Visit with us the most beautiful buildings and engineering marvels or read about the history of furniture, interior design history facts and more interesting information about the History of Styles.
Happy Thursday, friends! I have just stumbled upon one Russian blog with photographs of apartments in Saint Petersburg taken before the Revolution in 1917. As you probably know before that we had monarchy in Russia. Revolution has dismantled it and made Russian Empire to collapse, which led to eventual rise of the Soviet Union. Aristocrats and intellectuals…
In 1981 the group of Italian designers “Memphis”, founded by Ettore Sottsass, presented its works to the public for the first time on Salone del Mobile in Milan. The result was a highly acclaimed debut: the streets were flooded with people who wanted to see what the group has called “The New International Style”. Sottsass and…
Recently i have visited a very interesting furniture exhibition called “Soviet Design: from Modernism to Constructivism”. It showed very interesting examples of Russian Soviet furniture dating to two decades: 1920s and 1930s as well as some pieces designed in 1950s. Here are some of the photos that I’ve taken. Chair – transformer made of poplar wood. This is…
I am reading a very interesting (and a very heavy!) book By Judith Miller Furniture: World Styles from Classical to Contemporary and it reminded me that it’s being a while I haven’t updated my History of Styles folder. I am reading at the moment about Biedermeier and personally I love this very elegant and minimalistic style. Let’s…
Last weekend I visited Winzavod with one of my friends from Latvia, who came to Moscow for a couple of days. Winzavod means “Winery” in Russian and it used to be one in the 19th century. Today it is converted into an Art Gallery, which became one of the most famous in Russia and I absolutely love…
Buying antiques is always a very exciting event: on one side you are acquiring something for your home that has a distinct character and sense of history, on the other (if you buy the right thing), you are making a profitable investment for the future. Though I can’t call myself an antique expert (and I…
What makes the difference between professional designer and amateur? I believe, first of all, it is the ability to skilfully mix things and elements from different styles and epochs, without making at the end a crazy melange. This article will be about the person, who combined with a pure taste elaborate fancifulness of Rococo, rigorous elegance…
It’s been months since I last posted in my history of styles column and I really hope you will enjoy today’s time travel to the beautiful and luxurious era of Baroque. As many other cultural movements it appeared first in Italy and then started to spread throughout Europe acquiring in each country its distinctive features….
Hello, hello my history of styles followers! Today we tackle a very important topic that you definitely shouldn’t miss: window treatments. We shall talk about different types of curtains and blinds and which interior styles they fit most, accessories and useful terms that every interior designer should know, and as usually, a bit of historical…
Hello, hello everybody who have missed my history of styles articles. It’s been a while I published in this category and I need to recall what we have already talked about. Ok, there were Rococo, Chinoiserie, Palladian, Queen Anne, William and Mary. Today under our lens will be Renaissance. Why Renaissance? Well, recently I made…
Mascarons are perhaps the most enigmatic, appealing and whimsical elements of Art Nouveau architecture. Mascaron is a type of sculptural decoration in architecture usually in the shape of human or animal head. They can have romantic, horrifying, comical or neutral look. Originally the purpose of mascarons was to scare away evil spirits from homes and…
Latvia is an amazing country for vacation. Whether you want to explore magnificent Art Nouveau architecture of Riga or enjoy aristocratic leisure in the old manor house, you will be surprised and delighted by the amount of attractions this beautiful country has to offer. One thing you definitely shouldn’t miss is the spectacular Rundāle Palace,…