George Hepplewhite (abt. 1727 – June 21, 1786)

The late 1700s saw England and France changing, causing a drastic change in American furniture tastes. George Hepplewhite, a London cabinetmaker and chair maker, began designing pieces that became very popular in not only Europe but in America. Hepplewhite style is characterized by straight leg forms, refined curves and painting and high quality inlay work. While the richness of mahogany woods is most associated with Hepplewhite designs he also used rosewood, satinwood, and tulipwood on the inlays. Dining room furniture began seeing sideboards and is associated with Hepplewhite furniture. Hepplewhite chairs often sport a shield shaped back. Pieces that were upholstered featured fabrics in designs like small birds and floral that carried down over the entire frame. The upholstery fabric was then finished with ornamental upholstery tacks.

Featuring many similarities, it is often hard to quickly discern Hepplewhite from Sheraton styles. To make matters more complicated there were no exclusive copyrights or patents in America at that time so wood workers could freely use each other’s design ideas, especially if they were marketable. There are no pieces of furniture made by Hepplewhite or his firm known to exist and some critiques and historians question the existence of George Hepplewhite. His style took hold posthumously, and not until after his wife Alice published design books she insisted were drafted by her late husband.

Thomas Sheraton (1750-1806)

British born Sheraton, like most furniture makers of his time was another cabinetmaker. Thomas Sheraton also stood out because he was a publisher and preacher. His furniture designs were widely popular and greatly influenced American furniture. Sheraton was well thought of as a superb draftsman and many of the designs are based on classical architecture. Sadly, although he wore many hats, was overworked and highly acclaimed he was barely able to earn a living, dying destitute.

Sheraton style is square, straight lined, solidly constructed furniture with slender legs that were either round or square and tapered toward the foot. His chair backs were square and often had a central panel above the top rail with high “S” shaped arms. Like other designers of his time, Sheraton used mahogany as the preferred wood. As Sheraton’s career was winding down the French Empire style became popular in Europe and he tried his hand in it. Sheraton found God was in the details and usually decorated his furniture wherever possible. His heavy embellishments of carving, inlay, and painting left few plain surfaces. A piece designed in the style of Sheraton will be adorned with urns, fan shapes, leaves, stars along with brass hardware and round glass knobs.

Thomas Chippendale (June 5 1718 – November 1779)

Chippendale was the first style of furniture in England that was named after the designer and not after a ruling monarch. Chippendale had something in his background that the other two great British designers did not. Thomas Chippendale was much more than just a cabinet maker, he was an interior designer. Like the other two, Chippendale was a published and popular author of furniture design. Working with the upholsterer James Rannie and later with Rannie’s assistant, Thomas Haig, Chippendale maintained artistic control of his well-appointed furnishings.

Not to veer from the popular, the finest Chippendale style pieces were usually crafted from mahogany but walnut, cherry and maple were used for less expensive versions. Many Chippendale pieces have cabriole legs and have a shell motif. American cabinetmakers often incorporated the claw-and-ball foot into their versions of Chippendale designs. The style of claw-and-ball feet was already passé with English furniture craftsmen but in America the feet were still being used.

Unlike Hepplewhite who has no surviving pieces, Chippendale has twenty-six documented commissions in estates, castles and in the original aristocratic houses for which they were created. The workshop the elder began was continued by his son, Thomas Chippendale, the younger (1749-1822). Young Chippendale was fond of working in the later Neoclassical and Regency styles.

One of the most useful pieces of furniture you can have in a kitchen or dining room is a full size hutch and base. Hutches usually have glass doors up top where you can store and display your fine china or other collectibles. Underneath in the base are usually plenty of cabinets and drawers where you can hide away silverware, linens, or other serving accessories. Some hutches have a serving area on top of the base that can come in handy. You can also purchase just the base if you just need a little extra storage space without the display area above.

A buffet table is another great choice for a dining room or kitchen. Buffet tables are meant to serve as extra serving space for entertaining and usually offer plenty of useful storage space as well. Some buffet tables have built in wine bottle and glass racks that can be used as a great bar area.

If you need more serving space and less storage space, you might want to get a sideboard instead. A sideboard is very similar to a buffet, but the storage cabinets don’t usually go all the way down to the floor. Instead there are generally just a few drawers or cabinets available for a little extra storage with plenty of serving space on top.