Louis-Style Chairs
Get to Know Louis-Style Chairs
Louis-style chairs originated during the reigns of French kings Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI, and they have remained design classics ever since. You’ve surely spotted these gorgeous chairs all over Houzz and in your favorite design mags — but how do you tell them apart? Get ready to find out! We are going to start with the Louis XVI–style chair and work our way backward in time.
Louis XVI Style
Clean lines and delicate craftsmanship make these the most modern looking of the Louis chairs. The design came about during the reign of Louis XVI, the 19-year-old monarch, and his bride, Marie Antoinette. During this time there was a resurgence in interest in classical Greece and Rome, which you can see in the column-like legs and geometric carvings of Louis XVI chairs. There is more visible wood and less gilding than with earlier styles.
The legs are the most defining feature of Louis XVI chairs — they are straight and often have fluting or other column-like carved details. The chair backs are either rounded or rectangular, with an exposed wood frame.
Style cheat sheet:
- Straight legs, often with column-inspired fluting
- Clean lines
- Oval or rectangular seat back
- Geometric details
Romantic rococo style became popular around the time of Louis XV, and with it came gentle curves, plump cushions, and plenty of gilding. More ornate than the later Louis XVI versions, Louis XV chairs feature scrolling and S-shaped cabriole legs.
Style cheat sheet:
- Curvy legs
- Often gilded
- Comfortably angled back
- Adorned with scrolls and medallions
Pop quiz: Identify this furniture. I’ll give you a hint: Look at the legs. Remember, Louis XV style is rococo, with curvy legs; Louis XVI style is neoclassical, with straight, column-like legs.
Drum roll, please… If you said that the chairs are Louis XV style and the settee is Louis XVI style, you are correct!
Louis XIV Style
The earliest style we are looking at today, these chairs also look the least modern, with thick, sturdy frames and squat, rectilinear shapes. The monarch at the time, Louis XIV (aka the Sun King), was responsible for creating Versailles from what had been a simple hunting lodge. I like to remember what Louis XIV–style chairs look like by remembering the Sun King — the upright back and strong, chunky frames remind me of a throne.
Style cheat sheet:
- Straight, upright back
- Big, hefty throne-like wood frame, often gilded
- Stretchers between chair legs are usually H- or X-shaped
- Usually upholstered over entire back
- Armrests are long, with arm supports coming all the way to the front of the seat
- This example might be a Louis XIV–XV transition piece. Notice how the back is straight, rectangular and upholstered (as in a Louis XIV chair), but the legs are more delicate, with curved feet, and the armrests are shorter (as in a Louis XV chair).
- Tell us: Which Louis style is your favorite?
