Directoire Style Furniture

The Directoire Style took place during 1789-1804.  The simplification of furniture begun under Louis XVI along with a taste for more streamlined pieces that had less ornamentation became more prevalent. Most of the furniture through this time was inspired by the Greek and Pompeian models. Lines are straight with crisp geometric forms. Surfaces are flat and corners are clean. Motifs were in the forms of squares, rectangles and palmettes. Common Directoire period furniture from this period were crafted out of elm, walnut, fruitwood or beech.  Painted pieces were often found in gray, white, sea green and lime green, and the carved ornament was often painted in a contrasting color or different shades of the same color.