Queen Anne Bedroom Furniture Melbourne

Beginners Guide to Popular Vintage Furniture Eras

By Deb Clark

Hopefully with the current pandemic more people are rethinking their purchases and looking at vintage and secondhand, furniture, clothing and more, in a new light.

Want to buy vintage but aren't sure what to get, or what you like?

I've been decorating with vintage for over thirty years, and have run my own vintage shop in Mackay, Queensland for almost four years, and, I'm here to help!

This week we'll look at basic eras and styles, and you'll have some homework in the form of watching period dramas and old TV shows. Fun, right?!

Jus t to inspire you to think vintage instead of new…This is my vintage 1940's Jacobean style sofa on my front deck (a favourite place for me and the cats to sit). I bought it for $40 a few years ago. One day I'll restore it, but for now it's the cheapest outdoor lounge furniture around.

Moving On. This is part 5 of my book Secondhand Love. You can read part one here.

Given that my focus is on vintage rather than antique furniture and accessories, let's look at each decade and the style and type of furniture that was around. I'll give the rough decade, the term associated with it, the basic styles and shapes, pieces to look for, the major designers and movies and shows to watch to get a feel for the era.

1890 -1920s Art Nouveau

Think of – Handcrafted timbers with flowing natural, organic lines based on flowers and plants including vines and waterlilies, expensive timbers and inlaid veneers.

Iconic pieces – timber wardrobes, beds and hall stands (hand carved with floral detail), cane outdoor furniture.

Australian manufacturers – Ball & Welch Pty Ltd, Melbourne; Foy and Gibson, Collingwood, Melbourne (1880s to 1965); Anthony Horden & Sons, Sydney; Marcus Clark & Co, Sydney; Boans, Perth

Watch – Downton Abbey and Midnight in Paris

This is a French Art Nouveau dining suite from about 1900.

1920s -1930s Art Deco

Think of – modern streamlined design, with fine craftsmanship, bold forms, bright jewel colors, as well as cream, white, black, silver and gold, polished timber, stainless steel, chrome, mirror, coloured and clear glass, leather and animal prints along with stylised shapes of planes, ships, cars, skyscrapers, plants, shells, feathers and thin women with bobbed hair.

Such as – Solid and veneered timber dining and side tables, bar trolleys, dressing tables with large round mirrors, wardrobes and bedroom suites, club lounges, nickel plated side tables and drinks trolleys, but also reproductions of precious styles and eras like Queen Anne and Jacobean lounges and bedroom suites. Also – coloured Art Deco glass vases often with relief pictures.

Australian makers – Poveys in WA; Rosenstengel, Brisbane; Tritons, Brisbane; Daltons, New farm; Hixco (John Hick & Co) Brisbane.

Watch – Hercule Poirot, Boardwalk Empire and Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky

This Hille Art Deco Ten-Seat Dining Suite is from about 1935, and is a stunning example in immaculate condition.

Something more affordable and usual would be this Australian Art Deco Octangonal Occasional Table in Queensland Walnut & Hoop Pine from about the same year.

1930's Depression Era

Think of – basic handmade and repurposed Furniture, such as – drawers made of plywood packing crates and kerosene tins, solid furniture made of plywood and covered in timber veneer rather than solid timber (it was cheaper to make), China and curio cabinets with curved fronts and plain or Leadlight glass were popular, often with ply timber shelves and backs instead of more costly glass and mirrored backs, matching bedroom suites often with his and her wardrobes (large for her, and a lowboy or Loughborough for him) and a dressing table, were also popular, with a timber veneered bench seat rather than an upholstery stool for the dressing table.

Also – clear and coloured Depression glass everything, enamel canisters and pots, old tins.

Designed by – the home handyman, Brynmawr Furniture in the UK (set up by Quaker's to help unemployment), and many small local furniture manufacturers.

Watch – Water for elephants, the color purple, paper moon and the Great Gatsby.

This is an ad for furniture from the May 1934 edition of the Australian women's weekly. Adjusted for inflation, the bedroom suite would cost just over $3,000 today. This is at least twice the price you could buy an equivalent new bedroom suite from a fast furniture store today (which would be made of fast grown timber and made overseas). The difference is you can still find a 1930's bedroom suite in good condition (for a fraction of the price).

1940's wartime/ Austerity

Think of – basic handmade straight lines, limited decoration and timber veneers (similar to depression era furniture), but also timber furniture with rattan inserts (like my Sofa above), and also flat fronted wardrobes with a single veneer and no decoration, chests of drawers with timber handles rather than metal (as it was saved for the war effort).

Designed by – small furniture businesses and often, as in England, regulated by the government. Copies of previous styles (like Jacobean) saved the work of coming up with new designs.

Watch – The darkest hour, The Bletchley Circle, and the Guernsey literary and potato pie society

1950's Mid-Century

Think of – Post war advances in materials, as well as war surplus materials such as plywood and metal, modernist designs in timber and glass with atomic, slimline aesthetics, curves and plain block colours but also reproductions of past styles like Queen Anne.

Such as – moulded plywood and metal chairs, Danish and Scandinavian style. Also – abstract ceramics like those by Aldo Lundi for Bitossi, ceramic flying ducks and seagulls, kitsch Japanese ceramics and cookie jars, sunburst clocks, plain coloured glass vases, water sets and decanters with organic shapes, Japanese and German tin toys and robots, anodised and polished aluminium like aliquot ware, plastic kitchen canisters like Nally ware.

