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what is an adam style house

by Mr. Destin Yost II Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

What is an Adam style house? The Adam style, also known as Adamesque, is a neoclassical style of architecture and interior design from the 18th century. The Adam brothers themselves designed interiors and architecture such as ceilings, fixtures, fireplaces, carpets, walls, and furniture.

Adam style homes are characterized by their: Simple square or rectangular shape, generally two or three stories high and two rooms deep. Understated exterior design elements, typically confined to the porch or front entry. Narrow and simple columns and moldings.Jul 7, 2017

Full Answer

What is the Adam style in architecture?

The Adam style moved away from the strict mathematical proportions previously found in Georgian rooms, and introduced curved walls and domes, decorated with elaborate plasterwork and striking mixed colour schemes using newly affordable paints in pea green, sky blue, lemon, lilac, bright pink, and red-brown terracotta.

What is Adams style furniture?

Commonly and mistakenly known as "Adams Style," the proper term for this style of architecture and furniture is the "Style of the Adam Brothers."

Why did the Adam brothers create the Georgian house style?

The Adam brothers aimed to simplify the rococo and baroque styles which had been fashionable in the preceding decades, to bring what they felt to be a lighter and more elegant feel to Georgian houses.

What did the Adam brothers do for architecture?

The work of the Adam brothers set the style for domestic architecture and interiors for much of the latter half of the 18th century. Robert and James Adam travelled in Italy and Dalmatia in the 1750s, observing the ruins of the classical world. On their return to Britain, they set themselves up with their older brother, John, as architects.

What period is Adam style?

century neoclassical styleThe Adam style (or Adamesque and "Style of the Brothers Adam") is an 18th-century neoclassical style of interior design and architecture, as practised by Scottish architect William Adam and his sons, of whom Robert (1728–1792) and James (1732–1794) were the most widely known.

What is an Adam style fireplace?

An elegant design in the style of Robert Adam (1728-92), the prolific XVIII century architect. The Adam Fireplace incorporates legs in the Ionic style supporting a mantel featuring Adam style swags and medallions surmounted by a dentilled cornice.

What is an Adam style mirror?

A small, elegant glass mirror in a typical Robert Adam style, this piece has a swagged urn, extravagantly carved acanthus laves and scrolls. Available in various colours and finishes, with plain or antique mirror glass. All sizes are approximate and may vary slightly.

What is a federalist style house?

Characteristics. Typically, a Federal-style house is a simple square or rectangular box, two or three stories high and two rooms deep. Some structures have been made larger, modified with projecting wings or attached dependencies, or even both.

What were the characteristics of the Adam style?

Adam style homes are characterized by their: Simple square or rectangular shape, generally two or three stories high and two rooms deep. Understated exterior design elements, typically confined to the porch or front entry. Narrow and simple columns and moldings.

What is a Regency house?

Regency architecture encompasses classical buildings built in the United Kingdom during the Regency era in the early 19th century when George IV was Prince Regent, and also to earlier and later buildings following the same style.

What does Palladian style mean?

Palladianism was an approach to architecture strongly influenced by the sixteenth century architect Andrea Palladio. Characterised by Classical forms, symmetry, and strict proportion, the exteriors of Palladian buildings were often austere.

What is Adam designed the famous?

Here he developed the "Adam Style", and his theory of "movement" in architecture, based on his studies of antiquity and became one of the most successful and fashionable architects in the country....Robert AdamOccupationArchitectPracticeAdam Brothers (Edinburgh, London)3 more rows

How was Robert Adam influenced in his architectural style?

Robert Adam (1728 – 92) was one of the most important British architects working in the Neoclassical style – a movement in the decorative and visual arts that drew inspiration from the 'classical' art and culture of Ancient Greece and Rome.

What is a Queen Anne style home?

Queen Anne houses are Victorian-style houses that boast specific features—like asymmetrical exteriors and decorative trim. Queen Anne houses are also known for their wraparound porches, towers and turrets, and multicolored palettes. Queen Anne houses are known for their dynamic, asymmetrical facades.

What is the difference between Georgian and Federal style?

The Federal style has many of the same elements of the Georgian style - symmetry, classical details and a side gabled roof - yet it is different in its ornamentation and sophistication. Federal details are more delicate, slender and finely drawn than their Georgian counterparts and may feature swags, garlands and urns.

What is a New England saltbox?

A saltbox house is a gable-roofed residential structure that is typically two stories in the front and one in the rear. It is a traditional New England style of home, originally timber framed, which takes its name from its resemblance to a wooden lidded box in which salt was once kept.

What are the characteristics of a federal style home?

What is a federal style home? What are its distinguishing characteristics? Adam style homes are characterized by their: 1 Simple square or rectangular shape, generally two or three stories high and two rooms deep 2 Understated exterior design elements, typically confined to the porch or front entry 3 Narrow and simple columns and moldings 4 Geometrical concepts—elliptical, circular, and fan shaped motifs formed by fluted radiating lines

What is the federal style of architecture?

This architectural style dominated the American architectural landscape from roughly 1780 to 1840, having evolved from Georgian roots. In fact, many historians today think of the federal style as merely a refinement of the Georgian style; indeed, these two styles are similar in certain ways. Fundamentally, it was the comparatively progressive European ideas about architecture that prompted this American change in taste.

