Ulster County

Furniture | Furniture Stores

 All Kingston Listings

 Kingston Furniture | Furniture Stores

12401, Hudson Valley Mall, Kingston, NY, retail stores, restaurants, enclosed shopping center, Best Buy, Sporting Goods, Sears, Target, J.C. Penny, Macys, stores, books & gifts, children's fashion, toy stores,  entertainment, Regal Cinema's | Ulster Hudson Valley Mall "Shopping Center"

845-336-8000
  The Hudson Valley Mall is located at 1300 Ulster Ave., Kingston, NY 12401 in Ulster County. At Hudson Valley Mall you’ll find retail stores, services and restaurants; and the only enclosed shopping center within a 30 miles radius. Anchor stores at the Hudson Valley Mall are Best Buy, Sporting Goods, Sears, Target, J.C. Penney and Macys. Hudson Valley Mall  "Shopping Center" | Ulster  website and more . . .

12041, Hudson Valley Mall, Kingston, NY, department stores, Clothing Items,  department store, home furnishing, Internet, Clothing, Shoes, Bed & Bath, Handbags & Accessories, Home Store, Jewelry & Watches, Outlets, Patio | Ulster J.C. Penney - Kingston

845-336-4300
  J. C. Penney is located in Hudson Valley Mall, 1300 Ulster Ave., Kingston, NY 12401 in Ulster County. J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is one of America's leading retailers, with over 1,100 department stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, and one of largest apparel and home furnishing sites on the Internet at jcp.com. J.C. Penney - Kingston | Ulster  website and more . . .

12401, Kingston, NY, Department Store, specialty department store, national brand merchandise, affordable prices, children, women, men, teens, kids & baby, shoes, jewelry & watches, home products, affordable prices | Ulster Kohl's - Kingston

845-336-6755
  Kohl's Department Store is located at 800 Miron Lane, Kingston, NY 12401 in Ulster County. Kohl's is a leading family-focused, value-oriented, specialty department store offering quality exclusive and national brand merchandise to the customer at affordable prices. Kohl's - Kingston | Ulster  website and more . . .

12401, Macy's, Kingston NY, Bed & Bath, Handbags, Home, Jewelry, Watches, Shoes, local Macy's department store | Ulster Macy's Department Store - Kingston

845-383-3600
  Macy's is located at 1300 Ulster Ave., Kingston, NY 12401 in Ulster County. Macy's, established in 1858, is the Great American Department Store - an iconic retailing brand with about 810 stores operating coast-to-coast and online at macys.com. Macy's Department Store - Kingston | Ulster  website and more . . .

12401, department stores, Hudson Valley Mall, Kingston, NY, Appliances, Automotive & Tires, Baby items, Bed, Clothing, Shoes, Electronics, Computers, Jewelry, Watches, Lawn & Garden, Music, Movies, Games | Ulster Sears Stores - Kingston

845-382-7255
  Sears Store is located at the Hudson Valley Mall, 1300 Ulster Ave., Kingston, NY 12401, Ulster County. Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores handling a large selection of goods, including: Sears Stores - Kingston | Ulster  website and more . . .

12401, Furniture Center, Kingston, NY, Hudson Valley's furniture store, furniture, quality furniture, Broyhill, Berkline, Ashley, La-Z-Boy | Ulster Wiedy Furniture Center

845-339-3400
  Wiedy Furniture Center is located at 504 Route 28, Kingston, NY 12401 in Ulster County. For over 60 years Wiedy Furniture Center has been the Hudson Valley's furniture store. "Our massive three story showroom holds a staggering array of furniture to suit any taste and fit any budget. We sell quality furniture from manufacturers such as Broyhill, Berkline, Ashley, and La-Z-Boy in all price points. Wiedy Furniture Center | Ulster  more . . .
 All Saugerties Listings