Designers including – Herman Miller, Hans Knoll and Charles and Ray Eames, Jens Risom, Alvar Aalto and Bruno Mathsson

Australian designers including – Paul Kafka, Roger McLay, Grant Featherstone, Clement Meadmore, Douglas Snelling, T.H. Brown. A lot of designers emigrated to Australia from Europe during and after WWII, especially those of Jewish heritage, so Australia had a boom in design in the 1950s. Many iconic pieces like Eames shell and leather lounge chair are still being made or copied, and you can often find them second hand.

Watch – Mad Men, breakfast at Tiffany's and the original Sabrina.

Read – Collecting the 50s by Madeleine Marsh

This is an original Grant Featherstone armchair from the 1950s/60s. It's about $9,000, but you can pick up secondhand replicas for a couple of hundred dollars.

1960's Mid-Century / Mod

Think of – Cold War, New York's world fair and pop music with no clear discernible trend, but a mix of psychedelic colours and textiles, Bright, fun patterns, big bold florals, lime green, space age, patterned laminates, art nouveau, Art Deco and Victoriana revival.

Such as – blow up plastic chairs and bean bags, oriental rugs, protest posters, moulded plastic and aluminium chairs in bright colors, zinc wire chairs, plastic lamps and shades, Scandinavian teak furniture. Also – ceramics with bright designs by German potteries like Villeroy & Boch, various Australian potteries like Ellis Pottery, West German pottery vases in browns, Swedish and Danish pottery plates in blues, textured coloured, glass vases and glassware, Pyrex with bright designs.

Designed by – Vernor Panton (the stacking chair), Zanotta (Il Sacco or the beanbag and the blow up chair), Eero Aarnio (ball chair); Robin Day (polyprop stacking chair), Oliver Mourge (Djinn series of chairs), Edward Craven Walker (lava lamp) and in Australia by Fler, Parker, Frederick Charles Cecil Ward.

Watch – The Monkees, I dream of Jeannie, Bewitched (the TV show), The graduate, Down with Love, any 60s made James Bond, the marvellous Mrs Maizel.

Read – "Collecting the 1960s" by Madeleine Marsh; "Retro" by Adrian Franklin; any 60s edition of Home Beautiful Magazine.

This is a De Coene 'Madison' Dining Suite, Belgium, 1960s

This is my mid-century dining suite that I picked up for $300 last year.

1970s Retro

Think of – rustic textures like hessian, cane, rattan, timber laminates panelling, cork, slate and shag pile with colors reminiscent of the 20s and 30s like cream and brown with green and orange for contrast and bold wallpapers

Such as – lowslung lounges and chairs, plastic chairs and lamps, velvet in bold colors, sylised florals in wallpaper and ceramics, cabinets for technology like big stereos, macrame wall and plant hangings, tie-dyed fabrics, tiled tables and lamps. Also – Scandinavian glass and pottery, bright coloured plastic homewares.

Designed by – Gufram (Athens Marilyn lips sofa), Italian tri de Pas, D'urbino and Lomazzi (The Joe Baseball glove lounge), Eero Aarnio (the Pony chair), Vernor Panton (Systen 123 cantilevered chair) and in Australia by – Tessa and Parker

Watch - That 70s show, the partridge family, The Brady Bunch, the original Charlie's Angels, 70s James Bond like Moonraker.

Here's the kitchen of the Brady Bunch house from the 1970s tv show. You can see the rest of the house here.

1980's Shabby Chic and Memphis

Shabby chic – Think of – Laura Ashley prints, florals, lace and chintz, white painted furniture that's been distressed and recycled materials, feminine and romantic, reproduction romantic styles like Queen Anne and Chippendale with dark cherry stains.

Also – brass and timber lamps.

Watch – You've got mail and Father of the bride.

Memphis design – think of bright colors and bold geometric shapes, squiggles. and a bit of kitsch and glass blocks

Such as – shelving and desks in multi- coloured laminates, color blocked coffee tables

Also – modern silver plated fruit bowls, cutlery and coffee pots as well as stainless steel like Alessi.

Watch – Ruthless People, Beetlejuice, and the TV show Designing women.

This room features a collection by the Memphis group of designers.

1990's

Shabby chic was still still popular in the 90s, as it is today, although it has also morphed into coastal, Hamptons and French provincial looks.

The 90s saw heritage colours like bottle green and burgundy popular, with old houses being restored (well in Melbourne anyway). Painted finishes like bagging and rag rolling were popular for wall and wallpaper borders ruled. Cotton checks and gingham were big too – lots of patterns thrown together and frills. Valances and those chipboard or MDF circular tables with cloths over them.

Made by – fast furniture brands flourished, so lots of laminate and cheap timber, especially computer desks and storage for videos and cds, upcycled painted old timber furniture.

Watch – Friends, and Frasier for a nice 90s vibe.

In a nutshell

(From last week) Antique is 100 plus years, vintage is 20 plus years and retro is recent past anywhere from 50s to 80s (as well as reproductions of those eras).

Styles and decades can Overlap. Research an era you're interested in and go watch a few old movies for ideas. If you need to buy furniture, BUY VINTAGE!

Visit my shop on instagram at kitten_vintage_mackay or visit me at home at thegreenhouseqld

💋Deb

Queen Anne Bedroom Furniture Melbourne

Source: https://medium.com/@debclark_37002/beginners-guide-to-popular-vintage-furniture-eras-39b23becf9e

Queen Anne Bedroom Furniture Melbourne