Architecture Interiors Report by: Alcorcon, Cai, Calingasan DLS-College of St. Benilde School of Architecture 3rd Term S.Y. 2015-16 June 2016

1. The Colonial Period
Alex Alcorcon, Dazeleen Cai, Cathy Calingasan

2. The Colonial Period Decorating Style:
Practical, Eco-Friendly
Colonial architecture and home decor styles range from rustic to
sophisticated and encompasses about 200 years. It includes a progression of styles
from the simple basic and rough-hewn to the classic lines and finesse of Queen
Anne style.

3. Early Colonial Years
(16th and 17th Centuries)
Bare-bones and spartan, with
low ceilings, rough wood
beams, plain whitewashed
walls and wide plank floors.
Simple in design with an
emphasis on function

4. The Later Colonial Years
As time went by, a second storey
or additional rooms may have
been added on, but interiors
remained simple, multipurpose
and functional.
With the increasing financial
wealth of the colonists, design
began to catch up to European
standards and styles.

5. American Colonial Interiors
(The 18th Century)
By the early 18th century, those who were prospering would have had walls
decorated with Mahogany paneling and imported wallpapers from France and
China. They would also be able to afford larger windows with glass windows
hung with draperies made of imported silk fabrics — usually panels and/or swags
and cascades.

6. Characteristics
The simplicity created a light and airy interior with simple clean lines.

7. Whitewashed walls and sometimes stencils imitating borders, which were
for the wealthier.
Characteristics

8. These simple interiors provided a good backdrop for collections.
Characteristics

9. Ceramics were popular and often displayed on a high shelf around the
room.
Characteristics

10. Quilting was a popular hobby and the finished works were often hung on
the wall, used as cushion covers, bed covers and displayed with pride.
Characteristics

11. Original fabrics and hand painted furniture inspired the interior colors
prevalent.
Characteristics

12. Earthy tones, greens, browns, subtle blues and cool whites.
Characteristics

13. The early American Colonial furniture was originally made of softer
timbers, pine, birch and maple, sometimes walnut and cherry.
Characteristics

14. Later American Colonial furniture used mortise and tenon and dovetail
joints, the cyma recta shapes, turned shapes and legs the design was more
refined but still continued the honest construction.
Characteristics

15. Motifs and
Materials

16. – birds, flora and fauna
– Common themes included the
pineapple (symbol for hospitality),
weeping willow (symbolizing
longevity), heart (love), and anchor
(hope). Geometric designs and
patterns that could be incorporated
in weaving (stripes, plaids, checks,
flame-stitch style) were also used.

17. – Blacksmiths provided iron tools, implements and decorative
practical pieces such as candle holders in addition to horseshoes,
nails, and similar items.
– Coopers provided wooden buckets and barrels.
– Clay was the basis for earthenware and bricks.
– Basketry and other items might have been woven by the colonists
or obtained as gifts or from trade with Native Americans.

18. – The furniture was utilitarian and generally heavy and solid, with
straight lines and little ornamentation.
– Chairs were either fiddle-back, ladderback, or spindle.

19. – Rustic plank top tables and benches and blanket chests were
common.

20. – The later Colonial period saw a distinctly “American” style develop
that was a typically less ornate combination of the features found
in William and Mary, Queen Anne and Chippendale-style furniture.
– Eclectic style and interior decorating in that style needs to be
handled with care so it does not become a mishmash.

21. American
Colonial
Interiors

22. – floors were planked wood, usually scrubbed pine, sometimes covered with rag rugs.
– Wallpapers were much too expensive for most people only the wealthy could really
afford it
– The wealthy would could buy walls decorated with Mahogany paneling and
imported wallpapers from France and China.

23. – The rich would also be able to afford larger windows with glass
windows hung with draperies made of imported silk fabrics —
usually panels and/or swags and cascades.
– The less fortunate would have a simple panel of cloth for curtains.
It might have tabbed headings and be hung on a wood or simple
iron pole or attached to a strip of wood lath that would be nailed
onto the window frame. Shutters were also used

24. – As homes grew larger and more detailed,
increased attention was paid to their
interior decor as well. Chairs were
upholstered or had cane seats and backs.
Ladder back chairs typically had rush seats.
Chairs in the William and Mary style
featured decorative ornate carvings and
turned legs with stretchers and ball feet.
The upholstered wing chair dates to this
period as well as a daybeds topped with a
loose upholstered cushion.

25. – http://historic-period-home-decor.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-
american-colonial-period-decorating.html

26. Furniture

27. Two stylistic categories of early colonial period
– the Seventeenth-Century style (1620–1690)
– the Early Baroque, or William and Mary, style (1690–1730)

28. The Seventeenth-Century style (1620–1690)
– the transmission into the New World of late medieval and Renaissance traditions by immigrant
craftsmen
– furniture in this style is frequently made of straight oak members joined at right angles. It is
sturdy and massive, with low, horizontal proportions. Since the outlines tend to be rigidly
rectilinear, craftsmen imparted visual interest through abundant surface ornamentation in the
form of low-relief carving, applied moldings and turnings, and paint

29. Two branches of the furniture-making trade
– Round/ Rectangular mortise-and-tenon joints
– Dovetailing

30. – Round mortise-and-tenon joints/ Rectangular mortise-and-tenon joint

31. – The upper section of this chest with drawers is
constructed using the joiner's frame-and-panel
method
– Since no glue or nails are used to secure the wooden
panels in the frame, they are free to expand and
contract in thickness and in width according to
changes in temperature and humidity.

