What Defines Tudor Style Furniture?

Oak Construction

• True Tudor furniture and pieces made in that style will be crafted from oak, according to "Furniture Yesterday and Today: The Principal Periods of Furniture with Numerous Illustrations of the Best Historical and Modern Examples" by Julius F. Gayler. At the time in England, oak was the dominant wood and used for making furniture. Tudor-style furniture, especially pieces from the earliest part of the period, were weighty due to their solid construction from dense oak. As time passed, furniture became lighter in weight as portions of the wood were carved out for intricately detailed designs.

Table Legs

• The design of the legs of tables of the Tudor period is a telling feature. The legs should be thick and heavy with a rounded bulb on them. The bulbous style of table legs is also reflected in the rounded, heavy bed posts of Tudor-style beds. Intricate carvings also adorned the legs of tables and bed posts, especially in pieces from the later Tudor era.

Chairs

• Tudor-style chairs have a distinctive design. They resemble large boxes with chair arms and a back cut to form a chair shape. The lack of legs make Tudor-style chairs readily recognizable. A second type of chair is usually found as a replica as genuine models proved too delicate to survive the test of time. Turned chairs featured triangular seats, arms, backs and legs of the chair composed of spindles formed on a lathe.

Tudor Rose

• One of the most popular designs of the era was the Tudor rose. This simple shape is composed of a flower with many petals inside a circle. The ruling Tudors of the time adopted it as their symbol, leading to its use as a furniture design. The Tudor rose symbol featured two roses, one inside the other, each with five petals.