Choosing Empire style furniture

When furnishing your home, you want aesthetic tastes to be satisfied. This can be done with beautiful furniture. Empire furniture (in another way it is called imperial) is most often furnished in the offices of high-ranking officials, and it can also be seen in theaters. The imperial style was popular in France more than 30 years ago, while in Russia it was popular for only a short time. The goal of furnishing a house with Empire furniture is, first of all, the desire to demonstrate to those around you your wealth and majesty.

Imperial furniture can easily be attributed to the masterpieces of art - it is so beautiful that it seems to have descended from the paintings of brilliant artists. This interesting style emerged in the 18th-19th centuries. in France during the reign of Napoleon I. Then it was required to emphasize the status and grandeur of the imperial palace. In Russia, the Pavlovian Empire style clearly "absorbed" the significant features of several civilizations: Ancient Greece of the archaic period, Ancient Rome of the late empire.

The characteristic features of the furniture are massiveness, decoration with gilding, strict forms, curved legs, smooth surfaces of tables, as well as the image on them of griffins, swords, sphinxes. Empire furniture is decorated with carvings and is always polished.

Empire style means "power", and this can characterize the meaning invested in the creation of furniture. Its features include the borrowing of antique forms. The imperial style is synonymous with artistic refinement, solemnity and symmetry, as can be seen from the luxurious furnishings.

The direction has its own characteristics

• Materials. To decorate the premises, furniture and decor are used only from expensive materials. These include: mahogany, bronze, marble, velvet.
• Splendor. Everything in the interior should be conducive to meeting high-ranking guests - they should be delighted by visiting the house. Every detail is thought out in the interior, it is unacceptable to make a mistake.
• Symmetry. All elements are ordered. The Empire style interiors are dominated by symmetry, adherence to the ancient principles of proportionality and maximum comfort.
• Mirrors - an element of decor that can decorate even a modest room, but if we are talking about the Empire style, then their abundance will further expand the space (the Empire style is a style that only a large room can accept) and reflect the luxury of decoration.
• Decorations. As a rule, Empire style decorations are represented by images of a lion's head, various mythical creatures, and flowers. Decoration elements often emphasize the power of their owners.

It is customary to separate 2 directions of the Empire style: Russian and French. Russian looks simpler, while luxury and pathos prevail in the second. This should be the starting point when choosing furniture.

Furniture in this direction is distinguished by restraint, mahogany is replaced by dyed birch, and embroidery is designed to bring home warmth to the interior. At the same time, antique forms characteristic of upholstered furniture are not lost. The emergence of a restrained style can be explained by the fact that Paul I introduced a ban on goods from France, and since there were no original products, the typefaces were created based on sketches.

The main materials for creating furniture were traditionally Russian tree species: linden, birch, ash.

Upholstered furniture, tables, chairs, a sofa bed and drawers in the Empire style are full of pathos. The French Empire style is elegant. The furniture is characterized by symmetry, regular lines and heavy finishing. Most often, motives on a military theme are chosen for decoration: swords, wreaths, trophies, torches. Items are usually decorated with tall mirrors. Pictures can tell about important historical events, and crystal chandeliers with imitation candles are ideal as lighting.

Almost all the space in the house, decorated in the Empire style, is allocated to furniture, there is a lot of it: these are all kinds of bar counters, dressers, bookcases. Of course, all furniture is made from expensive tree species, and other expensive materials also prevail in the interior: leather, stone, gold, crystal. Furniture materials and colors are selected in order to emphasize the greatness of the owners of the house, so it must be expensive and natural.

The floor covering - a short pile rug - must match the color of the furniture. Furniture can be decorated with carvings, bronze or gilding. The Empire style headset is preferred to dark colors: black, wenge, dark mahogany. Traditionally, the interior used to use contrasting shades characteristic of the Napoleonic flag: blue, red and white, as well as colors close to them.

Finishing and decor are made by craftsmen in the same colors, the material also adheres to a certain, for example: for sewing curtains, upholstery of chairs and armchairs, it is permissible to use only velvet, you cannot mix different materials. The same applies to fittings: handles of dressers and doors, as well as elements designed to decorate the space, should be made of the same material, for example, bronze.

A very important point - all the furniture is polished, there are a lot of varnished surfaces in the interior: chests of drawers, tables, cabinets, tables. Red, wine, cherry colors are present not only in furniture, but also in curtains and carpets - these shades symbolize elegance. The body of the furniture is decorated with stucco, floral ornaments. All home furniture is made only from one species of wood, this is an important rule - objects should not differ in appearance.

Empire furniture requires a spacious room, with modest dimensions, it is advisable to decorate the house in a different style. For the living room, where it is planned to receive guests, it is very important to maintain splendor, this can be achieved thanks to massive furniture with luxurious decor, finishes that emphasize splendor and idleness. In the 19th century, beauty was a priority, so you can see that Empire-style furniture is characterized by ornate décor and regular lines. In the process of choosing furniture (it does not matter whether the living room or other rooms are being made out), you need to pay attention to its appearance: it should look as if it was intended for the emperor.

When choosing furniture for the interior in the Empire style, it is important to know what features it should have. Bedroom wardrobes should be made of expensive wood and be impressive in size (the minimum width is 130 cm). Often mirrors are built into the cabinets, and also beautiful curly handles are provided in their design. Beds, as a rule, are massive, and their headboard attracts with its carvings or upholstery.

Often in the bedrooms, the bed is hung with a canopy (it must be made of the same material as the headboard upholstery), and ottomans are also placed in the room. Mirrors and a crystal chandelier can hardly be called furniture, but these are the decorative elements that play an important role in creating the Empire style. Dressing tables also look very elegant in women's bedrooms.

Do not forget about decorative elements that emphasize the luxury of the decoration: fine porcelain dishes, ancient Roman figurines, paintings in gilded frames, mirrors in bronze frames. All of this should be prominently displayed in the living room.

• In the bedroom, decorated in the Empire style, light tones predominate: blue, white or more spectacular wine or chocolate. The mural looks great, and the round bed has soft satin pillows. It is worth paying attention to the furniture - it all has rounded shapes, which brings softness to the interior.

• When creating luxurious Empire interiors designers are very fond of using furniture with unusual legs: the legs of chairs, for example, can resemble mythical creatures in shape, which gives the interior a mystery and elegance. It looks very impressive in the interior.

• In the interiors of this direction, the magnificent dining front table surrounded by high-backed chairs... The surface of the table is decorated using a sophisticated technique called marquetry (mosaic using precious woods), as well as artistic carvings.

• Empire style accepts only natural materials, ceremonial view, graceful decorative elements, expensive furniture. Gold shades are used to accentuate, and colors are taken as a basis: red, white, wenge. Expensive furniture is designed to emphasize the lush interior, and the legs of armchairs or chairs can be very diverse: in the shape of a sphinx, with patterns, which adds spectacularity.

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