Thomas Chippendale didn’t grow up in London (in fact he was born in Leeds in 1718), but he did move to London at the age of 31, after he had already gained recognition as a premiere furniture maker and cabinetry-focused interior designer. His work and styles influenced the London Interior Design community then, and the Chippendale aesthetic continues to extend its impact well beyond London even today.
Chippendale’s fluent, natural and sophisticated style developed after the promotion of his furniture and interior designs in “The Gentleman and the Cabinetmaker’s Director” in 1754. Chippendale continued to make iconic contributions to the field of interior design until 1790. His furniture came to be manufactured as far afield as Philadelphia in the USA.
Chippendale drew on three key interior design inspirations for this work – namely French, Asian and Goth. In the USA, Chippendale’s work was interpreted as a re-envisionment of the Queen Anne interior design style. His furniture was often heavily ornamentalised on the feet and uppers, with beautiful heritage-inspired scroll tops on taller units. Yellow Birch and Mahogany were often used, undersupport was rarely employed, and the rears of seated furniture were covered with plush fabric or otherwise left as shaped wood, perhaps as tessellated piecework with ornamental sculpting and Asia-inspired cross-strips. To round out his own personal interior design style, Chippendale would also include delightful finials and varnished shellac features.
Enthusiasts and professionals alike were very taken with Chippendale’s work, lauding him as a master London cabinetmaker and a household name of eighteenth-century furniture-focused interior design.
Harewood House is a popular Leeds tourist attraction, located about 4 hours’ drive from Central London. The famous building features a magnificent collection of Chippendale library furniture that was originally ordered during the 1760s. The interior design style reflects Chippendale’s ideals throughout and showcases his focus on both form and function.
Today, London’s interior designers are often called to reconstruct period rooms in traditional mansions or luxury residences. Often Chippendale furniture will play a major role in such interior design concepts. Chippendale-inspired furniture designs such as those of Henrietta Spencer-Churchill may also be ideal for certain settings. However, the fresh lines of many Chippendale pieces also lend themselves to contemporary interior design concepts – many interior designers will use some of the more extravagant Chippendale pieces to offset some of the more frosty and unforgiving modern furniture elements.
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