Style In Depth
By Heather Moeckel - Ashley Furniture HomeStore
Friday, February 27, 2009
Welcome back to my decorating blog. Last month I wrote about Styles of Furniture. This time I want to talk more in depth about “Style.” I’m going to take each style and explain some of the features and characteristics to look for so it will help you differentiate between them. The term “Style” generally refers to a period of design history, and because history is fluid, designs from one period or region may influence another. Therefore some styles may intermingle.
Formal Traditional Style refers to furnishings that are refined and elegant. They should exhibit dignity. Formal Traditional settings are usually symmetrically balanced or mirrored. Many of the Traditional designs come from the 18th and early 19th centuries and are derived from French and English furniture styles. Some of the characteristics to look for are flowing feminine design with delicate decorative details and free form curves. Look for motifs and finials. Case pieces include Highboys and Lowboys with claw and ball legs. Notice these features being used in the illustrations below. When incorporating fabrics or upholstered pieces, you could use pastels or jewel tones, but your choices are not limited to these. If using a patterned fabric, paisleys and florals work great in a Traditional setting. See if you can recognize and identify some Formal Traditional Styles and join me next time as I talk about Formal Modern Styles.
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