Can’t tell your Chippendale from your Hepplewhite? Then it’s time to explore the subtle revealing differences in major English furniture styles. Born in the 17th and 18th centuries, traditional English furniture design has remained popular in traditional home décor today. But the genre of English design can be divided into seven distinct styles. So before we start mixing cabriole legs with marquetry, let’s take a minute to set the record straight.

The Adam Brothers, who were Scottish brothers born in the 1720s and 30s, were actually architects by profession. While John and James remained in the background, designing furniture, his brother Robert went on to study classical design in Rome. He returned to England and eventually established a furniture manufacturing plant for the family business. Due to the time he spent studying classical design in Italy, his architecture and furniture took on a distinctive Greco-Roman flavor and became one of the foundations of the classical renaissance period in England. The hallmarks of the Adam brothers furniture are their delicate scale and elaborate details. The upholstery colors were especially trend-setting in dull blue, pale greenish yellow, lavender and light gray.

Chippendale is another famous name in traditional English furniture. Thomas Chippendale, born in 1718, was one of the most practical furniture designers, in fact he made some of his own pieces by hand. The Chippendale style is known for its large scale and is considered more masculine than the curvy Queen Anne pieces – Hepplewhite and Sheraton appear lighter compared to Chippendale. The backs of their chairs were open and show Gothic influences in their designs.

The Georgian era of design was named after King George of England. Influenced by the classical styles of Greece and Rome, the Georgian style is heavy in proportion and detail.

The Hepplewhite style is named after George Hepplewhite, a trade furniture manufacturer, but no parts from Hepplewhite or his company are known to exist. Nonetheless, Hepplewhite created a distinctive look with its signature escutcheon-backed chair. The shape is still seen in modern furniture design.

The Queen Anne style is named after the monarch of England who reigned from 1702-1714. While she did not design the furniture she is named after, it did influence her style. The style of the furniture features curved lines and an oriental influence. It is best known for its cabriolet leg, which has distinctive generous curves that often end in a ball or claw foot. Thomas Sheraton, one of the three great English furniture designers, created a more delicate scale style that featured neoclassical elements and motifs.

The last major period of English influence on furniture design was the Victorian era, which lasted from 1837 until the death of the queen in 1901. Victorian furniture is characterized by the decorative excess of the time, incorporating elements of nostalgia from Gothic designs, Renaissance, Moorish and Oriental. .

All of these designers and periods influenced English furniture design which we now group together as “traditional” furniture design. But now you know that there are subtle and not so subtle differences between them. And that your mother’s Duncan Phyfe table is not the only example of traditional English furniture.