Midway between the dining chair with arms and the comfortable easy chair are practical but elegant padded armchairs, best known as library chairs.

The distinction between the armchair and the upright, armless dining chair stems from the Middle Ages, when authority was symbolised by the lord’s more elaborate, armed seat of office. But although most early armchairs are an extension of dining-room furniture, specialist armchairs hat introduced in the early 18th century are distinctly different in form and use. (more…)

Dining and other upright chairs are among the most abundant of antiques and range in price from a few pounds to many thousands. Persistent hunting may enable you to assemble a set, one or two at a time, for a bargain price.

Among chairs with an upright back, comfortvaries a good deal. Dining chairs generally have an upholstered or caned seat and a wooden back, and may have arms — in which case they are known as arm or elbow chairs, or carvers. Upright dining chairs without any arms are also known as side chairs because they were placed around the sides of the room when not in use. Virtually identical chairs were also used as occasional chairs in the drawing room. (more…)

Rococo STY LE was the height of fashion in the 1740s and 50s, but few purely Rococo rooms have survived in Britain. Perhaps it was too difficult to make a pleasing scheme of such profuse ornament with its swirling flowers and scrolls, asymmetric forms and figures caught in the instant of movement. Nevertheless, householders — especially in London — eager to be in tune with the latest trends, included Rococo features in some of their rooms. (more…)

When the monarchy was restored in Britain in 166o, and Charles II became king, he and his courtiers brought back a desire for the luxurious style of life they had briefly shared during their exile in the royal households of Europe, especially at the French court. Released from the pious austerity of the Commonwealth, Britain’s upper classes indulged in lavish comforts in the home, sensuous clothing, enjoyment ofthe arts, and robust entertainments at the theatre, at horseraces and at the gaming table.

With parliament and monarch in accord, a standing army established to back up their authority, and new banking, investment and insurance organisations growing to fund commerce, the nation prospered. Overseas trade grew and London was rapidly becoming the greatest port in the world, bringing in spices, tea, coffee, chocolate, pineapples, Oriental porcelain and lacquerwork, cane, tortoiseshell, ivory, rugs and Indian chintzes. (more…)

Although a private room in the main, and a retreat from the bustle of the great chamber, this bedchamber of about 1600 still had a public to impress. A lady might work at her embroidery here, pursue religious studies, learn to play a musical instrument and talk with her closest friends. A gentleman would take guests to his bedchamber to talk business, play chess or backgammon, or have a meal.

This bedchamber is comfortable and yet grand, with an elaborate plasterwork ceiling and an ornate frieze above the panelled walls. A striking tapestry also enriches the room. The imposing bed is heavily carved on the oak headboard and on the posts that carry the tester or canopy. Ropes hold the mattress filled with rushes, wool, or feather and down. (more…)

Country-house life with the family was the ideal of Elizabethan and Jacobean gentlefolk. They could set themselves up with fine silver, rich textiles, lavish clothes and coveted goods from abroad.

A new kind of household had been established for people of power and influence by the mid-16th century.

No longer did they share a communal life with a motley assembly of officials, military supporters and other retainers. Now they lived in families in substantial homes on their country estates, some on lands that were previously owned by the Church, until they were seized after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 5536 and bestowed on supporters of the monarch as rewards for their loyalty. Some families had more than one estate. (more…)

My favourite chest of drawers is the simple “Country Sheraton” bow-front in plain mahogany standing about 3 feet 6 inches in height. There are plenty of these about, well worth the L15 to L20 asked for them in the bigger antique stores. But the smaller ones are getting hard to find and will cost you a great deal more.

But going back for a moment into the world of oak I am always taken by the extraordinary variety of carved cupboards one finds in substantial farmhouses, or perhaps having strayed thence to A corner cupboard, ear y some private house which, by its general character, calls out for old oak. At the moment there are bargains to be picked up in oak, for many dealers openly profess they know nothing about it. Indeed, as most of their clients seem to be dedicated to the eighteenth- century woods like walnut and mahogany, why should they? Some of this carved work is genuinely old, the pieces often showing by their styles an obviously foreign origin. Other pieces were made during the mid- and late- Victorian revival of the taste for “Gothic” fashions. (more…)