Georgian Styles Of Furniture. During the early Georgian period furniture developed along two distinctivelines. The domestic style of Queen Anne continued with minor changes in design - notably more elaborate carving - until mid-century. Imported mahogany grew in popularity and replaced French walnut which became scarce in the 1720s. Not only does mahogany have a beautiful variety of figuring and colouring, its hardness makes it ideal for detailed carving and it yields wide boards suitable for wardrobes and tables.
The second trend in furniture design was strongly Italianate in manner. It is particularly associated with William Kent, a multi-talented architect, interior decorator and furniture designer. Throught his involvement in building, decorating and furnishing houses, he produced the first fully-integrated interiors in Britain.
Only the grandest furniture could stand up to his opulent interiors and, like its Italian prototypes, his furniture was monumental rather than comfortable. His chairs became thrones and his beds dominant architectural features. Kent's ideas were adapted by other craftsmen making less flamboyant and more comfortable furniture for the great houses of the 1730s and 1740s
George I Bureau Cabinet
Style : In burr walnut and with an elaborately fitted interior with secret compartments. Follow the tradition established during the reign of Queen Anne.
|George I Styles Bureau Cabinet|
George II Tea Table
Style : A portable mahogany table with simple pie-crust decoration around the top and carved tripod base. The hinged top folds over for easy storage - and allowed the table to double as a firescreen. The fashion for taking tea or coffe after dinner made such pieces of furniture popular, and it remained in favour throught the 18th and 19th centuries. Variations were made for use as wine, supper or breafast tables.
|George II Styles - Tea Table|
Side-Table By Kent
Style : A great slab of marble is supported by an extravagantly carved and gilde base - Such side-tables, usually surmounted by mirrors, were designed to fit in with the architectural character rooms.
|Maeble side-tables By Kent|
|Irish triple tier Mahogany|