Hyderabadghar/decorate/Federal Style

When the American Revolution ended in 1783, leaders of the United States officially adopted the Federal style of architecture and design for its neoclassical principles. Inspired by visits to Etruscan and Pompeiian ruins, style creators Robert and James Adam of Scotland used motifs like urns, Corinthian columns and mythological figures on wall and ceiling moldings, light fixtures, wallpaper, even ceramics. Emphasis is also on symmetry and balance, especially through a coordinated look of ceilings, floors, curtains, upholstery, hangings and other elements. The overall effect: refined comfort.

Walls

Photo courtesy of Bradbury & Bradbury.

Treatments
As in the Georgian style, walls have four segments: cornice or frieze hugging the ceiling, the center "field" and dado below the chair rail.

The frieze and cornice feature wooden carvings or plaster stuccowork, including arches, fluting, reeding, garlands, interlace and dentil patterns. Greek Revival influences, such as egg-and-dart and anthemion, are also prevalent.

Full paneling disappeared in the center field, replaced by whitewashed plain plaster, sometimes covered with wallpaper or fabric.

Dados display gouge work, carved foliage and frets with "Adamesque" designs (named after Robert Adam, father of the Federal style). Designs incorporate neoclassical architectural details and are painted or grained to simulate mahogany.

Wallpaper
Until 1800, wallpaper was plain with festoon borders at cornice level and around doors. Later, it bore floral, striped, geometric or neoclassical motifs.

Chinese papers with birds, flowers and landscapes were considered high style, as were French-imported scenic wallpapers for the wealthy.

Fireplaces

Key wall decoration features Adamesque surrounds, chimneypieces and overmantels with a neoclassical flavor.
Wooden surrounds and overmantels bear molded urns, swags, garlands and figures or simple Ionic columns and pilasters.
Large rectangular mirrors are placed above the mantel.
Central panels bear mythological scenes, such as sphinx and floral motifs or tableau of a chariot procession for a god.

Floors

Photo courtesy of Burrows & Company.

Materials
Floors are often white or yellow pine. Better homes have tongue-and-groove and, occasionally, parquet. Boards are painted, sometimes a solid color, or in diamond patterns. Stenciling is also popular.

Coverings
Knotted English-made carpets bear scrollwork patterns, polygonal shapes, floral designs and Turkish, Persian and neoclassical motifs. Some are specifically woven to match ceilings, especially in well-to-do homes decorated by Robert Adam.

Photo courtesy of Burrows & Company.

Better homes dress entry halls in flagstones or white marble; patterns of white marble and blue stone; or in white and black marble squares.

Also popular are multicolored floors of scagliola, a cheaper composition of plaster and marble chips made to resemble marble.

Colors

Georgian influence
In most homes, Georgian colors are still widely used: Walls and ceilings are off-white, stone, gray, olive, light blue, oak or walnut. Pea green is preferred for libraries and dining rooms.

Internal skirtings and doors are chocolate. Livelier colors remain in general use, including Dutch pink, lemon, strawberry, ultramarine, Prussian blue and verdigris, a deep green derived from corroding copper. Reds are deemed best in libraries and dining rooms to set off gilt-framed paintings.

Bolder colors
Bolder, more vibrant colors, unearthed with the rediscovery of the ancient world, distinguish the Federal style. Lilacs, bright blues and greens, bright pinks, blacks and terra cotta red-browns, are paired with black for an Etruscan look.

Photo courtesy of Southwood Furniture.

Classical forms
Federal-style furniture revolves around a new interest in classical forms. Heavily ornamented Chippendale pieces of earlier years were replaced with lighter, more geometric and delicate pieces. Details include reeding, refined turnings and fine inlay, such as ivory on satinwood.

Materials
Early in the period, walnut and mahogany, stained a strong brownish red, came into style along with exotic wood veneers of amboyna and ebony, accented with gilding and bronze furniture mounts.

Around 1800, blond or lightly stained mahogany and the more golden maple and fruitwood became fashionable.

Adam pieces
Robert Adam collaborated with Thomas Chippendale to manufacture many neoclassical furniture pieces and introduced key decoration ideas.

The semicircular or segmental pier table reflects an oval when set against a mirror on the wall. A variation of the sideboard designed by Adam fits snuggly against the wall and displays family treasures or can be used for serving. His introduction of the lyre motif for chair backs spread quickly to other designers and furniture makers.