32. Spindle-back
armchair
– Date: 1640–80
– Geography: Possibly made in Boston,
Massachusetts, United States; Possibly made in
Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States
– Culture: American
– Medium: Ash
– Dimensions: 44 3/4 x 23 1/2 x 15 3/4 in. (113.7
x 59.7 x 40 cm)
– Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. J. Insley Blair, 1951

33. Joined armchair
– Date: 1650–1700
– Geography: Made in Essex County,
Massachusetts, United States
– Culture: American
– Medium: Oak
– Dimensions: 36 1/2 x 23 x 16 3/4 in. (92.7 x
58.4 x 42.5 cm)
– Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of the American
Wing and Sansbury-Mills Funds, Mr. and Mrs.
Robert G. Goelet Gift, Mrs. Muriel Gluck Gift, in
honor of Virginia and Leonard Marx, and The
Max H. Gluck Foundation Inc., The Virginia and
Leonard Marx Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs.
Eric Martin Wunsch Gifts, 1995

34. Chest with drawers
– Maker: Workshop of Peter Blin (ca. 1675–1725)
– Geography: Made in Wethersfield, Connecticut,
United States
– Culture: American
– Medium: White oak, yellow pine, white cedar
– Dimensions: 39 7/8 x 48 x 21 1/4 in. (101.3 x 121.9
x 54 cm)
– Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. J. Woodhull Overton, 1966
– so-called “sunflower” chests that were produced
in the Wethersfield area of Connecticut
– The carving on the panels resembles patterns for
sixteenth-century embroideries.

35. Cabinet • Date: 1679
• Geography: Made in Salem,
Massachusetts, United States
• Culture: American
• Medium: Red oak, white pine, black
walnut, red cedar, maple
• Dimensions: 18 x 17 x 10 in. (45.7 x
43.2 x 25.4 cm)
• Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage,
1909
• The interior consists of ten small
drawers for the safekeeping of small
valuables.

36. Box – Maker: Attributed to John Thurston (1607–
1685)
– Geography: Possibly made in Medfield,
Massachusetts, United States; Possibly
made in Dedham, Massachusetts, United
States
– Culture: American
– Medium: White oak, red oak, yellow pine
– Dimensions: 9 1/2 x 26 5/8 x 15 1/2 in.
(24.1 x 67.6 x 39.4 cm)
– Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage, 1909

37. Cupboard
– Date: 1670–1700
– Geography: Made in Plymouth, Massachusetts, United
States; Made in Barnstable, Massachusetts, United
States
– Culture: American
– Medium: Red oak, white pine, white cedar, red cedar,
black walnut, soft maple
– Dimensions: 56 x 49 3/4 x 23 in. (142.2 x 126.4 x 58.4
cm)
– Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. J. Insley Blair, 1950
– Accession Number: 50.20.3

38. Early Baroque, or William and Mary, style (1690–
1730)
– The 1660 restoration of Charles II, who had been in exile in France, brought to England a new
design sensibility based on the court fashions of Louis XIV. Known as the early Baroque, this style
combined Continental and Asian influences
– in furniture forms that were at once richer and more curvilinear,
– until the reign of William and Mary (1689–1702) that the style spread throughout England and
its colonies.

39. Dovetailing
• Dovetailing allowed for the
use of thinner boards, and
lent itself to lighter, more
vertically-oriented
construction.

40. High chest of drawers
– Date: 1700–1730
– Geography: Made in Boston, Massachusetts, United
States
– Culture: American
– Medium: Black walnut, maple, poplar, hickory,
white pine
– Dimensions: 62 1/2 x 39 1/4 x 21 3/4 in. (158.8 x
99.7 x 55.2 cm)
– Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Screven Lorillard, 1952

41. Banister-back chair
– Date: 1715–35
– Geography: Possibly made in Massachusetts, United States;
Possibly made in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United
States
– Culture: American
– Medium: Maple
– Dimensions: 47 1/2 x 21 x 15 3/4 in. (120.7 x 53.3 x 40 cm)
– Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Screven Lorillard, 1952

42. Desk
– Date: 1700–1730
– Geography: Made in Boston, Massachusetts,
United States; Made in Massachusetts, United
States
– Culture: American
– Medium: Black walnut, ash, white pine, poplar
– Dimensions: 40 x 33 3/4 x 19 in. (101.6 x 85.7 x
48.3 cm)
– Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage, 1909

43. Oval table with falling leaves
– Date: 1715–40
– Geography: Probably made in Rhode Island, United
States
– Culture: American
– Medium: Soft maple, white pine
– Dimensions: 28 1/2 x 57 1/2 x 48 1/4 in. (72.4 x
146.1 x 122.6 cm)
– Classification: Furniture
– Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage, 1909
– Known as"gate-legs,

44. Easy chair
– Date: 1715–30
– Geography: Probably made in Boston,
Massachusetts, United States
– Culture: American
– Medium: Soft maple, oak, black tupelo
– Dimensions: 49 1/4 x 33 x 37 in. (125.1 x 83.8 x
94 cm)
– Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. J. Insley Blair, 1950

45. British Colonial Style Furniture
the Victorian era of the mid to late 19th century brought the solid and sturdy furniture designs of
England and adapted them to the tropics. They adapted Asian and African motifs into those
traditional designs in teak and mahony as well as rattan, leather, and animal prints.

46. Wardrobe
Bench
Crystal

48. Motif

49. Foot

50. Chair Leg