Periods In Furniture

PERIODS in furniture are amazingly interesting if one plunges into the story, not with tense nerves, but gaily, for mere amusement, and then floats gently, in a drifting mood. One gathers in this way many sparkling historical anecdotes, and much substantial data really not so cumbersome as some imagine!

To know anything at all about a subject one must begin at the beginning, and to make the long run seems a mere spin in an auto, let us at once remind you that the whole fascinating tale lies between the covers of one delightful book, the "Illustrated History of Furniture," by Frederick Litchfield, published by Truslove et Han-son, London, and by John Lane, New York.

There are other books many of them but first exhaust Litchfield and apply what he tells you as you wander through public and private collections of furniture.

If you care for furniture at all, this book, which tells all that is known of its history, will prove highly instructive.

One cannot speak of the gradual development of furniture and furnishing; it is more a case of waves of types, and the story begins on the crest of a wave in Assyria, about 3000 years before Christ! Yes, seriously, interior decoration was an art back in that period and can be traced without any lost links in the chain of evidence.

From Assyria we turn to Egypt and learn from the frescoes and bas-reliefs on walls of ruined tombs, that about that same time, 3000 B. C., rooms on the banks of the Nile were decorated more or less as they are today.

The cultured classes had beautiful ceilings, gilded furniture, cushions and mattresses of dyed linen and wools, stuffed with downy feathers taken from water fowl, curtains that were suspended between columns, and, what is still more interesting to the lover of furniture, we find that the style known as Empire when revived by Napoleon I was at that time in vogue.

Even more remarkable is the fact that parts of legs and rails of furniture were turned as perfectly (I quote Litchfield) as if by a modern lathe. The variety of beautiful woods used by the Egyptians for furniture included ebony, cedar, sycamore and acacia. Marquetry was employed as well as wonderful inlaying with ivory, from both the elephant and hippopotamus. Footstools had little feet made like lion's claws or bull's hoofs.

According to Austin Leyard, the very earliest Assyrian chairs, as well as those of Egypt, had the legs terminating in the same lion's feet or bull's hoofs, which reappear in the Greek, Roman, Empire and even Sheraton furniture of England (eighteenth century).

The first Assyrian chairs were made without backs and of beautifully wrought gold and bronze, an art highly developed at that time.

In Egypt we find the heads of animals capping the backs of chairs in the way that we now see done on Spanish chairs.

The pilasters shown on the Empire furniture, Plate XVI, capped by women's heads with little gold feet at base, and caryatides of a kind, were souvenirs of the Egyptian throne seats, which rested on the backs of slaves possibly prisoners of war.

These chairs were wonderful works of art in gold or bronze. We fancy we can see those interiors, the chairs and beds covered with woven materials in rich colors and leopard skins thrown over chairs, the carpets of a woven palm-fiber and mats of the same, which were used as seats.

Early Egyptian rooms were beautiful in line because simple; never crowded with superfluous furnishings. It is amusing to see on the very earliest bas-reliefs Egyptian belles and beaux reclining against what we know to-day as Empire rolls, seen also on beds in old French prints of the fourteenth century. Who knows, even with the Egyptians this may have been a revived style!

One talks of new notes in color scheme. The Bakst thing was being done in Assyria, 700 B.C.! Sir George Green proved it when he opened up six rooms of a king's palace and found the walls all done in horizontal stripes of red, yellow and green! Also, he states that each entrance had the same number of pilasters. Oh wise Assyrian King and truly neutral, if as is supposed, those rooms were for his six wives!

In furniture, the epoch-making styles have been those showing line, and if decorated, then only with such decorations as were subservient to line; pure Greek and purest Roman, Gothic and early Renaissance, the best of the Louis, Directoire and First Empire, Chippendale, Adam, Sheraton and Heppelwhite.

The bad styles are those where ornamentations envelop and conceal line as in late Renaissance, the Italian Rococo, the Portuguese Barrocco (baroque), the curving and contorted degenerate forms of Louis XIV and XV and the Victorian all examples of the same thing, i. e.: perfect line achieved, acclaimed, flattered, losing its head and going to the bad in extravagant exuberance of over-ornamentation.

