With A Stamp of Approval: The French Furniture Market in the 18th Century

We are very (nay, extremely!) fond of English furniture of the 18th century: the development of style from the early William & Mary pieces through to the height of the neo-classical revival leaves little to be desired. However, it is hard to ignore French furniture of the same period and the influence it had on …

The Source on the Source: Famous Quotes on Interior Design

We focus on historic interiors, furniture, and architecture on this blog, but why take our word for it?  Today, we are looking at several quotes from people more famous than us about design and antiques.  We have shared these quotes alongside a selection of paintings of interiors from the Getty collection. We will start off …

The ABCs of the Decorative Arts: Kneehole Desks

We continue our alphabetical tour of the decorative arts with the kneehole desk today.  This particular style of desk first appeared in England in the early 18th century.  The kneehole desk is defined by its 'kneehole' in the centre allowing the desk's user to comfortably sit with his or her legs underneath the writing surface.  …

Across the Colour Spectrum: Decorating in Blue

We continue our look at historic colour used in Georgian design today with the colour blue (you can read our previous colour posts here: red, yellow, and green). The use of the colour blue harkens back all the way to ancient Egypt with the discovery of lapis lazuli, a brilliantly bright blu metamorphic rock.  Lapis …