A Brief History Of Furniture Styles

Furniture Throughout The Ages

We recently came across this fun post that highlighted the changes in furniture design through the ages; from ancient Egyptian chairs through to contemporary dining tables. Curious to see what a renaissance sofa looked like? Never seen an Art Nouveau bed? Scroll down and watch as this series of animated GIFs show how your favourite furniture pieces have evolved over time.

Chairs

In ancient Egypt furniture was a rarity reserved for the social elites and the intricate designs and embellishments of the chairs reflected this status. This changes in part to the Bauhaus movement of the early 20th century, with designers rejecting unnecessary stylistic affections and instead putting more focus on function, neutral colours and clean forms. Shop modern dining chairs here

Dining Table Sets

There are stark differences in furniture through the ages and comparing the exuberant Rococo style dining sets popular in 18th century Paris with the minimalist styling of some more modern designs. The middle ground is arguably mid century modern with its emphasis on functionality and elegance in simplicity. Shop designer dining tables here

Desks

Furniture design throughout history has as much to do with technology as it has with the period's social structure mentioned earlier. Medieval tables and desks features intricate wood carving details but were anything but refined in terms of form. Frank Lloyd Wright on the other hand believed in creating harmony between people and nature, something we can see from the introduction more rounded edges and organic forms with his designs in the early 1900's. Shop contemporary desks here

Beds

It's quite amazing to watch these animations and see the drastic changes in bed design over the years. From the classical antique inspired beds of the renaissance period to the luxury and sophistication of Art Deco designs, bed design and the materials used in production have changed dramatically. We wonder, what's next? Shop solid wood designer beds here

Sofas

It's hard to imagine anything other than the contemporary sofas we're used to but designers haven't always been so focussed on comfort. As with dining chairs many sofa designs through history were more about aesthetic and displaying wealth. Though the likes of the Ancient Greek Kline (sofa made primarily for reclining while eating) were expertly crafted, we're glad that the sofas of today are better designed for relaxed lounging. Shop our expansive range of sofas & upholstery here.

Time for more? 10 Best Table / Desk Lamps | 10 Best Contemporary Sofas | 10 Best Modern Dining Chairs

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