 Saugerties Furniture | Furniture Stores

12477, Furniture, Saugerties, NY, Ulster County, quality furniture, Village of Saugerties, Catskills, Ulster County, New York State's Hudson Valley, Dutchess County, Capital District in the Albany region, Poughkeepsie, Kingston, Middletown | Ulster Saugerties Furniture Mart

845-246-3677
  Saugerties Furniture Mart is located at 222 Main Street, Saugerties, NY 12477 in Ulster County. "Since 1947 Saugerties Furniture has been helping people furnish their homes with quality furniture at an affordable price. Centrally located in the Village of Saugerties, just east of the Catskills in Ulster County New York State's Hudson Valley, we service customers from Dutchess County, the Capital District in the Albany region, and Hudson Valley cities, including Poughkeepsie, Kingston, and Middletown. Saugerties Furniture Mart | Ulster  more . . .
 All Wallkill, Town of - Ulster Listings

 Wallkill, Town of - Ulster Furniture | Furniture Stores

10940, Wallkill, NY, Department Store, specialty department store, national brand merchandise, affordable prices, children, women, men, teens, kids & baby, shoes, jewelry & watches, home products, affordable prices | Ulster Kohl's - Wallkill

845-343-1551
  Kohl's Department Store is located at 470 Route 211 East, Wallkill, NY 10940 in Ulster County. Kohl's is a leading family-focused, value-oriented, specialty department store offering quality exclusive and national brand merchandise to the customer at affordable prices. Kohl's - Wallkill | Ulster  website and more . . .

 More Hudson Valley  Furniture | Furniture Stores


Furniture | Furniture Stores | Albany Albany County
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Furniture | Furniture Stores | Columbia Columbia County
      [2 listings over 1 location]


Furniture | Furniture Stores | Dutchess Dutchess County
      [10 listings over 2 locations]


Furniture | Furniture Stores | Orange Orange County
      [12 listings over 5 locations]


Furniture | Furniture Stores | Putnam Putnam County
      [2 listings over 2 locations]


Furniture | Furniture Stores | Rensselaer Rensselaer County
      [1 listing over 1 location]


Furniture | Furniture Stores | Rockland Rockland County
      [16 listings over 4 locations]


Furniture | Furniture Stores | Westchester Westchester County
      [42 listings over 14 locations]



Related Categories:
 Furniture | Home Decorating


Furniture | Furniture Stores
Hudson Valley
New York State


Find a local furniture store in the Hudson Valley. Or, shop online for the best furniture for your home. Buy furniture at affordable prices for your kid's room, bedroom furniture, living room furniture, dining rooms, and accessories for your home.

Find sales and good prices on furniture throughout the Hudson Valley. Find departments stores that offer quality furniture at reasonable prices, or stores offering high-end furniture on sale. Visit furniture stores at this comprehensive list of Furniture Stores in Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Ulster, and Westchester County, offering places to buy the best furniture for the home.

Find furniture stores and department stores that sell furniture, when you go:


Find beautiful furniture at affordable prices when you go shopping for the home at:

Shop the lower-Hudson Valley for furniture stores and high-end department stores offering furniture in Westchester and Rockland counties. Shop in White Plains, Westchester County for high-end furniture options. Find selected furniture brands for your home.

There is a wide selection of furniture in department stores throughout the Hudson Valley. Visit Westchester Department Stores where you can find furniture for all the rooms in your home. See beautiful furniture at Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor, Macy's, Sears, J.C. Penny, Kohl's, Kmart, Marshalls, T. J. Maxx, and Target.

Visit the Palisades Center Mall in Rockland County where you can easily spend a day or week shopping the stores, eating in the restaurants, or enjoying activities such as ice-skating and IMAX movies in Palisades Center in West Nyack, New York. Palisades Center is located in the lower-Hudson Valley on the west side of the Hudson River.

Visit Orange, Putnam County, Dutchess County, and Ulster County in the mid-Hudson Valley, Greene and Columbia County, in the upper-Hudson Valley, Rensselaer and Albany in the upper-Hudson Valley and Capital Region of New York.

