EMPIRE FURNITURE » Neoclassical

Donatella Versace’s Empire Furnishings

Admin — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 23:31:55 +0000

The versace brand has always incorportated luxurious patterns with great new styles while being overall sexy. "Boring " is not a word one would immediately associate with the name Versace. "Simplicity isn't either. In the Sept 09 issue of Style Magazine, they featured Donatella Versace's extravagant home in Milan where she owns 2 floors of an Italian Apartment furnished in esquisite empire furnishings. Ornate details and splashes of color can be seen through out her home as she incorporated interesting empire antiques with light colored ordimented boroque walls and pastel splashes of colors, in her paintings and through out her decorating. "But when I come home now, I want to feel serene. The height of luxury is to be comfortable in your own surroundings. And foir theat I need to see light and feel it all around me. Just because furniture is big and luxurious doesn't mean it has to look heavy. So I chose solid and pastel colors for my furniture." Her home entertains many guests, but only one area is off limits to the public and the various parties the throws, which is her own room, that is decked out in navy. "All are welcome except the the navy room upstairs" Her bedroom for ovious reasons should be kept private. "my secret place, where I watch my dvd's, and listen to music" She says "Fashion shows are public, my life is public, here I close the door and no one can come in. It is my treasure box. I wanted the colors rich that they would almost hide me." Her home is the supreme of luxury, and looking at her various furnishings, the empire pieces are some of the most beautiful in her home. Donatella adds color almost everywhere in her home, but she says the one color she doesn't like is "Beige" She then admits that she could possibly do a sofa in Beige, but would have to add some hot pink throw pillows. (Read More.....)

Classic Empire Napoleon Furniture and Decorating

Admin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:46:39 +0000

Napoleon focused on a heavy use of symbols to convey the message of Napoleon's power. The designs were an inspiration of the Greek, Roman Period, but with bold colors, and costly elaborate design. The look was on a grand, massive scale with ornate decoration including ormolu with Egyptian influence. Lions, griffins and symbols references to Napoleon's reign were very common. (Read More.....)

Directoire Style

Admin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:45:45 +0000

Empire Style was a result of Napoleon's reign in 1769 through 1821. It was the second phase of neoclassicism (which is also called "Directoire") which is simply a style engaged by the government during that time. The Empire style furniture is usually massive in scale and often has very severe look to the furniture, resulting in a heavy masculine look . Previous furniture styles (before this time) were slowly moving away from the heavy ordimented furniture to more simplier lines. Gradual change became apparent with simplier looks, but they still employed some intricate detail in the hardware. The Empire style often features the best wood veneers with metal gilts that adorn the furniture, leaving some fancy detail to balance out the sharp shapes of the furniture. The Empire look satisified the best of both worlds,- being that of some fancy ornate detail; simple shapes, and outstanding wood detail. (Read More.....)