ENGLISH PERIODS

Early Renaissance 1550-1660

Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, United Kingdom

Middle Renaissance 1660-1750

St. Paul's Cathedral, London, England

Late Renaissance 1750-1850

Newby Hall, Yorkshire, England

English Middle Renaissance 1660-1750

Modern Queen Anne Chairs

Although there are countless amounts of architectural advances made during the English periods, a lot of the advances were largely towards furniture and interior design.  The 18th Century English Middle Renaissance was the golden age for English cabinet making, and each designer took a different approach to marketing their works to the population.   This was a prosperous time with the developmental shift towards a more social time that gave people the chance to enjoy the company of others.

William and Mary Chairs

THEN:

Mary Stuart and William III shifted the idea of furniture from decoration to comfort.  Upholstery was first introduced on the seats of each chair that had fabrics like velvet and leather.  Highly ornamented seat backs had an oriental influence.  "X" shaped stretchers attached each straight-formed leg.  This also was know as the age of walnut where oak was utilized less and less.

Windsor Chairs

The Windsor chair uses wood solely with a large seat that usually had a shallow-shaped, carved dish to provide comfort.  Rather than the William and Mary chairs being straight legged and very intricate, the Windsor chair had legs that were winged out on an angle with each one pushed into drill holes for a very simplistic style.  The backs of the seat had steam-bent pieces of wood rounded around to the sides of the chair to provide more comfort.

NOW:

Modern English design is traditionally used in residential and some eclectic restaurant applications.  These application photos were chosen for the chair design that is being highlighted in each dining room shot.