2992: Changes in Chair Style Naming Mar 1, 2025

There are lots of chair styles  of the 18th century; in fact, it was a time of explosive growth in the variety of furniture styles being produced. This includes Queen Anne Chair (c. 1702–1714), King George Chair (Georgian Era, c. 1714–1830), and Louis XIV, XV, and XVI Chairs, and arguably Federal style from the US, each named after the monarch of the time. However, it was around this time in the latter half of the 18th century that other styles like the Hepplewhite and Sheraton were instead being named after the furniture designer. The first of these was Chippendale, after Thomas Chippendale. Now it is extremely common for furniture and other design styles to be named after individuals.

Of course, there were always styles named after no one,even before this period, such as in the 16th and 17th centuries with Rococo, Baroque, Wainscot, Farthingale etc., all of which happen not to be native to English, but most have anglicized spellings.