Find excellent buys on furniture. Furniture stores and department stores often run sales and discounts on furniture. It is not unusual to find the best bargains on furniture during holiday sales. Also, find many furniture clearance sales in White Plains, NY and Hartsdale, NY. You can sometimes find clearance sales on already discounted items. Look for furniture discounts during holiday sales and special home sales. Look for clearance sales and special sales in furniture stores and department stores in the Hudson Valley of New York.

Visit stores offering stunning pieces of furniture created in different styles and designs. Visit Country Willow in Bedford, Ethan Allen and Safavieh Home Furnishings in Hartsdale, and Stickley, Audi & Company in White Plains.

Identify brands of furniture that you like and are comfortable having in your home. Become familiar with the different brands of respected furniture manufacturers and then select a style or brand that you think will look great in your home.

Do you have a favorite "style" of furniture? Or, you may like several styles that you enjoy mixing to create a new and exciting look. Review 'Popular Furniture Styles' and then look for reproduction furniture made in the image of classic styles and periods.

A Bit about the History and Evolution of Furniture Design


Skilled artisans and craftsman have been designing and building furniture throughout history. Learn how styles of furniture developed and changed throughout the years; including a brief description of several periods and styles of furniture.

Jacobean (1603 - 1649)
This style, popular between 1603 and 1649, is the earliest work from the Americas. It is also referred to as Pilgrim furniture. It is characterized by heavy turnings used as legs and spindles. At times, turned legs are split in half and applied to panels for decoration. Oak or pine is common and the ornamentation is sometimes painted.

American (1600's)
A style of furniture developed in North America in the 17th century by the early American settlers with influences from around the world, especially Europe.

Early American (1608 - 1720)
This style flourished between 1608 and 1720 in Virginia and New England. It included unpretentious wood furniture of simple construction with little design detail and crude copies of Jacobean, Carolean, and William and Mary. Most pieces echoed European styles.

William and Mary (late 1600's)
An American style of furniture, popular in the American colonies during the late 1600’s. Walnut and maple became the material of choice and veneering was introduced for highly figured, naturally decorative wood. Hinged lids were placed on desk boxes on stands, and on chests of drawers, producing the secretary we are familiar with today.

Queen Anne (early 1700's)
An American style created in the early 18th century. The most relevant feature is the cabriole leg. The cabriole leg is a bowed, offset leg that grows from the floor around the entire piece. Walnut is the favored wood, but maple and cherry are also used. Mahogany began to achieve popularity during this time.

Colonial (16th - 19th centuries)
A term referring to furniture styles in use in colonies around the world during the great colonial period from the 16th to 19th centuries. Colonial furniture is characterized by a strong "mother country" influence balanced by the use of local materials and adapted to local needs.

Georgian (1714 - 1820)
The Golden Age of Furniture is marked by the Georgian furniture style, used in Great Britain during the reign of George I, George II, and George III. The Georgian Style is marked by several changes in the design of Georgian furniture. Changes from earlier periods include the use of mahogany wood in place of walnut, and furniture legs that are elaborately carved terminating in a pad or ball-and claw foot. Furniture designers in this period include Thomas Chippendale, George Hepplewhite, and Robert Adam style furniture. Furniture of this period was often made of mahogany and satinwood.

Pennsylvania Dutch (late 1600's - 1800's)
The Amish of Pennsylvania, also called Pennsylvania Dutch (a mistranslation of the German "Deutsch"), are known for their simplistic, old world country life. Amish furniture styles are rooted in the era of Amish immigration to America, from the late 1600s through the 1800s. This distinctive furniture style, with its Germanic influences and simple utilitarian aesthetic, is characterized by colorful folk painting, excellent wood and a sturdy 18th and 19th century farm style.

Chippendale (18th century)
Named after British designer and cabinet maker Thomas Chippendale, who published his furniture designs in "The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director" in 1754. The Chippendale style dominated American furniture until the 1770s. Known by its exquisite and extensive carving, it takes its name from Thomas Chippendale, an 18th century cabinetmaker, whose furnishings reflected popular English tastes of the period incorporating English, Gothic, and Chinese motifs.

