Germanic Furniture

The Germanic style of furniture is commonly known as Pennsylvania Dutch furniture, or even Amish furniture. This is because many of the immigrants from German origins were of various religious groups and ended up settling in parts of outlying Pennsylvania.

These people would go on to make up the Amish people. Just as these immigrants brought with them to America strong religious and cultural ties, they also brought with them strong styles of furniture design and fine, detailed construction.

The furniture represented the people that built it in many ways. There was not excessive extravagance or design. The woods used were solid and heavy, as was the sturdy construction methods. The furniture pieces were made for a purpose and they served that purpose, there was no furniture that was made just to have around the house and look pretty.

Germanic furniture had a strong baroque influence. This can be seen in the complex curving designs often deployed in this kind of furniture. It can be seen even more clearly though in the beautiful decorations that were used with Germanic furniture.

The Pennsylvania Dutch furniture style was almost always adorned with fine, detailed paintings, using bright colors and depicting a wide range of motifs and designs.

Floral designs were popular, as were other peaceful designs of bright fruits and small animals such as birds. Fanciful creatures such as unicorns were used as were religious symbols such as angels. Stars were a common theme, and soldiers were even depicted in Pennsylvania Dutch furniture.

The outsized cupboard was one of the more popular pieces of Pennsylvania Dutch furniture. The outsize cupboard, or the schrank, stands out for standing out; it would be built in huge proportions and occupy a great deal of space inside the home.

Like other Germanic furniture pieces, these would be highly detailed with paintings. If using a natural wood finish, the outsized cupboards would be elegantly inlaid.

Another popular piece of Germanic furniture was the rocker, or rocking chair. The Pennsylvania Dutch created a wide variety of rockers, in all sorts of different styles and shapes. Long benches and long tables were common, as were a wide variety of different chairs.

Within Germanic furniture styles there is much variation. Pieces could be utilitarian and simple or they could be more elaborate and show more of the baroque influence. As the Germanic furniture style began to meld more with other popular American styles, some Pennsylvanian Dutch furniture even took on a Chippendale influence.