From plain Edwardian school clocks to cartel clocks mounted in elaborate ormolu, clocks to hang on the wall come in many shapes and sizes.

The ubiquitous wall dial of the Victorian and Edwardian periods is familiar from countless schools, kitchens and waiting rooms. In fact, wall clocks come in many forms, the fundamental distinction being between spring-driven clocks (which mostly run for eight days) and weight- driven clocks (mostly running for 3o hours). (more…)

Intended for grand houses, console tables are mostly for show, displaying superb craftsmanship and speaking eloquently of the style of their time.

The console table is essentially a floor-standing bracket, usually with one or two supports, and in most cases it is fixed to a wall. It was introduced into Britain at the beginning of the 18th century following the lead of the French court of Louis XIV, where a combination of console tables and tall, narrow mirrors was fashionable. (more…)

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…)

Few people in any era have the will or the means to refurnish their home in totally contemporary style. Most make do with hand-me-downs and inherited pieces, adding some special purchases which may be chosen to complement what is already there.

The distinctive flavour of this 1890s room is the result of long accumulation. Yet among its traditional furniture is a display cabinet in the style of the forward-looking designer Robert Edis, made in the 1880s and looking somewhat out of place here. This is a middle- class home — comfortable and manageable. A grander home would have separate rooms for different social and domestic functions but in this one the same room is used for writing letters, doing needlework, playing music and entertaining guests to afternoon tea. (more…)

Young people in the 1950s and 60s were generally more mobile and independent than any earlier generation, often leaving home in their teens to go to university, to start work or to train. Increasing numbers of them were benefiting fr0m grants for education and changed attitudes towards careers.

These young people wanted cheap accommodation — preferably free of the restrictions in lodgings ruled by a resident landlady. At the same time many city homes originally built for extended Victorian families and their servants were sold off as they proved too big and too expensive to run. Divided and fitted out as self-contained units, they made bed- sitting rooms or ‘bedsits’ to rent out, each one serving as bedroom, living room and kitchen. (more…)

Britain Swings ahead

In the mass market London led by the 196os. Newspaper colour supplements, introduced in 1962, helped to spread awareness of contemporary design. ‘Swinging Sixties’ people — whose taste in clothes included shift dresses, miniskirts and flared trousers — admired furnishings with a compact look spiced with novelty. British manufacturers were generally keen to explore plastics, glass fibre, fibreboard, PVC, smoked glass and spun aluminium. Robin Day’s moulded polypropylene stacking chair on a steel-rod base was first seen in 1963 and still has not dated. (more…)

Unadorned simplicity still inspired serious designers but the ever- younger mass of consumers with the spending power imposed their own taste for ease and, above all, fun.

Victorious and wealthy, the United States emerged from the Second World War in 1945 as the most powerful nation, and its influence spread quickly across much of the globe. The USA was the world leader in industrial technology, and was also the main maker of films, whose images of style and manners fed the dreams and aims of the Western world’s cinema-going millions. (more…)

Mark of Craftsman

The style was essentially nostalgic, much of its detail and ornament inspired by the Medieval -for example, the large metal hinges fitted on the outside of cabinet doors. The products looked handmade: wood was often left unpolished; beaten metal showed hammer marks; dowels were often left conspicuously visible. Glass was simply blown - cutting was disparaged as an industrial technique - so that the natural beauty of the material itself could be seen, unobscured by ornament. (more…)

Love of the Artistic Life

The late loth century was a time when people were fascinated by the lives and lifestyles of artists. Many modelled their own homes on an artist’s studio and the relaxed atmosphere of an artist’s house with its comfortable chairs, collections of paintings and etchings hung in tiers from a picture rail or perhaps standing on an easel, a scattering of rugs and furs, potted plants and dried flowers, collections of interesting objects, including Oriental ceramics and furniture, and antiques. (more…)