GEORGIAN STYLE, 1710–1800
APPRECIATING AN ICONIC COLONIAL DESIGN VOCABULARY.
rarely does an architectural style last a century, but that is the case with Georgian design. Named for the 18th-century English Kings George (1714 to 1830), the style was embraced by Colonists who gave an American twist to variants built from Maine to Georgia during those historic decades of Colonial prosperity and revolution.
The Georgian vocabulary derives from Renaissance classicism, born in Italy and flourishing in England from about 1650. Georgian architecture (often referred to here as “Colonial”) shows up in northern and southern Colonies during the first quarter of the 18th century. The first high-style examples are in the South, built usually by affluent tobacco planters. Grand examples—of wood rather than brick as in Virginia—became more common in the North only after 1750.
During the later Georgian period, houses throughout the Colonies were more embellished. The doorway might be extended to form an entry portico; dormers and corner quoins became common; two-storey pilasters and pedimented center gables were introduced. Of the many variants of Georgian, almost all are classically symmetrical and built around a center hall.
Blockier and more assertive than the attenuated Federal style that followed, Georgian houses are, in general, robust. If it is sometimes hard, from outside, to tell a particular Georgian house from a similar Federal one, the same cannot be said on the interior. Federal interiors (after 1785 or later) are light and delicate, whereas Georgian rooms retain a Baroque feel, with heavy woodwork and carving. Entire rooms might be paneled, floor to ceiling, most often with painted pine. Doorways, especially, are
Georgian ornamentation borders on the Baroque, as mantels and door and window surrounds are framed with thick, fanciful mouldings layered upon one another.
decoratively framed, but elaborate plaster and wood trim was also used around windows, on ceilings, and in fireplace surrounds and overmantel treatments.
The Colonial towns that became big cities after the Revolutionary War long ago lost much of their early architecture. Cities left behind during the booms of the 19th century today treasure their rare, remaining Georgian houses. These include Charleston, S.C.; New Bern, N.C.; Annapolis, Maryland; Newport, R.I.; and Marblehead, Mass. And, of course, a later generation of Georgian-style houses are those built around the country, with varying degrees of authenticity, during the height of the Colonial Revival.
the prosperous Georgian house was furnished with crystal chandeliers, ceramics of the China trade, oriental rugs, American paintings and English prints, and silver. Soft furnishings (carpet, wallpaper, and fabric) in Georgian homes were as bold as the architecture, stressing strong colors and three-dimensionality in their patterns. In comparison, Federal furnishings strayed towards the geometric and, while the palette was rich, it was not as reliant on saturated colors. During the second half of the 18th century, several styles of furniture were simultaneously in demand. The Queen
Anne style (ca. 1725–1750, or 1780 outside the cities), also referred to as Early Georgian, is recognized by its use of the cyma or shallow, S-shaped curve, especially in cabriole legs. Chippendale style is named after the English cabinetmaker who published his designs in pattern books: think of the iconic, broken-arch highboy with ball-and-claw feet. Chippendale furniture blended the Rococo with Gothic and Chinoiserie. From 1670 to as late as 1870, Windsor chairs and painted furniture were popular. A good option for owners of Georgian Revival houses is to collect Colonial Revival furniture made in the first half of the 20th century. A few extraordinary cabinetmakers continue to make museum-quality reproductions.