Gustavian style refers to a Swedish Neoclassical style, its greatest exponent was King Gustav III, who spent time in Versailles during the mid 18^th century and when he returned to Sweden brought French cabinetmakers back with him. These cabinetmakers did not stay long as the King could not pay them but they left behind them a style that was copied and adapted by local Swedish craftsmen.

These Swedish Neoclassical designs were light and simple interpretations of the much more ornate Louis XVI style of the French

Thomas Chippendale is possibly the most well-known furniture designer of all time, he produced furniture during the early 18^th century and his name has become synonymous with quality and style during his lifetime that cache continues to this day.

Chippendale style was hugely influential in England, and this influence extended across the world particularly to the America, where his designs were widely copied.

Chippendale became most famous for his chairs, which had a carved and pierced back splat, a serpentine top rail, and cabriole chair legs with ball and claw feet. Chippendale furniture was considered very elegant and it challenged the French claim that they had the best furniture designers in the

Every home should have some books. But before choosing a location for your books you need to decide on the purpose it will serve. Is your objective to create a quiet space where you can actually read you books, in which case you will need a space that is quite and away from distractions, or are your books there as décor?

The size of your library will depend on the space that you have available, a corner with a chair and a bookcase or an entire room given over to books.

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Everything looks great when the sun shines.

Love mirrors, they make your room more interesting and more spacious.

William Morris was one of the most prolific designers of the late 19^th century; he took a stand against the low production methods and the decline of craftsmanship and campaigned for the revival of traditional skills to create quality handcrafted objects that were both useful and pleasing to the eye.  With a team of artist friends, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, Ford Maddox Brown and Philip Webb, who had designed, built and furnished his Red house in Kent, Morris promoted decoration and design using local, natural materials, and traditional crafts.

Morris believed that there were two distinct types of furniture: practical everyday furniture and grander more formal furniture. The first needed to be solid, well made and well proportions the second was

The Shakers were a Christian group who emigrated to America from England in 1774. Within five years there were 19 communities across America  and 5000 men and women, known as Brothers and Sisters. The Shakers were celibate and lived separated from the outside world. They shared their resources and were self-sufficient, believing that their work was for the good of their community.  Women had the same rights as men but they lived apart and only came together for meetings and singing.

Their leader, Joseph Meacham declared that the Shaker buildings, furniture and clothing should be devoid of decoration and extravagance. So the communities strived for simplicity in all things. Items had to be fit for their purpose and making them simple was another way in which the

The chaise longue originated in 16^th century France, and it differed from a day bed in that the users lay on their backs and not on their sides. They were ornately cared and covered in padded upholstery and bolsters. They were used by ladies to rest during the day.

Whilst they never really fell out of fashion there was a resurgence of interest I n the chaise longue, during the early 19^th century. Chaise longue were designed for reclining and were intended for use in the drawing room or a lady's bedroom. These long chairs were ornately carved with scrolled arms and one end higher than the other. The seat was padded and sprung seats were introduced during this time.

In the 1920s and 30s many modernist designers created a

Mirrors used to be rare and very expensive, at the end of the 17^th Century a metre square glass mirror would have cost at least £20 000 in today's money. Mirrors were reserved for Monarchs and the aristocracy.

Mirrors have been used for 1000's of years, it was once thought that they could foresee the future and bring bad luck. Many people thought that to see your reflection was to see your soul, and for centuries the Christian church was against the use of mirrors.

Originally mirrors were made of

Commodes are fancy chest of drawers and they first appeared at the beginning of the 18^th Century at the court of Louis XIV. The style was quickly adopted by other countries and adapted to their particular needs.

The term commode comes from the French word for greater convenience, commodite. The two-drawer commode on tall legs was the first version, but this was replaced by the Regence Commode, which had three or more drawers on shorter legs.- commode a la Regence.

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  Rococo furniture style appeared In the first half of the 18^th century, furniture design was mainly influenced by France, and it was there that the Rococo look reached its height with exuberant pieces designed for Louis XV. Rococo furniture in Louis's palaces used fantastic asymmetrical designs featuring waterfalls, rocks, shells, cupids and Oriental patterns. The new style took it name from the French word Rocaille (Rococo in Italian) and its style added real rock and roll glamour to the palaces of

Gothic literature and films have captured our imaginations, who hasn't heard of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, or thrilled to the horror of Bran Stoker's Dracula? Most of us have seen at least one episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or True Blood, modern stories of all things Gothic, vampires and the undead

During the late 18^th century Gothic design similarly captured the imagination. The original Gothic style was based on medieval ecclesiastical architecture, but the style enjoyed a major revival in England around 1780. This was a mainly an English phenomenon but gradually the style spread to Europe and by the turn of the century there were Gothic buildings in both France and Germany.

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Art Moderne, the American form of Art Deco was inspired by city life, skyscrapers, factories and office blocks. It embraced the machine age using industrial motifs, new materials and a modern outlook. Then in the 1930's it made its greatest contribution to Art Deco, the concept of Streamlining.

