The American Period

The American Period lasted from 1565-1776. It consisted of the Georgian, Postcolonial or Federal, Greek Revival, and the Victorian Period. The Georgian Period lasted from 1720-1790 and this period was very similar to Queen Anne, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton. Postcolonial lasted from 1790-1820 and the influence of this period was from Adam, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton. The Greek Revival had a temple style of architecture with English Regency and French Empire furniture. Lastly, the Victorian Period was from 1840-1880 and their architecture was influenced from Romanesque, Gothic and Mansart.

The Colonial period house designs had small windows and shutters, large central stone fireplaces, no closets, no plumbing, a family work center and simple hardy furniture.
The dutch was a common house which had steep-roofs with crow-stepped gables, decorative brickwork, dutch doors, shutters and ornamental tiles. Below is a dutch house in New Castle, DE in the 1600's.

The early Plantation houses had two floors and is in a shape of a 't' or cross. These homes had two square rooms with a center passageway between. They had enclosed porches and a stair tower. There was a fireplace on each end contrast to the north plan. Also, they had a center passageway for summer ventilation which was developed into the center hall. Below is an example of what a Early Plantation House looks like.

The Monticello was Neoclassical style that was apart of the Federal period and this was the home of Thomas Jefferson. It was built in 1796 by a classic architect and the furnishings inside were form his travels. It is located in Albemarle County, VA.

Exterior

Interior Parlor

Here is a video that further explains the Monticello home of Thomas Jefferson


Current Applications:

Discussion:

From Justine's blog I learned about the Victorian period. The houses were large with many smaller rooms and the rooms consisted of a lot of wood and heavy drapery. Also, I learned that the chair legs became shorter, seats thinker, deeper and crowned in the middle. I reviewed Rachael's blog as well and in hers I could really see the difference in the structures of homes and how much they have really evolved from the 17th century to the 18th century. 

English Renaissance- Neoclassic

The late renaissance neoclassic period lasted from 1750-1830 and was a Georgian style. Robert Adams was a man who was serious about the revival of classical design. He was an architect, interior designer, and a furniture designer. His designs were delicate and finely detailed and the architectural effects he used were classical columns/pilasters, entablatures, arch forms, domes and panels ornamented with classical motifs. 

An example of Robert Adams design is Lansdowne House in London. You can see from the picture below he used a lot of classical architectural devices with the columns, pilasters and entablatures, arched niches, and medallions enclosing classical bas-relief. Also, panels were usually sunk into the wall and the ceilings were delicate with octagon, fans, and ellipses. 

Lansdowne House

The Syon House was an extremely formal style with painted surfaces and designs. This house had complete unity to the total composition. The plans are usually elliptical or rectangular with semicircular end walls or with apses. The ceilings were normally tinted and painted and the walls were generally pale green or cream with panels of purple or faded rose. 

 

The video below gives a virtual tour of the Syon House and its surroundings.

The most important pieces were mirrors. They were usually oval in a flat, reeded molding. it contained open linear delicate design of festoons, and swags of husks or bellflowers. The mirrors were often metal and then painted to match the frame.

Thomas Sheraton was a man who had a large influx of French furniture in the last decade of the 18th century. He was primarily a designer and his style was elegant, crisp and light. His chairs had square back legs and seats with an ornate top rail. He used lyre, vase, oval or diamond forms. Also, drapery festoon was found throughout his designs. His three main creations were the kidney-shaped pedestal desk, sideboard with a brass rod, and folding furniture. 

Current Applications:

Discussion: 

From Justine's blog I learned a lot about the furniture. Comfort was an important factor for these new standards and upholstery showed up for the first time. I also learned that William Kent and Queen Ann were two other people who made an impact on the interior design community of this time. Ariana taught me that the biggest export from the English Renaissance is an exterior- the Tudor style home built with timber framing. 

The French Baroque

Louis XIV was an important man in the French Baroque period. He created a notional style of art. The Vaux-le-Vicomte is apart of the French Baroque and entails 105 lavish rooms, 170 acres of gardens, persian carpets, gold chandeliers, gold clocks, silver vases, and entertained 6,000 guests. Below is a picture of the Charles Le Brun dining room at the Vaux-le-Vicomte.

Palais de Versailles also made an impact on the French Baroque period. It was originally a hunting lodge and started in 1668. This housed 10,000 people and was designed by Louis Vau. The Palis de Versailles had several classical architecture and decoration. They used rectangular shapes, symmetrical design, and balances windows with mirrors. In the interiors you will find paneling usually white, off-white or gray with moldings carved ornament gilded, brighter colors in paintings, tapestries and rugs, and the furniture used was usually found against walls.

The Palais de Versailles has a beautiful main garden facade. The scale and details remain the same but they have built extensions on the north and south side. It has advancing and receding planes and floor levels visible on the exterior. It contains sculptured figures and has reflecting pools that project images of the buildings. 

If you are interested in knowing more about Palais de Versailles, here is a youtube video that shows everything form the interiors to the garden facade. 

The Baroque has very interesting furniture pieces. The master of Marquetry, Andre Charles Boulle was a chief cabinetmaker and was famous for his elaborate armoires. He worked at Versailles where the mirrors walls, the floors of wood mosaic, the inlaid paneling and the marquetery furniture in the Cabinet de Dauphin were regarded as his most remarkable work. The materials used were tortoiseshell, metal, brass or silver, and ebony. 

Current Applications: 

Discussion:

The two blogs I reviewed were Dana's and Flor. Dana's gave me a lot of great information about the french furniture. Their furniture made a great impact on interior design throughout the world. We still use a lot of their furniture designs today. Flor focused her attention on the neoclassic period. She talked a lot about the chateaus design designed by the french architects which rulers and kings used as getaway and hunting places. 

The Spanish Period

The Spanish period took place in the 16th Century and it was the most brilliant era in Spanish history. They were influenced by the Moorish, Early Christian, Medieval, and Italian Renaissance. The Spanish definitely showed beautiful architecture and decoration. They used numerous courtyards with gardens, fountains and reflection pools.

For example, shown below is a fountain and reflecting pool at the Alhambra. 

 

Castles were built during this era by noble Christian families. There were more castles in Spain then in any other European country. They were built of concrete walls and faced with brick. La Mota Castle was one they built during the Spanish period.

La Mota Castle

Also, massive cathedrals were built during this period. One of the largest is Cathedral of Seville which is the largest cathedral in the world. It is located in Seville-Andalusia Spain and is Gothic style. This cathedral really demonstrates the cities wealth. It's so large that is has 80 chapels inside of it and holds 500 masses daily.

Cathedral of Seville

Two of the Spanish Renaissance styles were Plateresco and Desornamentado. The Plateresco Phase which is the silversmith's style. Its minute and delicate ornament resembles the work of a silversmith. The second is Desornamentado Phase which is unornamented. It's a powerful style characterized by austerity.

A common furniture piece you would have often seen during the Spanish period were chairs. They were the favorite and most characteristic of Spanish Renaissance. The monk's chair was called the Sillon de Frailero. It's a walnut armchair that consist of a leather seat and back. 

Sillon de Frailero

Current Applications:

Discussion:

I first reviewed Megan S's blog. Since she did her presentation on Spanish, her blog was very detailed and explained a lot of the Spanish style. I thought she covered the important aspects of the Spanish period. It was easy to follow and I learned a lot in just a short blog. I also reviewed Ali's blog. I loved how she showed more of the Spanish style interiors. I noticed how common tiles are used in the Spanish period. She showed some very fun, detailed and colorful tile work.