How many stories are in a Federal style house?

Typically, a Federal style house is a simple square or rectangular box, two or three stories high and two rooms deep. Some Federal styled homes have been made larger, modified with projecting wings, attached dependencies or even both. In some Federal homes and buildings, one can find an elaborate curved or polygonal floor plan such as with the Octagon House in Washington, D.C. (1799) located at 18 th Street and New York Avenue NW. In the Rockville historic district at 103 West Montgomery Avenue, the Beall-Dawson house is an excellent example of Federal style.

What are the windows in a Federal style home?

Typically, the front windows in a federal style home are five-ranked, although there are examples of three and seven-ranked windows. Palladian-style windows are often used in gables as an architectural flourish. Windows are almost invariably composed of double-hung wood sashes with the top sash held in place by metal pins (counterbalancing weights had not been invented yet). Thin wooden muntins divide the window into small lights (panes). Before the Revolutionary War, the standard light was 6” x 8”, but as glazing technologies improved, the size increased to 8” x 13”. Generally, the windows feature six over six lights, although nine over nine and other configurations can also be found in several federal style homes.

What is a hip roof?

Hip roofs capped by a balustrade and simple gable shapes (such as those on numerous Federal town houses in Washington, D.C.) and even roofs with a center gable crowned by a front façade pediment, are among the most popular Federal roof styles. The Friendship House, located on South Carolina Avenue SE on Capitol Hill (c. 1795), is an example of the front façade pediment.

What are Palladian windows made of?

Palladian-style windows are often used in gables as an architectural flourish. Windows are almost invariably composed of double-hung wood sashes with the top sash held in place by metal pins (counterbalancing weights had not been invented yet). Thin wooden muntins divide the window into small lights (panes).

What is the most decorated part of a Federal home?

Befitting its importance, especially when the center of a strictly symmetrical façade, the front door of a Federal home is usually the most decorated part of the home’s exterior. On this score, a semicircular or elliptical fan light above the door with or without flanking sidelights is a favorite device used in Federal architecture.

What is the Federal style?

The Federal, or Adam, style dominated the American architectural landscape from roughly 1780 to 1840, having evolved from Georgian architecture, the principal design language of the colonial period. Fundamentally, it was the comparatively progressive European ideas about architecture that prompted this American change in taste to favor Federal architecture and design. Indeed, many historians today think of the Federal style as merely a refinement of the Georgian style, a view easily justified by a close comparison of the two.

What were the materials used in the Federal style?

Not surprisingly, the building materials in Federal style architecture vary with location. The homes of the Northeast were typically made of clapboard, while Southern houses were often brick as are most of the Federal style homes in the urban north, where fireproofing was much desired.

What Makes a House Acadian Style?

Acadian style has evolved over the last few centuries, and modern Acadian-style homes may not have all the trademark features of the original design. Still, you can expect a few characteristics in an Acadian-style home, many of which were once rooted in practicality and easy maintenance.

The History of Acadian-Style Homes

The history of Acadian-style homes goes back to the 18th-century Acadians, who were descendants of French settlers that migrated from France through Canada.

What Are the Different Types of Acadian Style Houses?

As the Acadian style began to grow popular, ten Brinke says, different versions of this style home were established. For instance, many modern Acadian-style homes are larger than the original design, with more rooms than the historical Acadian home to accommodate larger families.

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Overview

Gallery

• Painting by Angelica Kauffman, typical of those she painted for the interiors designed by the Adam brothers
• Interior of Osterley Park, designed by Robert Adam in 1761
• Stairwell within Home House, designed by Robert Adam in 1777

Background

During the 18th century there was much work for eager architects and designers, as Britain experienced a boom in the building of new houses, theatres, shops, offices and factories, with towns growing rapidly due to the onset of the Industrial Revolution. The emphasis was on modernisation, with regulations being introduced to clean up the nation's streets, promoting the re-paving of roads and pavements, improving drainage and street lighting, and better fireproofin…

The Adam style

The work of the Adam brothers set the style for domestic architecture and interiors for much of the latter half of the 18th century.
Robert and James Adam travelled in Italy and Dalmatia in the 1750s, observing the ruins of the classical world. On their return to Britain, they set themselves up with their older brother, John, as architects. Robert and James published a boo…

Influenced by

The Adam Style was strongly influenced by:
• Frescoes and wall paintings found in the newly excavated Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum
• Greek black and red-figure painted vases, which were being excavated and collected in large numbers from Etruscan tombs in Italy, and then thought to be Etruscan.

Revival

Interest in the Adam style was revived in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, initiated by a spectacular marquetry cabinet by Wright & Mansfield exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1867. Reproduction furniture in the general "Regency Revival" style, to which the Adam revival was closely linked, was very popular with the expanding middle classes from circa 1880 to 1920. They were attract…

See also

• List of architectural styles
• George Hepplewhite
• Thomas Sheraton

Bibliography

• Spencer-Churchill, Henrietta (1997) Classic Georgian Style, Collins & Brown, ISBN 1-85585-428-7
• Harris, Eileen (2001) The Genius of Robert Adam: His Interiors ISBN 0-300-08129-4
• Parissien, Steven (1992) Adam Style, Phaidon, ISBN 0-7148-2727-4

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