It was from the

Charles and Ray Eames were a husband and wife team, one an architect, the other an abstract expressionist painter, who produced work that expressed Moderism's aim of mixing industry and art. They were part of a movement which transformed American furniture design during the middle of the 20^th century.

The materials used in their furniture revealed their mission of “getting the most of the best to the greatest number of people for the least amount of money”, which is why they used plastics fibreglass and aluminium. These materials were distinguished by their flexibility, affordability and

After the reign of terror in France, where the guillotine was used to remove the aristocracy from power, the Directoire was established in 1795. It was followed by Napoleon's first government, The Consulat, which he established after the coup d'etat in November 1799. The Directoire style or, le style republicain, shows the effect of the revolution on the style of Louis XIV. The guillotine had deprived furniture makers of their traditional patrons; furniture had even been burnt beneath a Tree of Liberty in front of the famous gobbelins factory. The directoire style is simpler and smaller scale than the Louis XIV style, it was less costly with minimal decoration and very little marquetry. The furniture makers sought a wider middle class clientèle. There was concern

Chinoiserie was a style that developed from the European fascination with the exotic porcelain, lacquerware and other forms of decorative art imported from China and Japan, from the 17^th century onwards. Derived from Chinois, the French word for Chinese, the style developed in its own right as European designers created their own fanciful interpretations of exotic Oriental styles and motifs. The result was a style that lasted in various forms for about 200 years, combining ornament from China and Japan, sometimes with both styles evident in one piece. Characteristic of the style was the use of exotic motifs, such as pagodas, dragons, and lotus blossoms, stylized landscapes, imitation lacquer-work known as japanning, and luxurious

Two quite different styles of baroque furniture were made in the 17^th century, formal furniture for staterooms and palaces and the simpler pieces for domestic use. Traditionally the aristocracy had travelled around between their houses according to the seasons, but during this century residences became more permanent, furniture did not have to be portable, and so it got bigger, heavier and more ornate. Louis XIV , ruled during this time, he personified the concept of absolute power and to prove it he built Versailles.

The baroque style used elaborate decoration and precious metals to create spectacular displays of wealth. Chairs, tables and cabinets were embellished with ornate carving,gilding and finely detailed marquetry. Rich colours, fine tapestry, marble and

Art Deco was a style that seized the moment. The world was glad to escape the clutches of the First World War, everyone was eagar for fun and excitement. It was a period when new materials, luxury, the glamour of Hollywood all came together in Art Deco in both its high French style and in its streamlined American mode and it fitted the mood.

Producing luxury for the masses became the central driver of economies. cinemas, dancehalls, sports stadiums and luxury hotels all sprang up and flourished and Art Deco grew with it all.

Furniture Designers used luxurious materials such as lacquer, animal skin, exotic veneer and decorative glass to decorate the pieces. Suites of matching furniture became fashionable and designers aimed to make a bold visual statements whilst

The Edinburgh Fringe is definitely one of the most exciting things happening right now. Comedians from all over the world flocked to Edinburgh at the beginning of August and I can't help but feel pretty excited that some of our products made the E4 stage! Even without the fringe, Edinburgh has a great buzz about it and it's definitely one of the most stylish cities around.

The Gothic architecture has inspired countless novels and styles and the volcanic geography it sits on affords some breathtaking

The Fall. Directed by Tarsem Singh.

An incredibly visual director Tarsem Singh demonstrates that he is capable of creating some breath taking shots on camera while at the same time supporting a wonderfully poignant plot.

Set in the 1920s this movie surrounds two patients in a hospital. One, a man recovering from an accident he suffered while working as a stuntman for a classic 1920s film. The other a small girl who suffered a bad fall and broke her arm. These two characters are drawn together by their mutual loneliness. Little Cantica Untaru plays the child, Alexandria, in the hospital with a broken arm, and apparently the actress is not fully aware of the film-making process, which explains the striking naturalism in her conversations

The secret with decorating walls is to be bold. The best art is brave, when artists create something new and challenging, rather than copying something that already exists. Amazing effects can be achieved without spending huge amounts of money. Simple design can help to overcome small or difficult spaces, and lead to some startling effects.

It is always tempting to go for safe when decorating walls, even though it is possible to create fascinating displays with the simplest of objects, provided they are put together in a clever way. It could be dried flowers from the garden, a music manuscript, or festival ticket, in a frame on a bare wall. Whatever you collect has a story to tell and if they are displayed with care and style they will enhance your living space.

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Off we went to a Buckingham Palace Garden Party, among a select eight thousand who attended. The weather made dressing for the occasion all the more interesting. Was it going to be a sunny day, should we be wearing a real summer dress, or an English (warm) summer dress? As it turns out everyone dressed up, but we would have been much better off in Wellingtons as it poured with rain all day.

Buckingham Palace, the bits we were allowed to see, is in many ways exactly what you would expect, lots of marble, gilt, and paintings of monarchs. The colour scheme was along the red,gold and cream lines. There are so many fireplaces, it makes you realise that before central heating the place must have had an army of people stoking the fires, and it would still have been freezing. I