Splendor and lightness
Baroque and rococo: deep carving, gilding, curved legs and asymmetrical ornament, and what sets one style apart from the other.
Collections
Collections
Collections help you move through the guide with a particular goal in mind. One leads from style to style, another from craft to craft, and the third suits anyone who has opened the site for the first time and wants to understand quickly how to look at furniture.
Once you notice how the leg of an armchair curves, you will start recognizing that curve in every old interior.
How this section works: a collection leads through sections of the guide and contains no lists of items to buy, collect or invest in.
By style
For those curious about how the look of furniture changes from era to era.
Restraint and ceremony
Neoclassicism and Empire: straight lines, classical motifs, dark polished wood and bronze mounts.
From Art Nouveau to minimalism
Supple plant-like lines, the rejection of ornament, the light pieces of the mid-20th century and, finally, clean surfaces.
Minimalism (in Russian)
By craft
For those curious about how furniture is made.
Joints and frames
Tenons, wedges, dowels and screws: how sturdy construction works and where to find it on a finished piece.
Bentwood
Chair No. 14 and the technique itself: steamed wood, metal forms and flowing lines with nothing superfluous.
Upholstery
Webbing, springs, stuffing, deep button tufting and leather: what determines how upholstered furniture looks and how it wears.
Classic sofa (in Russian)
For beginners
A short route if you are new here.
Five minutes with a chair
A simple order for looking: silhouette, material, joints, upholstery and ornament, signs of age.
Who makes furniture
Seven roles, from cabinetmaker to museum curator, and three names from the timeline.
Your first museum visit
The kinds of events devoted to furniture and interiors, and how to prepare for a tour so you see more.
Read next
- Articles
The guide's core topics and a catalogue of standalone articles written for the English version.
- Events
The kinds of events devoted to furniture and interiors, and how to prepare for a museum or historic house tour.
- History
A timeline: Chippendale's pattern book of 1754, the Thonet workshop's chair No. 14 of 1859, the Bauhaus of 1919 and the changing styles in between.
Sources
- Reference works on the history of furniture and the decorative arts
- Museum catalogues and guides to furniture collections
Historical information is drawn from reference literature on the history of furniture and the decorative arts. Opening hours and visiting rules at museums, historic houses and workshops change, so please confirm them with each venue.