Furniture

 Robert Adam (1728 - 1792) A famous Neoclassical style architect and designer from Britain, Adam is known for thinking that architects should create both the exterior and the interior details of places in order to create harmony and consistency in a decorative scheme.  Adam followed this course of thought by designing objects placed within his rooms, including carpets and furniture.  He created the “Adam style,” which was a reaction against the previous Rococo.  His work had a sense of light and airiness to it.

A slab that the architrave rests upon; it is the member placed at the top of the capital of a column. 

A pale yellow-brown Nigerian hardwood.  Abura works well for furniture because it stains easily and contains a uniform texture.  It is especially useful for creating moldings. 

A pedestal used for an ornament or statue and positioned at the lower corners of a pediment.  The term may be used to refer to the ornament alone.  The acroter was often used in European case furniture in the Neoclassical style, most notably in the 1700s. 

An acroterion is an ornamental finial positioned on a pediment's angles in classical architecture or placed on a stele.  The term may also refer to a pediment's angle.  

A British Neoclassical style in furniture and interior decoration in later 1700s started by Robert Adam.  In this style, there was a wide use of classical motifs that were painted or with inlaid decoration on rectilinear shapes with graceful proportions.  The style was a reaction against the whimsical, somewhat frivolous and asymmetrical Rococo furniture of the 1750s.  The style was characterized primarily by its ornamentation.  Adam thought architects should follow consistent actions in their buildings, and so he designed both the exterior and interior of his buildings with care.  His furniture was often ornamented with gilding of bronze or wood mounts, and he liked to use exotic woods.  His primary patrons were wealthy, as they could afford his elegant and often luxurious works.  In the same  decade, the Adam style was put down as being frivolous and just too much.  Yet, the style had a strong influence not only in Europe but also in Russia and the United States.

A type of American furniture featuring a rustic flair that was manufactured from around 1898 to the early 1940s.  The furniture was popular with the owners of resorts, summer residences and camps of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York, and was thus dubbed with its name because of its popularity from that area.  The furniture was primarily made in Indiana, and was marketed throughout the United States.  Most of the furniture was made up of chairs and sofas, though tables and hat-racks and other items were created along its style as well.  Later, in the 1930s and 1940s, its style was influenced by the current styles, and it shifted from its original look and feel. 

A head of a goat or ram; a decorative motif developed from ancient Greek religious iconography.  It was implemented in furniture design by Neoclassical style designers during the late 1700s and early 1800s. 

A type of West African hardwood that may range from dark brown to yellow in color.  It is used in furniture as either a solid wood or veneer. 

A Finnish designer and architect, Aalto influenced many people with his Scandinavian modern designs.  He influenced people in Finland, as well as the United States in regards to his furniture design.  Aalto started designing furniture in the 1920s and was drawn to using wood, rather than metal in his designs.  He is best known for his laminated beechwood chairs which he created in the 1930s.  Aalto is the first designer who used the cantilever principle for the designing of chairs with the employment of wood, rather than tubular steel.  In addition to furniture, he designed glassware, lighting fixtures, and fabrics. 

Adnet was a French furniture designer from the 1930’s - 1950’s.  Art Deco was his expertise during the 1930’s, which was, for the most part, out of style during that time.  After the war he became known for his leather-covered furniture which was popular in the 1940’s and 1950’s. 

 Adams was a furniture maker from Boston, MA who studied under Thomas Edsall.  He created American Jacobean furniture harnassing elements of the English Jacobean style that took place in the 1600s.

Nehemiam Adams (1769 - 1840) Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Adams was a furniture maker of the federal period. 

Nikolai Abraham Abildgaard (1743 - 1809) In addition to being a Danish painter and neoclassical style interior designer, Abildgaard designed furniture.  At first he designd the furniture for himself. Later, he designed furniture for the Danish family.  He enjoyed copying ancient Greek furniture as can be seen in ancient pottery painting.