Linking the American Periods to Architecture and Furniture
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After the Puritans fled to America to have the freedom of religious practice, the lack of wealth, manufacturing, and normal routine forced the new Americans to value function and longevity over aesthetics. Naturally, the settlers built their homes and furniture after what they had in England. Most homes were daub structures with half-timbered wattle and thatched roofs. They were small and had few furnishings (Ireland, 2009, p. 372). The new climate also had an affect on the way the houses were designed and built. The new settlers had to face the extremes of temperature, ice and snow, thunderstorms, and high winds. Ireland explains, ” the expansion and contraction of daub resulting from freezing and thawing required constant repair” (2009, p. 372). However, the New Englanders adapted and began to, ” protect the wattle and daub by covering it either with weatherboards or clapboard” (Ireland, 2009, p. 372). They continued to improve the durability of their homes and began focusing on the decoration and details. This paper will explain the design development of buildings and furniture throughout the American periods.
One of the earliest home designs is the New England Colonial. After the wilderness became more tamed and the settlers became more secure, more “luxurious” and more permanent houses were built for the colonists (Ireland, 2009, p. 374). An example of a colonial can be seen in Image 1, the Boardman House in Saugus, Massachusetts. The exterior displays a “jetty” which is the overhang on the second story. Its purpose was to create more space on the second level (Botti-Salitsky, 2012). There is a central fireplace which heated the whole house and acted as the “central core” (Botti-Salitsky, 2012). Ireland explains, “Fireplaces were often sufficiently large enough to walk into them, and they dominated rooms. They were used not only for cooking and heat but for light” (Ireland, 2009, p. 379). The exterior walls are covered in weathered-gray shingle siding and the house displays a heavy timber front door. William and Mary styled furniture were popular around this time. The forms reflect the new style of greater luxury and comfort (Botti-Salitsky, 2012). One example, Image 2, is the William and Mary butterfly table. Since most early colonial houses were small, the furniture inside served various functions by changing shape or size. The William and Mary butterfly tables leaves dropped to the sides when the outer legs were pushed in which transformed it into a small, rectangular table.
The settlers became bored with this simplistic design and looked towards a more distinguished style: the Federal style. It is a combination of mostly classical motifs with some of the colonial style. An example of Federal style, Image 3, is the Cyrus C. Chamberlain House in Southington, Connecticut. The front walkway leads to a classical Greek temple entrance: a pediment structure and dentil work atop four doric columns. The third floor displays a pediment-like peaked roof and Palladian windows. Some colonial details include the shutters on the first and second floor, the jetty on the second floor, and the mansard roof. Craven states, “This new Federal style became associated with Americas evolving national identity” (2000). This means that the furniture found in this house during the 1800s would have been more distinguished as well. The sideboard, in Image 4, is a good example of this. Crochet writes, “Sideboards were more popular in American households because Federal-style homes designated separate rooms for dining” (Crochet, 2004, p. 227). They were designated with drawers and cabinets for storage of plates, cutlery, and linens and were used as a server for the meal (Crochet, 2004, p. 227). The idea of the sideboard was taken from the English version developed by Adam. The most common form they take is a bulky one with tapered legs (Botti-Salitsky, 2012), which can be seen in Image 4. Once the taxation of a colonists house and property began, so did the evasion.