Other designers

Thomas Sheraton is best known for side chairs with straight legs, square upholstered seat and square back with lyre design.
George Hepplewhite is renowned for the shield-back chair, simple bow-fronted chest of drawers and a two-ended "Duchess" sofa.

Signature chairs

The Windsor chair is made entirely of wood – beech or elm – with spindle construction, splayed legs and carved slab seat.
Boston rocker symbolizes American life. Developed from the Windsor chair, it features a tall, spindled back crowned with a broad top rail.

Accessories

Photo courtesy of Rubylane.

Fireplace accessories
Coordination of fireplace accessories is a Federal style signature. Robert Adam's fireplaces feature fire irons, tongs and shovels whose materials match grates and fender. The fire-tending tools are formally arranged, giving the entire ensemble an overall unified look.

Brass and steel are common, but Adam introduced "paktong," an expensive silvery alloy from China made of copper, zinc and nickel.

Furniture near fireplaces is shielded from heat by wooden, cane or fabric firescreens fitted onto chair backs. Some are freestanding and supported on a pole. When not in use, fireplace fender and furniture are removed and replaced with a decorated chimney board, including Adam-designed pieces with Etruscan decorations.

Silver table servings
The industrialized English silversmiths made silver table servings, another distinctive Federal decoration, widely available. Tea urns, teapots and tea sets with classical lines and minimal decoration were in demand as tea-drinking became fashionable.

For those unable to afford silver or Sheffield plate, inexpensive and practical Wedgwood ceramics, designed with simple neoclassical lines, were available. Josiah Wedgwood, heretofore an ordinary though successful potter, became a leader of avant-garde taste. Besides urns, creamers, cups and bowls for serving, he devised cameos, tablets and urns for decoration in Adam-style rooms.

Other service ware

Unglazed white jasperware resembling marble are popular.
Imported silver and Wedgwood products exemplify the style.
Brightly translucent, colored glassware manufactured by domestic glass factories in New England and Mid-Atlantic states.
Pitchers, cake dishes, sugar bowls and candlesticks also function as mantel decorations.

Fabrics

Photo courtesy of Todo es.

Harmonious Decoration Robert Adam's matching of carpet design with ceiling decoration is carried through with matching fabric for curtains, tablecloths, loose covers, upholstery, bed hangings and bed covers. All of it was made possible by industrial advances in England and Ireland that allowed for cost-effective mass production of cottons – in particular, chintzes and dyed calico cottons. Linens and silks were available and were sometimes custom made to match wallpaper colors and designs.

Patterns
Patterns are predominantly flower sprays, stripes, Chinese and neoclassical motifs.

Toiles de Jouy defined the printed fabrics of Adam's day, which were single-colored printed cottons or linens of blue, purple, red or sepia on white. Pattern depicted complete subjects, such as English landscape scenes from Gainsborough paintings or American patriotic scenes of Franklin and Washington.

Drapery treatments

"French draw" or "French rod" is the most popular drapery treatment. Curtains are paired and drawn horizontally, attached to rods above windows by wooden or brass rings. Architrave is hidden by a pelmet with fringes and tassels as final touches.
Muslin curtains are installed behind outer curtains to protect carpets and fabrics from fading under direct daylight.
Venetian blinds or plain-fabric roller blinds are used underneath curtains or on their own.
"Snob screens" – blinds or screens covering bottom half of window area are used to block gazes of passers-by.

Lighting

Photo courtesy of Wakefield-Scearce Galleries.

Candles
At the end of the 18th century, candles were the main source of lighting. The simplest, most widely used were rush lights – candles held in simple clips mounted on stands.

Silver candlesticks were a status symbol for fashionable interiors. With technological advances in the industrialized silversmith centers of Sheffield and Birmingham, England, more everyday items were produced.

Candlesticks and candelabras
Influenced by the Adam brothers, silver candlesticks and candelabras underwent a stylistic revolution. Fussy Rococo foliage was abandoned in favor of flat, unadorned surfaces, neoclassical motifs such as swags and urns; and straight lines for a simple, elegant look.

Photo courtesy of Spencer Marks.

Similar elements were repeated on tripod lamp stands for candelabras and girandoles: candlesticks and candelabras with crystal drops and/or candle sconces attached to mirrors for greater light reflection.

Argand light
In the 1790s, the Argand light – free standing or attached to walls – increasingly replaced candle and lantern light.