ANTIQUE QUEEN ANNE PERIOD BEDROOM FURNITURE

As the colonists became more established on their farms and in business during the Queen Anne period, they naturally built larger houses. Room use became more specialized: two-story houses, for example, allowed for bedrooms or "chambers" on the second floor. 

Lighter and more delicate than earlier pieces, Queen Anne bedroom furniture in the Queen Anne style had lost its ties with the heavy forms of the 17th century. Surfaces were smooth, with little ornament. The curvaceous cabriole leg, often ending in a pad foot, began to replace the turned leg. Chair backs were made with rounded shoulders and vase-shaped center splats. 

As American craftsmen of various heritages copied the English variations, regional characteristics developed. Made of mahogany, the North Carolina tall-post bed, for instance, is believed to have been crafted in the Queen Anne style by a settler from the Beaufort County area. 

What is typical of the stylish pieces that would have been owned by a middleclass merchant or planter during the Queen Anne period? 

The canopied bed, infant bed, chair, and dressing table were all made in the southern colonies. The crewel-embroidered bed hangings, mirror, candlestick, and chamber pot were imported from England in the mid-1700s. 

The Queen Anne style during the 1725 to 1760 period was copied with great success by colonists and adorned many early American bedrooms.