English Middle Renaissance- Restoration

The Middle Renaissance in the English Period was a time of restoration. Sir Christopher Wren, the most well known English architect, was the one who stepped up and set new standards for design such as zoning and construction regulations. One of his greatest accomplishments was the St. Paul's cathedral.

St. Paul Cathedral London, England

During the time of William and Mary the cancellation of the Edict of Nantes occurred by Louis XIV which denied equality to the Protestants. It was the effort to grant religious liberties to the French Protestants. While that was happening, French furniture craftsmen came to England to complete the Baroque period. They still had the outline of the Baroque style but without all of the decoration and ornamentation. How the William and Mary period came about was when Mary married her husband William III. There were new standards for furniture, comfort being one of them. You start seeing a lot of upholstery and walnut. The legs of furniture were straight turned legs with a low cross stretcher or a curved cross stretcher.

Here are the William and Mary chairs. The detail on the back of the chair and the upholstery really represent what this period is about.

This is an example of a Settee chair. It has very elaborate upholstery and low stretchers.

Another popular designer during this time was Thomas Chippendale. He is one of the most well known names in furniture design. His style is very different and every piece is unique. The Chippendale chair has some influence from the Queen Anne. The chairs have cabriole legs, they are heavier and have more of a curve to them.

These pictures Wendy showed on the powerpoint are very helpful in seeing the different types of Chippendale chairs. (Gothic, Chinese and Ribbon left to right).

Here are some examples of interiors with Chippendale furniture today. I love this design because it stands out and makes for a great addition to a room.

For this blog I looked at Katrina's. I liked how she talked about the Early, Middle and Late English period and highlighted the main points of each. It is interesting to see how design changed throughout. I also looked at Ariana's. She talked about the style of the homes such as the tudor house. She also talked about how the English got their influence and how they came about this certain style.

French Renaissance

The French Renaissance was when interior design really took off. I mainly focused on designs and interiors of the Baroque style because that stood out to me the most. It was known to be very classic and traditional yet stands out and catches your eye. Every design had a statement piece such as bright tapestries and rugs. This period was strictly materialistic and ornate. One of the main buildings during this period was the Palais de Versailles. It was used as a hunting lodge by Louis XIII. It housed 10,000 people and was very intricate in design. Everything in the interior was symmetrical and balanced. The color inside the rooms emphasized the architecture and the furniture was always against a wall. The public rooms in the Palais de Versailles were very sophisticated.

This is the Hall of Mirrors in the Palais de Versailles. This room is one of my favorites because of all the symmetry and ornamentation. 

Here is a picture of the Salon de la familie in the Palais de Versailles. It is very detailed and ornamented. The decorations and bright colors really makes it a statement space and catches your eye.

This is the Queen's room in the Palais de Versailles. It is also very bright and ornamented. The colors attract your attention and that is what makes this period so unique.

The furniture during this time was very different and steered away from the other designs we have learned about in the past. It was interesting to see the movement and how the design changed.

Here is a picture of a Louis XIV chair. It leans back in its form and is very rich in decoration. The curved arms and heavy upholstery are what makes it so unique. 

Below are some modern applications of the French Renaissance period.

Arch de Triumph Hotel

Home in Manhattan

Modern French Bedroom

This is a video of the history of the Palais that is definitely worth watching!

I reviewed Flor's blog and I loved how she talked about the history of the French Renaissance and the importance of the period and all the achievements that took place. Her modern applications were also very interesting to look at because I never would have thought those would have been from the French Renaissance prior to learning about it. Her video she provided was also very useful!

I also reviewed Ariana's blog and she talked more about the Chateau and Louis XIV which was very interesting. I love learning about the history of buildings and finding out what they used to be used for compared to now.