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Baroque or Rococo Furniture?

Both of these furniture styles are known for their elegance and bold decor but they often get confused with one another.

Baroque or RococoFor those that have fallen in love with furniture pieces filled with gold, embellishments, or upholstery in silk; you probably like Baroque interior design without even knowing. Or is it rococo? Both of these furniture styles are known for their elegance and bold decor but they often get confused with one another. Then what are the differences between Baroque and Rococo?

First, let’s take a look at Baroque. Baroque Is a style within the traditional furniture branch. Not many people know the specific style of furniture but can easily recognize it because of its distinctive features. Baroque was giving birth during a specific time; Spanning between the 17th century until the beginning of the 18th century. This style originated in Italy around the 1600s and slept throughout Europe and beyond like wildfire.

Baroque architecture emphasizes bold massing domes, light, and shade painterly colors, as well as flower embellishments. Actually, flower embellishments are coming on both baroque and rococo styles, although rococo uses lighter colors. However, furniture pieces from the Baroque era can easily be identified by its very ornate and extravagant luxe. These pieces of furniture have exquisite intricate hand carvings, elaborate and exaggerated decorations like flowers, leaves, and cherubim’s.

They are five characteristics that can help you identify baroque furniture in the furniture world. The first obvious characteristic is foliage. Parochial furniture uses a lot of plants life and its ornamentation such as scrolling foliage or garlands of flowers. Next, we have marquetry. Marquetry is the art of applying different colored wood veneers to the surface of the furniture. Putti is another well-known characteristic. This refers to the chubby infants used in much of the baroque Decor. Having a monogram engraved on your furniture for decorative purposes it’s very common in Broker style furniture as well. And finally, we have lambrequin. Lambrequin is a tasseled cloth motif that is among the most luxurious textiles that are commonly seen in the Baroque style.

Baroque style furniture, in essence, has been known as Louis XIV style furniture, and rightfully so because this is the era where most of the common architectural furniture pieces, we have come to know and love, have come from. During this era, great furniture designers and cabinet makers were born. Among all of the greatest designers we have Andre Charles Boulle Who created many magnificent pieces for King Louis XIV, hence why we correlate but Baroque style furniture to this era.

There is a great history and design aspect between Baroque and Rocco furniture.

One of the major differences between the two is the curved legs. Baroque furniture always displays its beautiful curved legs made from the best quality wood in Italy. Just at the end of the baroque era, from the big and loud style of furniture, we come to see the rococo era slowly emerge.

Rococo style furniture is lighter in presence and more graceful. The rococo era unlike Baroque lasted from the short time of the 1730s to the 1760s known as Louis XV’s reign.  Rococo furniture is considered to be more frivolous and whimsical it was about comfort and warmth and privacy. It actually came about as a rebellion against being loud and bold Baroque designs. Rococo accessories for typically ivory accented with gold and light pastel-colored flowers.

Thus we can come to the conclusion that baroque and rococo have a lot of similarities because one style literally gave birth to the other. Therefore if you love the bold and heavy ornate nature of Baroque and the light and airy nature of rococo then it’s completely acceptable to merge the two in one space. Remember to be mindful of the space you are decorating but also do not lose the heart of the aesthetic you are trying to achieve.