History of Furniture: Queen Anne

Although I covered chairs from the Queen Anne period here, and settees here, the style deserves to be discussed in my History of Furniture series as well!

Queen Anne furniture has long stood as a symbol of refined elegance, simplicity, and the graceful transition between ornate Baroque and the more restrained Georgian styles. This beloved style has remained a staple in traditional interiors since its emergence in the early 18th century (I remember seeing tables with cabriole legs at my Aunt's house in upstate New York!). But to understand Queen Anne furniture, let's explore its historical roots—both in monarchy and design.

So who was Queen Anne? She was the monarch of Great Britain, reigning from 1702 to her death in 1714, and was the last monarch of the House of Stuart. Her rule marked a significant time in British history: the Act of Union of 1707 united England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain. Though her personal health was frail and she experienced considerable political turmoil during her reign, Anne presided over a period of significant cultural, political, and architectural change.

Portrait of Queen Anne, circa 1702 from the workshop of John Closterman

Despite her limited direct influence on the design world, the style that bears her name became associated with the sophistication and domestic comfort that flourished during and after her reign. Queen Anne furniture reflects the shift in British society toward more intimate, livable interiors—a stark contrast to the more ceremonial and grandiose styles that came before.

Queen Anne furniture began to emerge in the early 18th century, around 1720, but interestingly, it wasn’t called by that name until over a century later. This style grew out of the William and Mary period (late 17th century), which itself was known for more rectilinear forms and Dutch and Flemish influences that featured heavier, more angular pieces with intricate marquetry and turned legs.

As craftsmen became more skilled in working with woods like walnut (a preferred material of the time), furniture design became more refined and the Queen Anne style gained immense popularity not just in Britain but also in Colonial America, where it inspired generations of American craftsmen. The style was embraced for its simplicity, making it relatively easy to replicate with local materials like cherry and maple. The Queen Anne style is known for its delicate proportions, gentle curves, and a greater emphasis on comfort. This evolution reflects broader cultural trends: an increasing emphasis on private life, leisure, and intellectual pursuits in the home. The Queen Anne style introduced several key design elements that would become hallmarks of 18th-century British and American furniture:

* Cabriole Legs: Inspired by animal limbs, these S-shaped legs end in pad or trifid feet and are perhaps the most iconic feature of the style.

* Curvilinear Forms: Chairs, settees, and tables began to show more graceful silhouettes, with rounded backs and smooth edges.

* Minimal Ornamentation: While earlier styles favored bold marquetry and carving, Queen Anne furniture emphasized restrained elegance—favoring line and form over lavish decoration.

* Veneers and Inlay: When ornamentation did appear, it was subtle—delicate fan or shell motifs, small inlays, or the strategic use of wood grain patterns.

As I have said before in this series, if you want to discover why a certain style or movement looks the way it does, you simply need to look at the styles immediately preceding it and you will see that, generally, the style is a reaction to and against its antecedent. However, the Queen Anne furniture style represents a pivotal transition in the history of furniture design. Preceding it, the William and Mary style featured heavier, more angular pieces with intricate marquetry and turned legs. Succeeding it was the Georgian period, which would reintroduce classical influences and symmetry, especially under the later guidance of designers like Thomas Chippendale. What makes Queen Anne style so important in the continuum of furniture history is its role as a bridge: it softened the excesses of Baroque design and paved the way for a more human-centered, elegant aesthetic. It marked a shift from ostentatious display to graceful domesticity--furniture that was not only beautiful but also functional and comfortable.

Happy designing!

History of Furniture: Duncan Phyfe

Let's look back at a truly timeless genre of furniture for this installment of the History of Furniture.

Duncan Fife was born in Scotland in 1768 where he served as a cabinetmaker's apprentice but immigrated with his family to Albany, New York in 1784. After changing the spelling of his name to Phyfe, he opened his own business in 1794 and became a famous furniture maker. Known during his lifetime as the "United States Rage", he made Neoclassical furniture for the social and mercantile elite of New York, Philadelphia, and the American South where he was particularly popular.

While he may not have developed a style of furniture, he refined and elevated Neoclassical pieces, bringing them to the United States, and leaving a lasting impression of what fine furniture looks like. His pieces echo through what we consider "antique furniture" to be today.

A hallmark of his furniture was the lyre motif which you can see below on a chair splat, the base of a game table, and the sides of a bench.

Another feature of Phyfe furniture is the curved X-shape on the legs and backs of the curule chair, a design that dates back to ancient Rome.

Here is an ancient Roman coin showing Emperor Tiberius seated on a curule seat!

Happy designing!

