FURNITURE STYLE

TRADITIONAL AND
CONTEMPORARY
FURNITURE STYLES MEMBERS
MANZI MARY NZAGI
AMOS KIPKORIR
ALEX MAGERO
 TRADITIONAL FURNITURE STYLES
General characteristics
Rich wood tones- use of mahogany, oak, cherry, maple.
Ornate detailing
Patterned upholstery
Symmetry where details are repeated on both sides.
Bun feet or ball and claw foot legs and armrests.

FURNITURE STYLES BEFORE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Medieval furniture style (Romanesque architecture)
Gothic furniture style (Gothic Architecture)
Renaissance furniture style (Renaissance Architecture)
Baroque furniture style (Baroque Architecture)
Rococo furniture style (Rococo Architecture)
 1.MEDIEVAL FURNITURE STYLE
Medieval Beds
❑ Medieval homes were the origin of the expression 'bed
and board', since these were the items of furniture
necessary to life in the medieval age.
❑ Medieval peasant furniture consisted of the 'bed and
board' only.
❑ Beds consisted of a board often placed in a recess,
hung about with curtains for warmth and privacy.
A rough mattress made of straw was covered with
decorative fabric.
❑ Iron railings were used to hang the curtains, and both
coverings and curtains were rich, elaborate and highly
prized.
2.GOTHIC FURNITURES TYLE
❑ The furniture of the Gothic period were derived
from the Gothic Art which originated in France at
the beginning of the 12th century.
❑ The decorations were done by painting and
carving.
❑ Wood was mostly used for its construction.
Gothic furniture beds and tables
❑ The beds were massive, richly carved Gothic bed
four posted pieces, decorated with
expensive embroidered fabrics. They
had refined ornaments, carved or
painted
❑ The early Gothic furniture tables were simple,
rectangular trestle-tables, usually long and
narrow. In the great hall of the castles, there
were also monumental stone or marble
tables Gothic table
Gothic style chests and armoires
Early chests were of simple, robust construction, decorated
only with ornamental hinges. Later in the period, as the chests
grew larger and heavier, they became static, elaborately
carved pieces of furniture.

Gothic chairs
• Chairs were scarce, and were associated with a sense Gothic tyle chest and
of state majesty, being used only by the masters. armoires
• In the 12th century, chairs could be rectangular or
circular, with low backs. In the 13th century, the seats of the
lords’ chairs of honor had a polygonal shape. Chairs
became heavier and larger, and in the 14th century they
were built with canopies, becoming similar to the royal
thrones.

Gothic chair
 3.RENAISSANCE FURNITURES TYLE
❑ This is the period between the 14th and 17th
centuries.
❑ Renaissance furniture first appeared in Italy,
where craftsmen began adorning their work with
ornamental scenes taken from art and an
evolving interest in science.
❑ Tables commonly took a rectangular form, with
scrolling on the legs, ornate carving on chairs,
table legs, and cabinets adorned with figurines.
❑ Artists began using marble or mosaic designs on Renaissance arm chair
table tops. Upholstery emerged, with silk, tapestry, Renaissance cabinet
or leather seats appearing on chairs.

Renaissance table
4.BAROQUE FURNITURE STYLE
❑ Baroque style started in Italy at the beginning of the 17th
century and lasted until the first decades of the 18th,
when it was gradually replaced by the Rococo style.
❑ The furniture pieces were usually symmetrical and all the
details were replicated on both sides. Furniture pieces
had plenty of details, and the designs featured an
Heavy molding for decoration
exuberant and sometimes exaggerated decoration.
❑ Heavy moldings were used to decorate not only the
uppermost part but also the top of each section where
there was an important change in size, like on top of the
pedestals and lower drawers.
❑ The general layout often included twisted columns,
which incorporated plenty of curves for giving a sense of
dynamism.
❑ In most tables, cabinets, armoires and tall furniture,
pedestal feet were common, usually diagonally
interlaced. The four legs were usually the only elements
to touch the floor
Twisted column
5.ROCOCO STYLE FURNITURE
❑ Rococo migrated to the United States in the early
1840s.
❑ Tabletops are often shaped and carved, rather
than being left as rough rectangles or circles.
Some traditional Rococo furniture also features
intentionally eschew symmetry, finding charm in
the contrast between asymmetric lines. • Surfaces
are carved in S-shapes, curls, or shell- like designs, Rococo table
mimicking the undulating lines found in nature,
rather than straight lines.
❑ Popular types of Rococo furniture include
▪ chairs, sofas, tables, and bed stands.
▪ Mirrors with highly ornamented frames Small
tables and footstools.
❑ The era popularized the idea of light, easily
movable furniture.

