Antique Furniture: Styles of furniture through the ages

Owning and collecting antique furniture is the closest way to recreate the atmosphere of the period it came from. That is why there is such an interest in collecting antiques furnishings either through purchasing it if you are a keen collector, or researching the information for yourself if you are interested in the styles of the generations of the past.

Collectors like to own different furniture spanning through different periods to compare and admire the different changes of style between them. Not everyone is well off enough to buy or have the space to own every period piece of period furniture, so if you are interested in antique furniture the best plan is to buy specialist magazines, visiting museums, visit your local antique shops, go to antique fairs or even to specialist auction houses. By doing so you will gain a deeper understanding of antique furniture and the changes that occurred through the ages that gave that period its own particular style.

Antiques and antique furniture can indeed help us to understand history in the way that styles and fashions changed to reflect the needs and general living conditions of the time. Style changes are never sudden but they are progressive never the less, and finding out how these changes occurred is an interesting journey. If you are interested in finding out more, there are lots of books that specialize on each different period and the style that characterized it.

During the 1300s the main style what "Gothic" and it was characterized by benches, seats, cases and beds produced by nailing wooden boards together. Soon after followed the renaissance period characterized by the beautiful work of the Florentine furniture makers.

Those of you that love lushly decorated wood will have a particular affection for the Baroque style which is becoming more and more popular with its lush decorations and frames featuring from little angels and masks to cornucopias of fruits and flowers. You then have the Rococo and Neoclassic styles and then the Imperial style which is characterized with decorations usually depicting swans.

More and more shops are selling antique furniture of the 19th century and this is what attracts most of the aficionados of furniture, them being either collectors or furniture enthusiasts in general. Following this period the Liberty style follows and following that the styles closer to our present time.

You could literally spend hours reading up on the styles briefly outlined above. Each style represents a small mirror of a bygone age as well as enriching our current lives by filling our houses with beautiful furniture.