Saturday 6 March 2010

History of Furniture Making

Furniture making was already around during 3000 BC, wherein furniture was found in a preserved village located in Orkney, Scotland. Within this broad definition, humans have been able to improve the design of furniture. The concept of form gradually improves through the ages. Furniture is considered as a form of decorative art, wherein the artist thinks of a design and brings it to life by making furniture that can represent his idea.

During the Classical Era, archaeologists were able to find tables and inlaid serving stands dated 8th Century BC in Gordion, Turkey. This was also the time were they discovered the earliest surviving carpet in Siberia. Ancient Egyptian furniture includes beds, boxes and chairs dating from 1550 to 1200 BC. Furniture making was also present in Ancient Greece with furniture dating from 2nd millennium BC to 18th century. Beds and chairs are preserved by images in Greek vases.

Wood was the dominant raw material in making furniture thus the furniture was usually heavy and ornamented with carved designs. During the time of early modern Europe, furniture making was a blast. During the 17th century, both Southern and Northern Europe was characterized by opulent and often gilded Baroque designs. Palladianism was a style that belonged to Great Britain while the Rococo and Neoclassicism are common in Western Europe.

By the year 1860s, the Rococo fad has subsided and the Renaissance Revival became fashionable to the masses. The design had a new twist which the masses came to like. Reform and revolution in the art of furniture was very evident which marks the turn of the century.

After World War II, some furniture makers make use of other materials such as metals and plastics. They collaborated on a new design which was the so-called Eames chair and Ottoman, composed of curved molded plywood with deeply padded upholstery. Modernism in terms of furniture was introduced during the first three quarters of the twentieth century. Furniture designers all worked to attain the Modernist idiom. This is also the time were the Transitional furniture was introduced to fill the gap between Traditional furniture and Modern furniture.

During the year of 1980s, the styles of the furniture had so proliferated that literally hundreds of examples existed. The positive aspect of this stylistic era was the enormous range of choice it offered, from classic modern to high-tech industrial furnishings. Live-edge was introduced as one unique outgrowth of post-modern furniture design, which incorporates the natural edge of the wood blending it with the design if the furniture. Asian furniture has a quite distinct history in terms of form and designs. The Chinese uses the uncarved wood and bamboo. This is very evident in China because of its incredible and diverse history. Furniture can represent one dynasty to the next. Traditional Japanese furniture is well known for its minimalist style, high-quality craftsmanship. They use wood grain instead of painting and lacquer thinner. Chest designs are elaborated with decorative iron work. Furniture is here to stay because it will never disappear nor vanish. It is part of our life and culture.

ImagineKidsFurniture offers high quality furniture that are professionally made with the highest quality of materials. We also offer custom made furniture that will suit your taste.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rachel_T_McQueen

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