Scandinavian contemporary
furniture features clean lines and virtually no ornamentation.
Traditionally, furniture has been made of wood. Although modern materials and manufacturing techniques have allowed for newer styles and designs, wood is still the most common material used in furniture design and manufacture. Over the years, different schools of design have developed around wooden furniture. In some cases, the schools developed around religious views. In other cases, the styles developed around overall design philosophies. Does this Spark an idea?
Shaker
The Shakers were a dissident Protestant offshoot of the Quakers. The original group in England was derided as the "shaking Quakers." The shakers first moved to North America in 1774 when a group of five men and three women emigrated to the United States from England. Shaker furniture reflected the Shaker ideal that form should follow function. The making of something of quality was an act of worship. Shaker furniture relies on high quality materials and minimal decoration. All elements of shaker furniture are functional, with almost no decorative inlays or moldings.
Mission
"Mission Style" is a commercial term coined by New York furniture manufacturer and retailer Joseph McHugh. McHugh used the term to describe a series of straight-lined, rustic furniture based on a chair he had found in a San Francisco church around 1895. As the Mission Style developed, it began emphasizing clean, functional lines with minimal ornamentation. The style relies on quality of materials, which can include wood, especially oak, stone, glass, tile and textiles. Wool, leather, cotton and linen are often used in Mission furniture. Mission style furniture relies on straight lines in rectangles and squares as major design elements.
Scandinavian Contemporary
Scandinavian contemporary furniture is a very sparse, utilitarian style that became popular between 1930 and 1950. Scandinavian contemporary is based on Bauhaus design techniques of the 1920s and 1930s. Bauhaus designers were among the first designers of austere, un-ornamented, functional modern design. The Bauhaus influence on Scandinavian contemporary furniture shows in the simplicity of materials and lack of ornamentation. Scandinavian contemporary uses modern manufacturing techniques to create curves and lines in some pieces, with other pieces, like shelving, being little more than simple wood fastened together. Scandinavian contemporary furniture, especially modern interpretations of it, often incorporates creative features into the designs, like special ways to store and deploy table leaves or hidden storage compartments.
Queen Anne
Queen Anne style wood furniture was an 18th century evolution of an earlier style. This style is moderately proportioned with graceful cabriole legs that end in a pad or a foot. The feet on Queen Anne furniture included claw and ball feet, spade feet, scroll feet and square feet. The style is known for bat wing-shaped drawer pulls and fiddle-backed chairs. Often constructed from walnut, Queen Anne furniture was sometimes painted white or gilded.
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau furniture was introduced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This furniture features curving lines and shapes and intricately detailed patterns. It avoided historical traits and tried to create a new style that drew on Baroque, Gothic and Moorish traditions without using stylistically similar designs. Ornate designs are geometric and were sometimes inspired by mechanical concepts. Art Nouveau was a conscious attempt to create a new style of wooden furniture.
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