The Americas Peer Review

I had the chance to see Dana's blog on the Americas. She mentioned that she liked the style of houses alot and showcased the Gonzales-Alvarez house as well as a Luoisiana plantation house. Both are very different, but from the same period in time. She also talks about how many different styles were introduced in this time, as she describes them; " The Early American/ Colional Period, Georgian Period, Post Colonial or Federal Period, Greek Revival Period, and Victorian Period." 

I also looked at Lindsey's post for this section. She chose to talk about the Dutch style home, with it's steep roofs, and doors with top and bottoms. They can be found in the Hudson River Valley. She also talked about the French style homes which were one of my favorite designs of the chapter. They were raised to avoid flooding. She goes on to mention the Spanich style and German and Swedish style. I liked how she was able to mention a lot of styles, being able to compare one to another. 

Victorian Etiquette

I like this take on looking at Victorian etiquette. Much different than today.

The Americas

I chose to write this blog on the Victorian period. Ever since I was young, it has always been one of my favorite times in history. Growing up around here, I can say I have probably been to the local David Davis mansion of at least a total of 7 times. The house I grew up in in my hometown, was a old Victorian style home. It all intrigues me so much. I also chose to do the day in the life presentation on this as well.  The Victorian time was named after Britain's Queen Victoria. Americans replicated the ways of their mother country, in the way the decorated their houses, the way they acted, and even dressed.

To start off, the typical Victorian house included a front of the house and back of the house. The back was more for the maids, where their rooms were and the kitchen where they worked. The front of the house was for the family for private living as well as entertaining. The men had a room where they would entertain in and smoke cigars while there was a more feminine room for the women to hang out in.

Some of the characteristics of a Victorian home are decorated roof lines and slates, bay and sash windows, patterned brick, porches, and terraces. There were also no garages because at the time there were no cars. I love all the characteristics that are put in to the home. Today most homes are not built like this, they are much more simple. Another feature of the Victorian home would be barge boards. These were decorative wooden panels on the gable ends of homes or the triangular end section on a pitched roof.

Current Day Applications

Peer Review for English Periods

I had the chance to review Ariana's blog. She brought up some interesting points on how England was the last to jump on the renaissance bandwagon since they were isolated from Europe. Most of their work during this time came from influence from other counties. However, they were the first to develop the Tudor style home. She gives an example of the most popular example, the Anne Hathaway house which I found very interesting. Every time I see a Tudor home today I will think of this house!

I also got to look at Dana's blog for this time period. She talked about it being interesting that the late English renaissance  was split up into three different periods. She also shows a picture of the Syon House which was designed by Adams himself who I wrote about in my blog. Her current day applications show relevant pictures of Hepplewhite inspired chairs. Chippendales sideboard is also referenced. She also hints that the sideboard was purposefully designed for a dining space for extra room to put the food, but now can be seen in any living space. This is very true and I never thought of that.

English Periods

From the English Period, I chose to focus on the late Renaissance Neoclassic. The main designers of this time were Chippendale, Adam, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton. My favorite in particular was Robert Adams, an architect, interior designer, and furniture designer. He was willing to share his theories and ideas with others seeing as he wrote the book, "The Works in Architecture."  He was very good at planning and working out every detail and every inch of a space. Seeing as he was serious about the revival of classical design, he often times implemented architectural elements in to his interiors like columns and naves. Other effects came in to play with entablatures, arch forms, domes, and panels with classical motifs. Another great characteristic of his designs was the fact that the ceiling detail matched the floor usually. Adam used furniture, light fixtures, floor coverings, textiles, silver, pottery, and metal work all together to achieve a finished space. It was also interesting that the focal point was not the fireplace with his designs. He was famous for creating the sideboard too. It is a wide table with drawers created to be placed in the dining room for serving. Below are many of his interiors. You can see why he is my favorite from this time period.

Here are some current day applications of the Neoclassic style that could have been inspired by Adam style. They very much relate to his work.

Peer Review French Periods

I first looked at Katrina's blog post on the French Periods. I love that she chose Rococo like me. I like how she compared it to the "shabby chic" style we see today. I actually did my bedroom in high school in a shabby chic manner. It was good that she brought up we see this style being recreated a lot today but it is good to know where it came from. She also brought up the wall panels being prominent, and parlors and sitting rooms becoming the focal point for socializing. She made a lot of good points that I left out. She even broke down the cabriole leg of the furniture.

I also got the chance to look at Leslie's blog. She talked more about the history of the rulers which gave me a great refresher. She talks about King Louis XIV and how he became ruler at the age of 5 years old. Her talk of the palace de verailles was good too, I found that whole complex to be very interesting and would love to visit there. She also had very cool modern day applications going on with the home theaters.

Rococo Home Interior Design- modern interiors

This is a video I found interesting that shows tons of images of modern Rococo interiors. I love seeing my favorite style in interiors today.

French Periods

The French periods included some of my favorite styles in the history of art and design. These are some of the most lavish in history and included the Baroque style, Rococo and Neoclassic. Not only the lives of the royals were drama filled and interesting, but so were the furniture, interiors, and pieces of art. The style I am choosing to talk about is the Rococo style. Following the time of the Baroque, the Rococo had many unique characteristics. At this time, Louie the 15th was in control and \drove the country into bankrupcy. He was a disasterous leader where the main focus was on pleasure and frivillous money spending. This was a time for playful behavior which is reflected in the artwork. This was also the rise of the common people and comfortable and private living became more popular rather than the outstanding chateaux and palaces.
Where the Baroque style was very dark in color, the Rococo liked to use light colors and pastels, in their design, art, and architecture. It was very feminine, which most likely hints at why I like it so much. The feminine touch was influenced by the mistresses of the king. Everything was also much smaller in scale than the Baroque period.

Below is a picture of a Rococo interior that features these characteristics.

The furniture was more 3D in appearance. Furniture also included the cabriole leg. One of the most famous pieces of furniture was the Bureau de Roi made by cabinetmaker Jean Francois Oeben. Madame de Pompadour, the king's mistress was one of his biggest clients.

Another famous piece of furniture from this period was the tete-a-tete chair which was for gossiping and socializing.

Here are some modern images of Rococo interiors. I find it interesting that most are black and white with a few pops of color. The Rococo was so into the light, pastel colors, but the style of the furniture definitely represents the Rococo period, just with a modern twist with the black and white.