A List of Varying Styles in Antique Chairs

Antique chairs, like all the other furniture categories, offer a very wide range of seating styles and if you are looking to acquire a few for your living room or study, there is much to learn. For almost 500 years, skilled craftsmen have been creating amazing chairs, which does give you almost unlimited scope.

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Here are a few of the more popular styles that you might see in an English Mansion.

The Windsor Chair – Taking its name from the Royal town of Windsor (the site of the Royal Windsor Castle), this practical, yet attractive chair apparently came about when King George II took shelter from a storm and was given a multi-spindle chair to sit upon. He is said to have made a note of the design and upon his return, he ordered his master cabinet makers to produce something similar, and the rest is history. This extremely comfortable chair is both light and sturdy and was an immediate success, arriving on the shores of America in the late 17th century, where it continued to flourish. You could very easily come across a Windsor chair in a selection of old furniture, which turns out to be quite valuable, and with some restoration, could be a stunning example of the best of that period.

Chaise Longues – The day bed, as it is also known, the Chaise Longues (French for long chair) emerged in France around 1720, and is actually a platform added to an armchair. Of course, the finish is adorned in many ways, with high curving sides and a high back, and was designed for a 6ft man to adopt the upright sleeping position. It was hard work being French aristocracy, so having a daytime nap was the order of the day, and like everything else from this period, these chairs were overly decorated with fine materials, yet the design was adopted by the English and then the Americans. If its chair styles you want to see, here is a great arrangement of fine antique chair examples for you to enjoy.

Bergere Chair – An early upholstered design with closed sides, the Bergere was the beginning of the end for the rigid and constricting chairs of that period. Built with comfort in mind, the deep cushion lining in stunning colour makes for a very comfortable seat. Square, round and curved examples quickly appeared and before long, the French aristocracy were using these attractive chairs.

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Corner Chair – Making best use of available space was sometimes necessary and what better way to do that than creating an attractive corner chair? They appeared in the early 18th century and were instantly adopted by the upper class. The seat is typically square, which kind of works with the corner angle to give you a comfortable seating experience.

If you would like to view a range of stunning examples of any of the above, an online antique dealer is the person to contact. They are part of a large network and can therefore source items with relative ease, and once you have found what you are looking for, a secure online payment sees the piece packaged and despatched to your home address.