There is a psychic connection between the outline of furniture and the inline of man.

Perfect line, chaste ornamentation, the elimination of the superfluous was the result of the Greek idea of restraint self-control in all things and in all expression. The immense authority of the lawmakers enforced simple austerity as the right and only setting for the daily life of an Athenian, worthy of the name.

There were exceptions, but as a rule all citizens, regardless of their wealth and station, had impressed upon them the civic obligation to express their taste for the beautiful, in the erecting of public buildings in their city of Athens, monuments of perfect art, by God-like artists, Phidias, Apelles, and Praxiteles.

How To Know If Interior Design Is Right for You

Have you ever seen a beautiful house or office building and wondered who did the work? Have you ever wished that you could do some of the work that you’ve seen elsewhere? Many people wonder what it would be like to be an Interior Designer, but they rarely ever go beyond thinking about it.

If you really want to know if Interior Design is right for, this book will be your comprehensive guide to the ins and outs of the business. In this book, you will learn what it takes to be an Interior Designer, what it costs to get certified, you will get all the techniques on how to get started, and much, much more.

An interior Designer is a consultant. You are there to beautify any particular environment as well as provide your clients with the service of explaining why you are recommending, and doing the things that your project will require. You must educate your client about interior design as well as design.

You have obviously given the idea of being an Interior Designer serious thought or you wouldn’t be reading this. Of course, like most people, you are probably wondering whether or not it is the right choice for you. I can guarantee you, that after you’ve read this, you will know for sure if Interior Design is the right career choice for your future.

Interior Design can be a very lucrative job choice for the right person. You might be wondering exactly what an Interior Designer does. It is really simple. An Interior Designer creates, organizes, and designs commercial and/or residential properties. Basically, an interior designer works with the interior of a particular space, such as rooms, offices, boardrooms, and various other internal spaces. Here is a list of some of the places that interior designers can work in.
·Hotels
·Banks
·Restaurants
·Stadiums
·Arenas

This doesn’t seem very broad, but think of all of the other types of homes and businesses that I didn’t mention. The possibilities are truly endless in this field. Interior Designers do more than just decorate a space. In some cases they can add extra rooms, design patios and gazebos, add or remove wall space, and they spend a great deal of time networking with people.

Interior Designers are responsible for creating a comfortable and relaxed space for their clients to live and/or work in. It is your duty to offer clients the best work that their needs, and budget can give. People put a great deal of trust in you, and you must reward that with the best final result possible.

Quick Tips on Pricing your Services

Every Interior Designer has to learn how to price their services. You have to do this so that you can give proper estimates to your clients. This will be invaluable to you as a service provider.

Many people find this to be a very difficult process because they don’t want to over price their clients, nor do they want to lose money on the deal. This can be very frustrating and stressful. However, if you know how to break down the costs it gets a lot easier, and helps you break it down to the client so that they are comfortable.

Since every job is different, every invoice will be different as well. There are different types of invoices that you should have. They each require a different layout and outline. This makes it easier to break down later for calculating the costs.

Costs and Labor
This type of invoice is for designers that have to hire outside contractors to help with the work. (usually when you need to hire people to do drywall for construction work etc)

Costs
This type of invoice is generally just for the costs of the extra furniture and accessories or lighting fixtures that are needed. It also covers the agreed upon extras like paint and wallpaper.

General
This is the type of invoice that only covers your prices as the designer. It deals with the work that you do alone. This invoice is always included with one of the others.

When trying to decide how to put a value to your services alone, that is pretty much up to you. It is best not to price yourself too high in the beginning because you are not a bankable name yet. There are two ways to charge your clients.

Hourly
This method is best for small or simple projects because they are more difficult to price on a per project basis. If you are a starter, you should start yourself at around $15-$20 an hour. At least until you establish yourself in the field. Once you are established you may charge as much as you’d like.

Per Project
This is generally reserved for projects of a larger scale. These are the projects that require the hiring of contractors and various others to help you. Since there is so much work involved, you cannot expect to charge by the hour.