Thu 15 Oct 2009
Thursdays on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Los Angeles interior designer James Swan challenges readers to stretch their design muscles with some heavy lifting.
DesignCoach™ encouraging Good, Design, Daily.
This week on the DesignCoach: A Smarter, Sexier You
If we roll back the calendar prior to the turn of the 20th century we see a world where the rich, usually lead by royalty, relied on a handful of tastemakers for guidance and instruction on the style and contents of their homes/palaces. Great names have whispered into the ears of European Royalty down through the ages; names like Chippendale and Adam in England and Delorme and L’Efant in France. They saw to the construction of Palaces, Country Estates and Grand Townhouses, many of which survive today, as does their influence on architecture and decoration. These men (sorry ladies it was an exclusive boys club) dictated not only the architecture and its decorations but also the furniture, fabrics, art and objet that filled the many halls and chambers. It was one-stop-shopping on a monumental scale.
Baroque: Originating in Italy during the 16th century this vernacular boasts large scale, bold intricate detail and sweeping curvilinear lines which can be seen on furniture, architectural detail as well as surviving rugs and fabrics. It’s all about “over-the-top”.
Moorish: A style with Spanish heritage bearing the heavy influences of North Africa and Persia. All over ornamentation and a rich use of patterns as exemplified in the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain.
(http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761578116/Alhambra_(palace).html)
Sintra-Villa, Sintra
Regence or Regency: A French style of the first decades of the 18th century dictated by small scaled, free flowing forms and sensuous curves. The English style which appeared 100 years later shows a rather sever, simple approach to architecture and furnishings with clear influences by Greek and Roman classicism.
Furniture designs by Adams'
Enjoy Good-Design-Daily
