Admiring a Classic: The Queen Anne Chair

Happy Thanksgiving!  Since most of us will be sitting around a dining table today surrounded by those we love (or choose to put up with), I figured today was as good a day as any to honor a timeless dining chair- The Queen Anne.  As you can likely guess, this style of chair originated in Britain during the reign of Queen Anne in the early eighteenth century, although was not referred to as "Queen Anne" furniture until a few centuries later.  Considerably lighter and more feminine in form, with the curved, cabriole leg and partially opened back, Queen Anne chairs are still used by designers today and can translate well in a variety of settings- like an airy dining room:

{Amanda Nisbet}

{Valentino}

{KMH Interiors}

Designer Kerry Michael Howard used a variation of the Queen Anne chair in the dining room above.  You can tell it's not a true Queen Anne because the legs are straight rather than the typical curved cabriole. 

Miles Redd used a few Queen Anne chairs as extra seating in this bold hallway...

And Nick Olsen used it as a desk chair in this Brooklyn brownstone.  I love the pop of cherry red leather against the greens:

In college when I lived in my sorority house, I used a Queen Anne chair as my desk chair, and refinished it in a turquoise blue.  I wish I had a picture of it for this post, but that was before the advent of iPhone cameras, and I managed to lose my digital camera years ago.

Queen Anne furniture began appearing in colonial America around 1715 and remained fashionable throughout most of the eighteenth century.  You can read more about the style here.

I hope everyone has a restful and happy Thanksgiving!