Humana Building of Louisville – One of the 10 Best Buildings of the 1980′s
One of the memorable visits we made when in the US in 2006 was to an important landmark in the face of downtown Louisville, the Humana Building, a skyscraper located at 500 West Main Street. This towering 27-story structure is headquarters of the Humana Corporation now one of the leading companies in the US offering affordable and flexible health-care plans to millions.
This large, prosperous corporation in seeking to build a headquarter structure that would stand as an eloquent statement against the prevailing conventional, modernist corporate architecture, sponsored an architectural competition from which to determine the best design. Michael Graves the famous New Jersey architect, emerged as the selected architect from a competitive pool of some of the most famous architects.. Scale models of those designs are shown on display in a vestibule located directly above the Main Street entrance of the building
The Humana Building is the largest and most ambitious work so far of an architect whose career has taken off with astonishing speed. Amongst his works are: the Portland Building in Portland, Oregon., the San Juan Capistrano Library in southern California, the new museum for Emory University in Atlanta and the expansion for the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
The construction of the Humana Building which began in October 1982 was completed in May 1985. Occupying an area of 588,400 square feet it has been built to accommodate 1,650 persons at an approximate cost of 60 Million dollars. It is one of Graves’ best known projects. For, in addition to receiving The American Institute of Architects National Honor Award in 1987 TIME Magazine listed it as one of the 10 best buildings of the 1980′s. It is also widely recognized as one of the most distinctive skyscrapers in America, as well as a textbook example of Post-modernism. It is a richly colored composition made up of abstract, highly personal variations on classical forms, a kind of collage of modernist and classical elements, put together in a way that is like none of its influences but establishing its unique post-modernist identity.
Graves in designing the building wanted it to fit within the context of downtown Louisville, taking cues from the Ohio River, its bridges, and the 19th-century streetscape and skyline of Main Street. It is pleasantly amazing how neatly this building harmonizes with the streetscape and skyline of Louisville. ” This is a tower built to sit on a city street, not behind an empty plaza, and it relates easily to its neighbors.”.It is indeed a great accomplishment fitting it so well to the other structures which are mostly three- and four-story 19th-century commercial structures, many of cast iron, Louisville’s real architectural treasure. “A full block of these old buildings sits along Main Street just west of Humana, and the base of the new tower joins them as neatly and gracefully as any tall building has ever met a group of smaller ones.The small old buildings and the large new one meet comfortably, the new one never in direct imitation of the old, but its shapes, colors and details set in careful accommodation. The mutually supportive relationship these buildings have stands in stunning contrast to the way in which the immense, mute tower of black glass that sits on Main Street on the other side of Humana relates to its neighbors. That cold box, utterly aloof from all that is around it, is an anti-urban legacy of Louisville’s last architectural generation. Humana is a response to all that that building stands for, and it cannot but be a civilizing presence in Louisville.” Materials used on it are expensive–pink granite for most of the surface, with several other polished granites. .
Each side of the building is designed slightly differently, up to a sloping pyramid style for the upper few floors. Like many post modern skyscrapers, it uses the classically-based tripartite division with a strong sense of a base.–the 8 story loggia extending in front of the office structure, a shaft, and a top.at the same level as the height of the nearby structures. This eight-story base of flat pink granite has an open arcade, of square, deep red granite columns occupying the first several floors. Above the base, but set back considerably from it, rises the main slab of the tower, sheathed in pink granite and punctuated by relatively small, square windows, with a shaft of solid glass running up the center. Rising further up, the square windows give way to a large expanse of glass for several floors. A huge metal truss, projecting out of the building supports a huge, curving loggia, a kind of flying balcony at the top of the building. This large, curved portion towards the top of the building is an open-air observation deck with. the outermost point of the circle providing space for a few people at a time surrounded by glass, to have a spectacular view of the Ohio River and down Main Street. Grave’s inspiration for this curved balcony came from a Victorian engraving of a family admiring the Ohio River from an old water tower. Above the loggia, the top of the building slants inward as a kind of gabled crown.This ziggurat–or notched gable-is -topped by a curved roof. The main points of interest in the building include this loggia, the waterfall, the lobby, the Rotunda, the Mezzanine and the 25th floor.
The Loggia has a 50-foot waterfall as an architectural gesture to the Ohio River a reminder of the city of Louisville’s origins at the fall of the Ohio more than 200 years ago. The open-air front portion of the loggia contains a large fountain. The loggia’s columns are clad in pink and green granite and are decorated with gold-leaf colour.
