually superceded by mahogany as North America was explored and developed. Many other beautiful woods imported from distant places made their way into use as veneers and inlays.
While we can witness a noticeable change in construction techniques, particularly in the Tudor and Jacobean eras, early pieces from the period demonstrate massive construction and were consequently very heavy and bulky.
By the time the Renaissance period arrived, much more was known about construction methods and this allowed furniture to become more delicate and artistic in its presentation. Homes themselves also began to undergo a trend towards smaller dwellings that called for furniture suited to the size of rooms within the home. Thus, demand was increased for smaller more delicate pieces that were both functional and visually appealing to the eye.
The evolution of furniture design and artistry continued and became increasingly more elaborate until the arrival of the twentieth century when we witness a return to functionality and simplicity. Again, this change in style is traceable to the emergence of new raw materials such as molded plywood and plastics that were employed to streamline designs leading to a simplistic beauty on their own. This whole process was aided by the Industrial Revolution and the introduction of new machinery such as wood lathes that could be used to mass produce furniture more expansively and cheaply for all economic and social classes.
As was stated beforehand, we can only touch on this historical evolution of furniture design in this paper. While any one of the periods mentioned contain interesting and noteworthy developments in furniture styles, I am selecting what is sometimes referred to as the “Golden Age” of furniture making, the Georgian Period, which began in the early 1700’s and lasted for almost a century. What is typically referred to as Queen Anne furniture had its birth during this time. Shifting our focus more specifically now, we will concentrate on the impact of such individuals as Chippendale, Hepplewhite, Sheraton, and the Adams brothers on furniture making and design.