Robert Adam (1728 - 1792) and James Adam (1730 - 1794)
The British architects Robert and James Adam were the leading practitioners of the neoclassic style in the late 18th century. Their graceful, elegant work is based chiefly on ancient Roman and Renaissance motifs. A 19th century style often included in the larger category of Federal. Adam style is characterized by a strong but restrained classical influence, somewhat heavier than contemporaries Hepplewhite and Sheraton.

Hepplewhite (early 1700's - 1786)
George Hepplewhite, author of the posthumously published The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide (1788), stated his goal as “to unite elegance and utility." Although Hepplewhite style is conservative, he retained design elements from earlier periods such as the cabriole leg, but tended to have a lighter appearance than the Adam style. The Hepplewhite style is neoclassic and is characterized by a delicate appearance, tapered legs and the use of contrasting veneers and inlay.

Federal (late 18th century)
This was the American’s reaction to the Neo-classic style during the late 18th century. Federal is more geometric and is lighter and more delicate than preceding styles. Details include fine inlay and refined turnings. Chair backs are either square cornered or curved.

Sheraton (late 1700's to early 1800's)
Thomas Sheraton gave his name to a stylistic period from the late 18th to early 19th centuries. The Neo-classical movement is heavily influenced by his The Cabinet Dictionary and The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book. It is a neoclassical style characterized by delicate straight lines, light construction, contrasting veneers and neoclassical motifs and ornamentation. The Sheraton style was the most reproduced style in the United States during the Federal period.

Shaker (early 1800's)
The Shakers, who were a religious society with colonies throughout the United States, produced furniture during the early nineteenth century that is characterized by its economy and efficiency. They produced works with the attitude that work is prayer, which resulted in highly practical and functional designs that appeal to modern tastes. The plain turnings of a classic, straight back, Shaker chair is indicative of the design’s commitment to simplicity and function.

Victorian (1837 - 1901)
The Victorian period fell between 1837 through 1901. The industrial revolution allowed for the mass production of furniture and styles from earlier periods were drawn upon. Heavy ornamentation is a hallmark of the Victorian period. The round ottoman, balloon back chair, and single end sofa were all developed during this period. The Victorian period was the first furniture style of mass production.

Arts and Craft (1860's - 1939)
The Arts and Crafts period between the 1860’s and 1939 was an answer to the Victorian style. Rather than drawing on ornamental styles from the past, it took on a rustic, craftsman look.

Cottage (mid-19th century)
Mass-produced furniture popular in the mid-19th century, originating in functional demands rather than in display. Usually painted white, pale lilac or blue and often enhanced with fruit and floral motifs or abstract curvilinear designs. Turned legs and split backs are common characteristics.

Art Nouveau (turn of the 20th century)
Art Nouveau went against the Victorian mainstream of the time around the turn of the 20th century. This style is characterized by smoothly curving lines and subtle transitions through the form. It uses organic forms as inspiration for the entire design rather than simply the ornamentation. Typically, Art Nouveau lines begin a large S- shaped curve that ends in a rapid, whip like tail.

Scandinavian Contemporary (1930 - 1950)
At the 1930 Stockholm Exhibition and the 1939 World's Fair in New York, the larger world was first exposed to the simple, clean, and lightweight forms of Scandinavian furniture. Quality craft combined with mass production where appropriate are hallmarks of the style. Bent plywood is a commonly used material.

Country (1980's)
A casual style that gained popularity in the 1980's and remains popular today, often featuring nature and nostalgic motifs. The appearance of handcrafting is also important. "Distressing" is commonly seen.

Shop the best furniture brands and manufacturers offering well designed and well built furniture for casual homes, high style luxury, modern, contemporary, and eclectic styles of living. Find a large selection of the best furniture for your home. Design and decorate beautiful rooms throughout your house with exceptional furniture from:

Hickory Chair Furniture Co. offering custom seating, custom tables & chests, dining Room & kitchen, living room, den, & foyer, bedroom & sitting room.

