Revival Furniture

When in doubt for where to turn to inspiration, for new designs, tastes or trends, the solution always lies in the past. During the 1800s in America, furniture makers did just that. Throughout the century they turned to a variety of periods for inspiration on furniture design.

With the Industrial Revolution at hand, it became easy to copy these styles and mass produce them for cheaper costs to the public at large. While these revival furniture pieces were often very close to the original in which they were modeled after, there were usually differences between the new and old that can be used to tell them apart.

Starting with when their Revival period began, as opposed to which period originally came first, here are the popular Revival furniture styles of the 1800s.

• Gothic Revival Furniture: Starting in the 1820s, this Revival occurred much more in England than in America. Gothic furniture is replicated itself off Gothic architecture, and in England that architecture was more common and more popular. In the Gothic Revival, entire Gothic pieces were not copied but rather it was the Gothic ornamentation and decoration styles that were then applied to and mixed with more contemporary styles.

• Elizabethan Revival Furniture: Elizabethan Revival furniture was closely related to the Gothic Revival furniture. In America it was mass produced on the cheap and became very popular across the country and in farming areas. It was often painted and decorated with floral patterns and designs.

• Rococo Revival Furniture: While popular in both England and France, Rococo Revival furniture was some of the most popular furniture in America throughout the second half of the 19th century. It featured the signature cabriole legs and extravagant curvature and carvings.

• Louis XVI Revival Furniture: For about three decades beginning in the early 1860s, Louis XVI Revival Furniture was popular in New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia. Related to but less popular than Louis XVI style furniture, these pieces were huge in size and based off symmetrical principles.

• Renaissance Revival Furniture: Also starting around the 1860s and lasting for about three decades was the popularity of Renaissance Revival Furniture. Turning to Renaissance era architecture, these pieces featured straight lines, square and rectangular shapes and tapered legs.

• Victorian Renaissance Revival Furniture: This style is actually a new combination of the two preceding styles, Louis XVI and Renaissance era. Large furniture pieces with a focus on classical ornamentation such as porcelain terracotta were created.

• Colonial Revival Furniture: From the last quarter of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, Colonial Revival furniture was prominent. However, almost all American made century from the 1600s and 1700s was included into this one, large and often indiscriminant hodgepodge.

• Other Exotic and Eclectic Tastes: At the end of the 19th century other exotic tastes became widespread as people became bored with the more classical styles they were familiar with. Oriental and Islamic influences became prevalent, and all of these various styles were housed under the roof of Eclectic furniture.