Eastlake movement
The movement is generally considered part of the late Victorian period in terms of broad antique furniture designations.
Manufacturers in the United States used the drawings and ideas in the book to create mass-produced Eastlake Style or Cottage furniture.
[1] This was contrary to the previous style of furniture, with pieces that were large, heavy, and thick, and that collected dust and germs.
[3] Eastlake was originally a painter who trained in Rome and was considered to have great knowledge in art however he had a specific preference.
His quote "I find American tradesmen continually advertising what they are pleased to call Eastlake furniture, the production of which I have had nothing whatever to do, and for the taste of which I should be very sorry to be considered responsible" shows his stance on this.
[5] The façade also included "perforated gables and pediments, carved panels and a profusion of beaded spindles, and lattice work found along porch eaves.
[5] In the United States, especially in California, American home builders in the 1880s replaced flat-cut gingerbread ornamental elements that were popular in the 1860s and 1870s with lathe-tuned spindlework for balusters and wall surface decoration.
[5] The forms of the furniture were often rectilinear and had "geometric ornament, turnings, brackets, trestles, and incised linear decoration.
The entrance is decorated with spools, sunbursts, holes, buttons, brackets, scallops, and pierced cylinders, and is supported by large chamfered columns.
The wallpapers, picture railings, period furnishings, and potted ferns are in the same style as the Victorian features of the interior.
The interior of the house reflects the Eastlake style in the mantel spindles, the ornate tile work surrounding the two fireplaces, 12-foot second story coved ceilings and other details.
Many of the interior millwork were replaced during the hospital renovation in 1907 and in 1952 the dining room and kitchen were constructed in the style of that year.
[10] The entry hall of Thomas F. Ricks House contains a recessed ceiling panel that is outlined with molding ornamented with modillions.
[10] Although Eastlake's book Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery and Other Details was originally released in England and was positively received, its influence was greater in the United States.
However, following the Civil War, the middle class desired a design reform due to the increasing awareness of the English movement.
In England, Eastlake was one of many who desired a design reform, but in America his simplicity and taste were exposed to "unprecedented new readers".
The New York Times stated that the home furniture was becoming simpler and that "the demand for extravagant and florid goods for household use" was gone.
He stated that the "elaboration and finish" should be a lower priority and most artists concurred that the "educated ideas of construction and proportion" were preferred.
While the ‘old’ Renaissance style was featured in most of the exhibitions, manufacturers were criticized for prioritizing profits over creating well-designed pieces of furniture.
[3] Two well-known Eastlake style houses in the Los Angeles area, in Echo Park and Angelino Heights, are both on Carroll Avenue.
Chateau-sur-Mer, on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, was altered and expanded during the Gilded Age to incorporate an Eastlake style billiard room and bedrooms.