Century Furniture offering furniture by category, wood collections, upholstery collections, and outdoor & leisure collections.

Bausman, Bernhardt, Century, Drexel Heritage Furniture, French Oak, Francesco Molon, Fox, Henredon, Henkel, Harris, Hickory, Mainland Smith Furniture, Manhattan Upholstery, Martha Stewart, Maitland Smith Furniture, Ralph Lauren, Regency Home, Theodore Alexander Furniture, Tibetan, Tiffany, Vanguard, Woodbridge and many more quality furniture makers.

Find beautiful, handcrafted furniture made by manufacturers with quality uppermost in mind. Visit Hancock & Moore Furniture, making masterpieces since 1981 when master craftsman Jimmy Moore turned his lifetime passion for furniture making into a legacy.

    "To this day, up to 80 hours are spent handcrafting a piece of Hancock & Moore furniture. Every sofa, game chair and bench bares the signature of the artisan that created it, reflecting the hard day’s work that went into its construction. To Hancock & Moore, custom-made furniture is the purest form of self-expression. That is why they have spent the past 30 years creating furniture exactly as you envisioned, making it truly as unique as you are."


In addition to individual furniture stores that sell home furnishings, buy some of the best furniture in department stores.

    For traditional styles and some great bargains in furniture, shop Macy's Department Store in Albany, Kingston, Middletown, Nanuet, and other counties in the Hudson Valley of New York. Macy's furniture department offers many styles in excellent furniture for your apartment, home office, family room, and great styles in furniture for the living room. Also shop furniture for the outdoors. For furniture closeouts, clearance sales, and discounts on furniture visit Macy's in White Plains,

    Visit Lord & Taylor in Scarsdale, NY; offering furniture for the bedroom, dining room, living and family rooms, and home decor accessories.


After you've bought your new bedroom set, visit Nordstrom at The Westchester for sheets, blankets, and more for your new bedroom furniture.

For outdoor furniture and outdoor living visit Sears Stores in Nanuet, Newburgh, Kingston, and other Sears locations selling furniture in the Hudson Valley. Find outdoor tables, chairs, umbrellas, and other furnishings for those beautiful days outside in the sun.

For more discounts on furniture and clearance deals, visit Kohl's in Brewster, New York, in Putnam County and other counties in the Hudson Valley. Find furniture for the home, including chairs, tables, bookcases, living room, bedroom, home office, entryway, kids room, and more.

Shop living room furniture, bedroom, dining room, accent pieces, and more great items at department stores and furniture stores, selling the best furniture in the Hudson Valley.

Brief History of Furniture 1



Prehistoric Furniture
As people began farming, permanent settlements were established. Settlements grew as a direct result of the growth of farming communities. People within the farming communities created permanent structures that became their homes. Furniture was built as a direct result of building permanent homes in which the furniture could reside.

In Europe some of the earliest known furniture comes from a stone age village at Sara Brae in the Orkney Islands in Scotland, around 2,000 BC. The stone age farmers lived in stone huts with roofs of whalebone and turf. Inside they made stone furniture for cupboards and beds.

Ancient Egyptian Furniture
In Egypt, rich Egyptians lived in large, comfortable houses with many rooms. These wealthy Egyptians painted their walls and tiled their floors. They also made wooden furniture for beds, chairs, tables and chests for storage. However instead of pillows they used wooden head rests.

Ordinary people lived in simpler homes made of mud. People may have slept on the flat roof when it was hot and they did most of their work outside because of the heat. The poor had basic furniture such as benches made of brick around the walls. Reed chests or wooden pegs on walls were used for storage.

Ancient Greek Furniture
In Ancient Greece, furniture was basic even in rich homes. The Greeks stored things in wooden chests or hung them from wooden pegs on the walls. A rich home would also have a dresser to display expensive cups. People reclined on couches (which could also act as beds). The couches were simply wooden frames with rope webbing and mats or rugs laid on top.