Rococo chair(lighter to
Rococo mirror
carry but still heavily
ornamented
 TRADITIONAL FURNITURE STYLES DURING
AND AFTER INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
Art Nouveau
Victorian
Neo classical
Elizabethan
Arts and crafts

1. ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE

French for ‘new art’.
❑ Furniture pieces often display long, sinous lines that flow
and curl in natural ways.
❑ The lines are often in the form of whiplash curves; long
curved lines that extend out then bend back on
themselves..
❑ Shapes are natural and symmetric, with the linear element
used to reflect vines, branches, flowers. Birds and insects.
 2. VICTORIAN
❑ Victorian style furniture, popular from 1830-1890,
has its roots in England during the reign of Queen
Victoria
❑ Victorian furniture is characterized by ornate
carvings and heavy luxurious fabrics. Victorian
furniture is traditionally made from mahogany,
rosewood, or walnut, sometimes painted or gilded.
❑ Furniture was often large, intricate, and heavy in
weight or appearance. • Intricate carvings of
natural images such as flowers, leaves, curling
vines, ribbons, and bows adorned the pieces.
3. NEOCLASSICAL
❑ Neoclassical furniture is identifiable by its use of
columns, gilt, classical reliefs, moderate
ornamentation, and satin upholstery.
❑ Woods such as oak and walnut were commonly
used in the furniture as well as mahogany veneer.
❑ Popular types of furniture from the Neoclassical
period include:
✓ Console and Hall tables,
✓ Display Cabinets,
✓ Sideboards,
✓ Arm chair
✓ Dining Room Tables and sets,
✓ Bedroom furniture, most notably Dressing tables
and Bedside Cabinets / Chests.
 4. ELIZABETHAN
❑ The characteristic ornamentations of the
Elizabethan period furniture are carved human
figures or medallions, masks, fruits, floral and
chimerical animal forms, strap-work, bulbs,
arabesques, nail-heads and gadroons.
❑ Sometimes the linen-fold, or tracery of the old
style, accompanies the medallions of the new on
the same piece of furniture

5. ARTS AND CRAFTS

❑ Consisted of pieces that have smaller, thinner
lines, accents such as carvings, inlay work and
curved boards .
❑ Evenly spaced vertical slats.
❑ Straight backs, legs and arms on the chairs.
❑ Corbels supporting heavy table edges and chair
arms
 MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY
FURNITURE STYLES
Started in the 20th century

General Characteristics
Clean, straight lines - The furniture has a modest appearance, featuring an
airy, light, and visually appealing look.
Materials such as steel, metal, and glass are used apart from wood. Wide
use of flat designs with geometric shapes.
Smooth surfaces with minimum ornamentation thus giving an uncluttered
appeal.
Neutral and monochromatic colours creating an illusion of the vastness of
space.
Chairs, sofas and tables are raised off the floor on lean legs.
MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY
FURNITURE STYLES
Art Deco Furniture style.
Bauhaus.
Minimalistic furniture style.
Industrial style furniture.
Asian furniture style.
Mid century modern.
Bohemian Furniture style.
Urban collective furniture style.
Scandinavian furniture style.
 1.ART DECO
❑ The term “Art Deco” is short for Arts Décoratifs and is derived
from a 1925 Paris exhibition that showcased this new style to
the world.
❑ It combines traditional craftsmanship with modern machinery
and materials.
❑ Uses streamlined geometric shapes, clean lines
❑ Metallic: Shiny metallic accents are often used—especially
gold and silver colored metals
❑ Unvaried repetition of elements and symmetry especially in
upholstery.
❑ Polished, sleek, glossy and lacquered finishes
❑ Use of the waterfall style, mirrored and chromed surfaces.
2. BAUHAUS
❑ It was an avant-garde design studio that operated in Germany
between 1919 and 1933. The idea was to break down a chair to its
most minimal form.
❑ Colours tended to be neutral , most often black, chromium, white, grey
and brown.
❑ Used a combination of materials such as steel, wood, leather, plywood,
and woven textiles.
❑ Used clean, modern lines uncluttered by stylistic affectations
 3. MINIMALISTIC
❑ Focus is on function and practicality.
❑ Use flat, smooth surfaces
❑ Strong, clean lines
❑ This style has a utilitarian design, mostly in rounder
shapes, and is devoid of edges.
❑ Furniture is simple and does not feature intricate
carvings or decorations.
❑ Found in neutral and restrained colors, such as gray,
black, white, and brown.