History of Furniture: Mattia Bonetti's Abyss Dining Table

Since we have spent the last many installations of our ongoing History of Furniture series in the past, let's spend a bit of time in the 21st century. Now, arguably, something that is from our immediate time period might not be part of history as time moves on, but the Abyss table by Swiss-born and Paris-based designer Mattia Bonetti is part of a long line of furniture that is also rightfully considered a sculpture or a piece of art (see my previous post about the Lalanne sheep here, and see the work of the late Wendell Castle whom we will visit in a future installment).

Bonetti starts all of his pieces completely conceptually, with a colored pencil sketch.

Only if a client expresses interest in a piece does he then embark upon the time-consuming and costly process of realizing his vision. Bonetti has worked with the same fabricators and craftsmen for decades and relies on them to transform his sketches into actual, real-life objects. Sometimes the team says that a certain object cannot be built the way Bonetti has imagined it. But sometimes, as is the case with the delightful Abyss table, an idea springs forth and manifests in the world.

Bonetti describes the vision. "The main idea was to make a piece of sculpture. I was imagining something telluric, from an abyss under the surface of the sea or in a very deep cave. Trees, corals, bubbling volcanoes—all these shapes together become a table, et voilà!"

Because it can be made to be completely flat, sheet rolled steel was used for the table top. But the table base was cast in bronze and gilded with white gold leaf and colored transparent varnishes. In 2004, the table was issued in an initial run of eight, and debuted at the David Gill Gallery in London. The original pink and green colorway has been joined by orange and gold, and two different shades of blue which seems fitting for a table with an underwater theme.

Because of its price ($300,00 roughly) and weight (it tips the scale at a whopping 838 pounds) one sees it in the homes of art collectors and gallerists.

The original commission came from collector George Lindemann who has moved his Abyss table from a previous home (first photo below) to a new home on Miami Beach (second photo below). (The whimsical, Op-Art-style Louis XVI chairs were designed by Bonetti as well!)

Parisian gallerist Pierre Passebone has one in his home...

...as does David Gill. Here it is in the vacation home he and his partner, interior designer Francis Sultana, share on the island of Malta.

The work of Mattia Bonetti is included in numerous public collections, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Happy designing!

May Marge Carson Sale!

For my local Bay Area clients, I am happy to announce the Fiorito Interior Design May Marge Carson Furniture Sale*!

For the month of May, you can save an extra 15% off of my already low, to-the-trade discounted pricing! Now is the time to save on the best of exquisite furniture including chairs, sofas, sectionals, beds, dining sets, stools, consoles, displays cabinets, desks, and tables of all kinds. Save 47% off retail prices from one of the world's largest and oldest privately-owned fine furniture companies.

This sale is for a limited time only!
Orders must be placed before 5PM, Friday May 31st, 2019.

Go to Marge Carson to make your furniture choices and either email or phone me (visit my website for contact information) to order and take advantage of this exceptional savings!

Happy designing!

*Additional sale discounts do not apply to Carson, Proximity and other already specially priced furniture collections.

The Yves Klein Table bleue

Frenchman Yves Klein (April 28 1928 – June 6 1962), member of the artistic movement of Nouveau réalisme/ Minimalist/ Performance Artist/ Pop Artist, at first seems an unlikely ally in interior design. Known mostly for his blue paintings and art works (in which he utilized the bodies of naked models as "paint brushes"), Klein actually invented a color with the help of Edouard Adam, a Parisian paint dealer. Klein and Adam discovered that if ultramarine pigment was suspended in a synthetic resin instead of linseed oil, as most pigments were at the time, the color became deeper and more vibrant. The hue to this day is called International Klein Blue.

In 1961, Klein made a sculptural conceptual art piece called Table bleue: a table of stainless steel legs supporting an acrylic box of the International Klein Blue pigment. The artist died of a series of heart attacks in 1962. But starting in 1963, the Yves Klein Estate in Paris has overseen the manufacture of these iconic tables ever since.

Below, we see one in the Manhattan loft of fashion photographer super-duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.

Here is the Klein Table bleue in the Hong Kong home of accessories designer Fiona Kotur.

The dazzling IKB pigment shows up beautifully against the palm wood and brass inlaid walls and fireplace in this London Georgian home by Paolo Moschino for Nicholas Haslam.

In the New York City home of interior design superstars Glenn Pushelberg and George Yabu of Yabu Pushelberg, a Klein table lends color in an otherwise neutral space.

Authentic Yves Klein tables are available in the United States through Artware in New York
http://www.artwareeditions.com/Artware_Editions_Yves_Klein_Table_Bleue_p/kley01.htm
or in Paris through Galerie Omagh
http://www.galerieomagh.com/en/oeuvres/table-bleue-2/

Happy designing!

