By Juliette Guilbert

Adam style is named for Robert Adam, the most famous architect of the British eighteenth century, who revolutionized Neoclassical design and created a style remarkable for its freshness, fluidity, and grace.

Adam, born in 1728, traveled Europe as a young man, studying the architecture of Roman antiquity. When he returned to England, ready to reinterpret classical principles for a modern audience, he set up an architecture firm with his brother James.

The Adams’ work became enormously influential in England and America, where it was known as Federal style and remained the dominant mode in domestic architecture from the 1790s to the 1830s.

 

Adam Fireplace Mantel
AdamStyle fireplace mantel  Item Number: 15731 Purchase this Mantel More Fire Place Mantels	Period: Adam Features Hand built wood mantels with hand applied composition ornamentation Carefully assembled utilizing tongue and groove, splines and precision engineered joints and miters. Our mantels can be manufactured in any size or wood species desired. Poplar is our standard wood. Stock Opening: Width 51 in. x Height 42 in. Height: 4' 6" Width: 6'

Taking inspiration from Roman art, Adam challenged the somewhat rigid pragmatism of the Georgian and neo-Palladian design that preceded him. Where Georgian design was angular, even stolid, Adam style was graceful and curvilinear. Under Adam’s influence, oval shapes began to appear everywhere, from drawer pulls to entire oval rooms. And where Georgian style confined itself to ancient Greek and Roman designs, Adam was eclectic in his influences, taking decorative elements from Byzantine, Italian Baroque, and Etruscan tradition.
 

Robert Adam Buy this Art Print

The heart of the Adam revolution was in the details. Under Adam’s influence, decorative ornament exploded into a new exuberance. He brought classical architectural elements indoors, decorating domestic interiors with swags, garlands, vines, medallions, scrolls, and ribbons, painted in delicate or vibrant colors, always balanced with the overall classical proportions of the space.   More Adam Style Prints

Along with abundant classical ornament, an Adam room will have graceful, delicately proportioned furniture in the style of Hepplewhite, Chippendale, or Thomas Sheraton. The furniture is also decorated with classical motifs: swags, lyres, urns, medallions, sheaves of wheat.

 

Adam Style architectural details and ornamentation! Ceiling medallions, cornices and moldings. Authentic Period and Historic Home architectural ornamentation. All crafted in genuine plaster. For commercial and residential environments. Visit architecturalFX.com

Color is very important to this style -- think pastel-hued blues, greens, lilacs, and corals, with white or cream trim. Textures should be refined and smooth: gleaming furniture, satiny wood floors covered with refined area rugs, possibly with classical motifs. Draperies and upholstery should be luxurious, in silk, brocade, and damask.

 

Special Fabric Sale
	Bella Tuscany Wovens: Cortona Bluebell Wheat colored florals and vines against a soft blue fabric create an elegant design. Ideal for home decorator projects this fabric is 100% cotton and is 54" wide. 6 different color patterns to choose from! more fabrics and textiles