| Style Directory |
Pricing Policy
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from Frontera.com This is a guide to the various styles of furniture represented at Frontera. It is also a dictionary, with comprehensive definitions of each style we carry. Our Style Directory is designed to help you understand what we mean, for example, by Plantation, Mission or Contemporary. It’s also designed to help you define your own style. Maybe you’ve always longed for ladder-back chairs but didn’t know what they were called and or that they were specific - to the Shaker style. Or perhaps you prefer the figured walnut veneer and flowing curves of the Queen Anne style, which falls in the category of Traditional. Whether you’re in search of furniture with a Contemporary flair or a Plantation-style teak dining table and matching chairs, you can use our Style Directory to point you in the right direction. Colonial: This far-reaching design period includes a variety of styles, such as Chippendale, Sheraton and Queen Anne, which originated in Europe but underwent transformations in the American colonies, thus giving birth to "America's Traditional" style. Colonial-style furniture is sturdy and incorporates different style elements on a single piece -- spinning wheels, simple motifs, four-poster beds, flat inlaid or painted decoration on Sheraton pieces and carved ornamentation on Chippendale furniture are just a few examples. Chair and table legs often borrow from the curving form of the Queen Anne style. Contemporary: This style borrows classical elements from the past, but peppers the somewhat colder feel of modernism with warmer contemporary styling and detail. Some examples of contemporary-style furniture include scroll-back chairs and empire recliners. And it’s not uncommon to see columns being used as table legs or to see unusual materials, such as rubber and concrete, incorporated into the furniture construction. The Contemporary style also draws inspiration from American furniture designer Charles Eames, French Art Deco furniture designers Emile-Jacques Ruhlman and Jean-Michel Frank, among others.
English Country: This style mixes periods, patterns and colors. In furniture, English Country places an emphasis on using high-quality wood to fashion pieces such as chests, dressing tables, dressers, corner cupboards, hutches, Windsor chairs, wooden rocking chairs, and gate-legged tables. The key here is that the furniture in a room doesn’t necessarily have to match -- that’s part of the style. Other elements include simple design motifs and minimal ornamentation. French Provincial: A less ornamental version of the Parisian furniture styles, this style of furniture has its roots in the French provinces. Popular from the 17th century into the 20th century, this furniture often possesses a rustic quality and is generally made from local woods, such as pine and honey-colored walnut. The French Provincial style first established a stylistic foothold in the 1600s, when prosperity was so prolific that even the bourgeoisie residing outside the fashionable capital could afford luxurious pieces of furniture. French Provincial furniture is also characterized by the use of bright colors and fabric with stylized floral patterns. Mission: Born out of the Arts and Crafts Movement, Mission-style furniture was so named because its creators produced it with a mission: utility of design. It is, above all, a very spare and simple style. Nearly always constructed of natural or plain materials, especially wood, Mission furniture also features exposed construction techniques and very little adornment. Fabric used would most often be leather, canvas or cloth. The Mission style inspired its devotees to found other schools of furniture and home design. Among the most notable was legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who developed the Prairie School in the Midwestern U.S. Plantation: The Plantation style refers to the English Colonial and Dutch Colonial furniture styles that originated in the East and West Indies, India and East Africa. It features a blend of indigenous (African, Indian, Indonesian, Caribbean and others) and colonial European styles created by the expatriates who settled in those regions. Examples of these styles include: lightweight mahogany camp chairs, barstools and nesting tables to be used while on safari; or it can be low-slung rattan chairs and wicker sofas reminiscent of the English social clubs in India; or teak tables and hand-caned chairs from the 19th-century Dutch plantations in Indonesia. Rattan: A type of vine-like, climbing palm, rattan is indigenous to Asia, Malaysia and China. The outer bark is used for caning, while the inner section is used to produce and weave wicker furniture. Rattan made its first appearance in the West some time in the 19th century and has since become the primary material used for caning. Rustic: This is a generic term for a multitude of furniture styles, including Lodge and Pioneer. With its simple, casual designs and often-seen combination of iron and wood, rustic furniture alludes to the sprawling ranches of the untamed West. Some rustic styles, such as Lodge, can trace their origins back to the lodge-like country getaways of the East Coast elite in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Usually made of wood, such as hickory, barnwood or pine, rustic furniture often incorporate features such as caned seats or a touch of horseshoe metal for an authentic look and feel.
Shaker: Originally designed and built in the 19th century by a religious community known as the Shakers, this furniture was created according to the doctrine that “beauty rests on utility.” The result was furniture with very simple, clean lines and no decorative ornamentation whatsoever. Among the best-known of the Shaker pieces is the ladder-back chair design, which has its roots in English country furniture. Traditional: Traditional furniture generally follows the style of a particular period, such as Georgian, Louis XV, Queen Anne, Tudor or Regency. The pieces usually feature all-wood construction, occasionally incorporating some newer woods like holly and ebony. Other decorative details found in traditional furniture include lacquering, painting, stenciling and guilding. Upholstery fabric ranges from simple to sumptuous, depending on the period style, and can include silk, leather, embroidery, velvet or brocade.
Wicker: This term actually refers to the way in which furniture and other items are woven. An offshoot of basket weaving, wicker furniture can trace its beginnings back to ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. In the 17th and 18th centuries, wicker furniture was a common site in both Europe and America, the most popular form being the basket chair. At that time, most wickerwork involved the use of willow twigs. Then, in the 19th century, rattan was introduced. It quickly became the most sought after material for use in wickerwork because of its supple nature and lightweight finished products. |