Roman Furniture
In Rome, rich people enjoyed luxuries such as mosaics and in colder parts of the empire panes of glass were used in windows. Romans even developed a form of central heating called a hypocaust. Wealthy Romans also displayed wall paintings, called murals, in their houses.

The wealthy owned comfortable furniture that was upholstered and finely carved. People ate while reclining on couches. Oil lamps were used for light. Unlike the wealthier Romans, the poorer Romans had very basic and sparse furniture.

Anglo-Saxon Furniture
The Saxons were members of a West Germanic tribal group that inhabited northern Germany and invaded Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries AD. Upon arriving in England, Anglo-Saxons, as they became known, stayed clear of Roman towns. They preferred living in small villages. Some Saxons built wooden houses inside the walls of Roman towns. Others, cleared space in forests to both create fields for crops and to build homes.

Anglo-Saxon houses were built of wood and had thatched roofs. It appears that the Saxons had one main house or hall with smaller groups of houses surrounding the larger central hall. Each family had one room with a hearth for cooking, warmth, and light.

Saxon furniture was very simple. A Saxon hall was typically only one room shared by many people. Thanes (upper class Saxons) and their followers slept on beds with straw mattresses and pillows but poorer people slept on the floor. It is believed that Saxon furniture was basic and heavy such as wooden benches and wooden tables. In some upper class homes, although Tapestries hung on the walls there were no panes in the windows.

Furniture in the Middle Ages
In Saxon times a rich man and his entire household lived together in one great hall. In the Middle Ages the great hall was still the center of a castle but the lord had his own room above it. This room was called the solar. The lord slept in a bed, which was surrounded by curtains, both for privacy and to keep out draughts. The other members of the lord's household, such as his servants, slept on the floor of the great hall. At one or both ends of the great hall there was a fireplace and chimney, considered a luxury in the Middle Ages.

Around 1180, wealthy people began to have panes of glass in the windows.

Medieval furniture was very basic. Even in a rich household, chairs were rare. Often, only the lord sat on a chair, to help establish the lord as the 'chairman'. Most people sat on stools or benches. Rich people also had tables and large chests, usually made of oak, which doubled up as beds. The homes of the rich often displayed wool tapestries or painted linen on the walls. They were not just for decoration as they also helped keep out draughts.

16th Century Furniture
In the 16th century, life became more comfortable for the wealthy. Furniture was more plentiful than in the Middle Ages although still basic. In a wealthy home, furniture was usually made of oak and was heavy and massive. 16th century furniture was expected to last for generations. You expected to pass it on to your children and even your grandchildren. Comfortable beds became more and more common in the 16th century and increasing numbers of middle class people slept on feather mattresses rather than straw ones.

Although expensive, chairs became more common in the 16th century. Even in an upper class home, children and servants sat on stools. Seating in a poor family was comprised of stools and benches.

Glass windows became much more common in the 16th century. However, the poor still had to make do with strips of linen soaked in linseed oil, and chimneys were still a luxury. Poor people simply had a hole in the roof to let out the smoke.

In the 16th century, wealthy Tudor houses lined the walls with oak paneling to keep out drafts. People slept in four-poster beds hung with curtains to reduce drafts. Some people had wallpaper but it was very expensive. Other wealthy people hung tapestries or painted cloths on their walls.

The improvements in 16th century furniture did not apply to the poor. They continued to live in simple huts with one or two rooms (occasionally three). Smoke escaped through a hole in the thatched roof. Floors were of hard earth and furniture was very basic, used only for benches, stools, a table and wooden chests. They slept on mattresses stuffed with straw or thistledown. The mattresses lay on ropes strung across a wooden frame.