A "Modern Medieval" Dining Room by Fiorito Interior Design

My clients for this project wanted to erase from their newly purchased home the style choices of the previous owners. I was lucky they were eager to make their own impression, because that meant they were open to a lot of unique and special design elements. So we decided to turn the dining room into more of a statement space with elegant wood paneling, a grand carved wooden dining table, and a sense that a feast was about to take place. I thought of it as Modern Medieval!

The custom-made guest dining chairs are covered in a tapestry-like material of paisley and leopard while the custom-made host chairs, bigger and more luxuriously scaled, are covered in a soft olive green leather. Hanging above is a modern lighting fixture with clean lines but whose overall sense recalls ancient round candelabras from castles of yore. Below it all is a rug in camel and gold with an organic pattern of branches and leaves. Torch-like wall sconces, a mirrored buffet with hefty iron rings, and custom draperies in a gold-green harlequin texture finish the look. And the most special element of all: at night during dinner parties, the metallic gold ceiling reflects the chandelier and sconces, giving the room a glamorous, warm glow.

All photos by Bernardo Grijalva

If you have a dining room that needs that special something extra, give me a call!

Happy designing!

Layering Modern On History by Fiorito Interior Design

After my clients bought a sweet 1920s classic California Spanish bungalow in the Rose Garden area of San Jose, they came to me for some design guidance. We toured the empty house and I asked them what their style direction was and what they were thinking of doing. The heavily ornate, dark wood moulding and trim is original to the house and I naturally assumed that they would want to keep them.

But I was thrilled when they identified themselves as modernists, liking clean lines and a lighter color palette. So we chose a strong white for all the dark trim and a warm neutral for the walls. With that canvas, we began layering on contemporary furnishings but with a sense of luxury that still feels traditional enough to sit in such an historic house. Remember Design Mantra #1 (at right): Contrast brings interest. And modern lines next to the arched windows and elaborate moulding from the early part of the last century is a wonderful juxtaposition.

Custom drapes in a plum-colored Kasmir fabric set the tone for the color palette in the living room. Sumptuous ripplefold panels hang from a ceiling mounted Architrac allowing the full height of the arched window to be enjoyed from inside. The fireplace received a coat of a slate blue color from Kelly Moore. A comfortable sofa with mid-century lines plays nicely with a custom ottoman and a custom rug from Dalyn. And finally, discreetly presiding over it all, the Re ceiling light from Visual Comfort offers a bit of elegance without being fussy.

With white trim, the dining room feels larger, lighter, airier. Custom drapes in a Kasmir fabric hang from Robert Allen drapery hardware. The rough teak pearl finished top contrasts beautifully with the gleaming stainless steel base on the Bernhardt dining table. And the Ziyi chandelier from Visual Comfort adds stately drama.

All after photos by Bernardo Grijalva

Happy designing!

The Essential Drink Table

A side table, an accent table, an occasional table, a drink table...this little workhorse is known by many names. But whatever it is called, it serves not only an aesthetic purpose but a practical one as well. They're often found in spaces where a full sized end table would be too much.

Such a smaller drink table can balance a seating area. It can be that exact, perfect little thing needed in a blank corner by a chair. And it can be a useful place to set down a drink, a cup of tea, a book...

Look at the little black drink table next to the golden chair in the home of Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent. Unobtrusive, yet it fills in a space, adding some visual interest while being useful.

And here are a pair of silver beauties--one is next to the Eames La Chaise lounge chair at rear left, and between the two chairs in the left foreground.

This purple ceramic table is a nice shape and illustrates how such a small addition to a room can bring another layer of color and texture. The sheen looks nice against the matte and organic materials in the space which offers a nice design counterpoint.

Spot the drink tables in the photo below.

A bit of shine brings life and glamour to a room.

Furniture designer Katy Skelton's One Drink Table is a perfect example of the versatility of a side or drink table. Her table has a 7" top, perfect for a single drink and glasses, or for a vase of blossoms to liven up a corner.

This is the stunning Roen side table by designer Craig Van Den Brulle. It is available in a high-polish bronze or high-polish aluminum.

Interlude makes this sweet little Argo drink table with a petrified wood top on a polished steel base. Because of the nature of the natural material, each one is fascinatingly different.

Tom Filicia designed the handsome Solvay table of balanced circles for Vanguard. It's available in a variety of finishes.

And this gorgeous specimen of marble and iron is the Celeste accent table from Arteriors. It looks like it could be right at home at the historic Glass House designed by architect Philip Johnson!

Now that I've drawn your attention to the ubiquitous drink table, you will probably see them popping up everywhere!
Happy designing!