A Catalogue of Furniture Styles in America, Late 1600's to Present

In response to our conversation about the catalogue as a means of organizing a subject to study it, I chose to create a catalogue to examine the evolution of furniture styles in America and how it parallels with historical events.

I was surprised to find an overall less reliable pattern in how political events affected furniture styles. This pattern is clear in the early years; colonial America imported its style from England, with only small variations to adapt to American life.

The pattern continued when English styles fell out of favor around the time of the American Revolution. Still connected to European roots, Americans adopted (and slightly reinterpreted) French styles. But the pattern seems to break down with the Victorian and Art Nouveau era. Victorian America saw a revival of numerous past styles, which seemed to have little connection to political events. Art Nouveau seemed to be less about reaction to political events and more about breaking free of old styles and artistic expectations.

Art Deco brought back a strong connection to the political and social events of its time. Its experimentation with new materials and emphasis on technology and speed attempted to infuse luxury into one's surroundings while the economy was facing the Great Depression. While the clean simplicity of Modern furniture seemed to have little connection to political events, Post-Modern reflected the socio-political chaos of the time, expressing the distrust of governments.

From a purely stylistic stance, the pattern is also difficult to discern. In a very general sense, forms seem to evolve into simpler and simpler forms, though this is not necessarily so with the Victorian and Post-Modern movements.

Is there a way to use this catalogue to predict what our tastes may evolve into in the future? Would another catalogue be beneficial, perhaps one that isolates pieces of furniture for specific uses of that time period (ie. laptop desk vs an 18th century writing desk)? Do our tastes really cycle or do they evolve with technological advances or social change? Deeper investigations into any of these periods may provide even more insight into specific ways that furniture has changed (the small 50's formica kitchen table replaces the huge oak dining table). Or perhaps isolating style/form should be the specific conversation rather than how the function of furniture has changed. Truly the catalogue as a means of exploration is a useful tool, even when the results revealed are not what we expected.

One insight I've found into the way furniture styles may change is exemplified below. A definite impact of technology on style, as well as an incredible example of the past and future becoming a hybrid!

http://design-milk.com/furniture-with-memory/