17th Century Furniture and life in Tudor Times
In the late 17th century, furniture for the wealthy became more comfortable and much more finely decorated. In the early 17th century furniture was plain and heavy and usually made of oak. In the late 17th century furniture for the rich was often made of walnut or, from the 1680s, mahogany.

The term "Age of Walnut" is used to date furniture roughly from 1600 to 1730. It is believed that walnut may have been used during this period, due to the improvement in sawing techniques.

Furniture was decorated in new ways. One of these techniques was called veneering, where thin pieces of expensive wood were laid over cheaper wood. Some furniture was also inlaid. Wood was carved out and the hollow was filled in with mother of pearl. At this time lacquering arrived in England. Pieces of furniture were coated with lacquer in bright colors.

Furthermore new types of furniture were introduced in Stuart times. In the mid 17th century chests of drawers became common. Grandfather clocks also became popular. Later in the century the bookcase was introduced.

Chairs also became far more comfortable. Upholstered (padded and covered) chairs became common in wealthy people's homes. In the 1680s the first real armchairs appeared.

18th Century Furniture
In the 18th century the wealthy owned comfortable, upholstered, and beautiful furniture. Some of the furniture was veneered or inlaid. In the 18th century much fine furniture was made by Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779) who published a catalogue The Gentlemen and Cabinet Makers Director in 1754.

Another furniture maker was George Hepplewhite (?-1786) 2 . Hepplewhite was an English cabinetmaker and furniture designer whose name is associated with a graceful style of Neoclassicism, a movement he helped to formulate in the decorative arts.

Little is known of Hepplewhite’s life except that he was apprenticed to the English furniture maker Robert Gillow of Lancaster, went to London, and opened a shop there on Redcross Street. Other than his noting on a chair design that it had been “executed with good effect for the Prince of Wales,” there is no other evidence to show that Hepplewhite’s was a fashionable firm; furthermore, the royal accounts have no record of the chair. After his death his estate was administered by his widow, Alice, who carried on the business.

In America the first great cabinet makers were Duncan Phyfe (1768-1854), John Goddard (1724-1785) and Samuel McIntire (1757-1811).

19th Century Furniture
Victorians lived in very comfortable houses (although their servants lived in cramped quarters, often in the attic). For the first time furniture was mass-produced. Resulting in cheaper furniture, both in cost and quality. This less expensive furniture lead to a fall in design standards. To many people in the 21st century, middle class Victorian homes seem overcrowded with furniture, ornaments and knick-knacks. However, only a small minority could afford this comfortable lifestyle.

In the early 19th century, the poorest people slept on piles of straw because they could not afford beds. Skilled workers usually lived houses with two rooms downstairs and two upstairs. The downstairs front room was kept for best. The family kept their best furniture and ornaments in this room. They spent most of their time in the downstairs back room, which served as a kitchen and living room. As the 19th century passed more and more working class Victorians could afford this lifestyle.

20th Century Furniture
At the start of the 20th century working class homes had two rooms downstairs. The front room and the back room. The front room was kept for best and children were not allowed to play there. The family kept their best furniture and ornaments in the front room. The back room was the kitchen and it was where the family spent most of their time. Most families cooked on a coal-fired stove called a range, which also heated the room.

This lifestyle changed in the early 20th century as gas cookers became common. They did not heat the room so people began to spend most of their time in the front room or living room, by the fire. Rising living standards meant it was possible to furnish all rooms "properly". During the 20th century ordinary people's furniture greatly improved in quality and design.

In the 1920s and 1930s new styles of furniture and architecture were introduced. Among these styles are Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Art Deco used geometric shapes instead of the flowing lines of the earlier Art Nouveau. The name Art Deco came from an exhibition held in Paris in 1925 called the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs.

Because of the large selection of materials available in the 20th century, and due to an awareness of historical trends in furniture, as well as cross-cultural esthetics, 20th century furniture has many styles and implementations. The 20th century introduced more unique and different styles of furniture than all three previous centuries put together.

Sources:
1 A Brief History of Furniture, by Tim Lambert

2 Encyclopedia Britannica


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