4.INDUSTRIAL STYLE FURNITURE

❑ Industrial-style furniture first emerged in the early 20th
century, when factories and other industrial buildings were
converted into homes and offices.
❑ Industrial-style furniture features metal accents,
exposed hardware, and unfinished wood surfaces.
❑ Metal and wood are the two most common
materials used.
❑ The industrial style furniture uses raw materials i.e
wood and metal
 5.ASIAN FURNITURE STYLE
❑ Asian furniture style incorporates influences from Chinese
to Tibetan, Japanese to even French styles.
❑ It includes Chinoiserie style blending French Rococo
elements and Chinese imagery from various eras and
dynasties; more simplistic Japanese furniture styles, bold,
colorful and contemporary ming style, black lacquered
furniture with dragons and religious motifs.

6. MID -CENTURY MODERN

❑ Originated mid 20th century and became popular from
the 1930s to the 1960s.
❑ Characterized by clean lines, gentle curves and organic
shapes.
❑ Little or no ornamentation.
❑ Use of wood together with metal, glass, vinyl, plywood
and plexi glass.
❑ Neutral to bold colours including black and white.
❑ Contrasting textures, splayed legs, and medium to dark
wood tones
7.BOHEMIAN FURNITURE S TYLE
❑ • Boho is unconventional and free-spirited, and the style
and decor reflect that, bringing a mixture of patterns,
textures, woods, colors, and metals to the home.
❑ Neutral colors with splashes of warm, bright colors
thrown in. Whites, browns, and tans mixed with blues,
greens, purples, oranges, reds, and yellows fit well in the
boho scheme.
❑ Boho style furniture can be in materials such as rattan or
wood and include butterfly chairs, lounges, hanging
chairs, and daybeds.
❑ Throw in brightly colored and patterned throws, pillows,
and wall hangings for finishing touches
8.URBAN COLLECTIVE
• The urban collective style contains traits of bohemian
and mid-century modern design and uses reclaimed
wood with a distressed look, metals with a slim design,
and personalized upholstery that results in a unique style
with layers of texture.

9.SCANDINAVIAN FURNITURES TYLE

Scandinavian interior design is a style that originated in the early 20th
century in the Nordic countries.
❑ It is characterized by simplicity, minimalism, functionality, and natural
materials such as wood and leather.
❑ It uses soft colors, mostly whites and greys, with some earth tones and
color accents.
❑ It also reflects the influence and abstraction of nature in the decoration
and shape of the room or furniture.
❑ It creates a sense of agedness, cheerfulness, and coziness with light, airy,
and open spaces.Scandinavian interior architecture is similar to
Scandinavian interior design.
❑ It focuses on simplicity, lightness, functionality, and the beauty of
everyday objects. It emphasizes clean lines, utility, and simple furnishings
that are functional, beautiful, and cozy.
PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PHYSOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF
TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY FURNITURE STYLE
TRADITIONAL FURNITURE STYLE
❑ Associated with classic and timeless design.
❑ When used in an office,it creats a formal and elegant
atmosphere.
❑ Tend to evoke a sense of authority,proffessionalism and
refinement.
❑ Suitable for law firms executive office or establishments that
conservatives and sophisticated image is desired.

CONTEMPORARY FURNITURE STYLE

❑ In an office it can contribute to a modern,sleek and forward
thinking atmosphere.
❑ It creates a sense of creativity and dynamism.
❑ Commonly found in tech companies,creative agencies or
organizations seeking a move,progressive and edge cutting
image.
THANK YOU !!!