The entrance is set in a curved wall with waterfall fountains on both sides. This curved six-section water dam or water fall is an architectural gesture to the nearby Ohio River .Giant columns surround the entry area.50 feet down the granite pilasters on opposite sides of the main entrance. Eight vertical fountains in front of the pillars complement the waterfall. The front of the building features an outdoor atrium with a skylight high above the main entrance
The lobby, built of granite of different colors from different parts of the world is like the loggia a public space designed to welcome visitors. First there are white and grey granite from Italy and black marble from France. These are beautifully detailed, richly colored and combined deftly enough to provide visual variety at no cost to overall coherence with a calm, and self-assured hand. The lobby is reached from Main Street through a 450 pound weight bronze entrance door which is itself another valued feature.
The Rotunda, a classical architectural structure, is another point of interest in the building. Also on the first floor, access to it is gained through the lobby or through the Fifth street entrance. The rotunda features the building’s directory, an information desk and two striking and original Roman marble statues sculpted approximately 1,970 years ago. The one nearest to the information desk is titled “Roman Statue of the Goddess Fortuna.” The second is called “Roman Statue of a Goddess” Marbles flank the vestibule at the Main Street entrance leading to the other point of interest in the building, the Mezzanine to the south of which you will discover a seated statue which is claimed to be an 1,800 year old marble from the Roman Empire.
The 25th floor features the sun room in the façade of the building. Each floor has its own glass-enclosed, curved-fronted sun-room facing south serving as an employees’ lounge. The large pyramid-like shaped ending of the terrace represent the dam at the Fall of the Ohio. This could be easily accessed from the reception hall. The terrace on the façade is supported by a steel gridwork truss as an architectural symbol of the many metal truss bridges spanning the Ohio.just beside the building’s site. The bruised steel sculpture in the reception hall is entitled “Constructed Head 2″ and is said to have been done by a Russian-born artist Naum Gabo in 1918
The building also has much deft use of space. The superb public space at the base and the great, columned arcade are most exciting. Its square columns are articulated in gold-leaf fluting, and the space has a gentle curve to it to accommodate a waterfall and fountain on either side of the main entrance There are well measured sequences between all the spaces. The front door leads to a small vestibule, which in turn opens to a large, roughly square lobby; that leads on to a rotunda, and only after the rotunda come the elevator lobbies. But the sequence is clear, and the movement direct and simple. And the large, three-story-tall lobby, surrounded by a second-floor arcade of its own, provides welcome breathing space and freedom.
On the whole as Paul Goldberger appreciates it in The New York Times:
It is a compelling form – exerting a powerful visual attraction. Humana is a warm and inviting building. It is both serious and visually alive. It is neither a deadly bore nor frivolous. It is neither boring nor silly -it is at once a building of great dignity and a building of great energy and passion.
Not far from this building are other structures owned and occupied by Humana: the Waterside Building at 1st and Main, and the Riverview Square at 2nd and Main Streets. Humana which leases space in three downtown buildings-National City in the 400 block of Main Street, the 515 Building on Market Street, and the ISB Building on Magazine Street has plans to lease more space in the Waterfront Plaza East Tower in the 300 block of Main Street.
Humana recently undertook the historic preservation of a city block of several 19th Century buildings located besides this headquarter building. It is working with preservation experts to ensure that the historic integrity of the block is maintained. With more than 8,500 employees in downtown Louisville Humana justifiably so aggressively pursues its dream of not only altering the face of downtown Louisville but also to reattract habitation and provide accommodation for its growing staff nearby. It has remained committed to and involved in improving the quality of life in various cities, just as they’re committed to improving the health of their plan members. Excited about bringing all of their Jacksonville employees together in a premier downtown location, giving them great potential for continued growth,Humana purchased the largely vacant Jacksonville Center in April 1998 for $32 million with plans to renovate and relocate its then-1,200 employees scattered throughout the city in seven buildings. The employees comprise one of Humana’s four major regional service centers, handling claims processing and customer service functions for the company’s southeastern-U.S. members, as well as the company’s Jacksonville health plan administrative and sales staffs.So in effect the Humana building is just the hurb around which spins the multifarous interests and involvements of Humana in health care, insurance, art collection, performing arts, charity, the creation of a vast expanse of parks and the endowment of sterling efforts amongst Americans especially.
Sources:
A guided tour of the Humana building in June 2006
AN APPRAISAL;THE HUMANA BUILDING in LOUISVILLE: COMPELLING WORK by MICHAEL GRAVES By Paul Goldberger, Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES
www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/kentucky/louisville/humana/humana.html
3 Exercises to Reduce Waist Size
I promise they have nothing to do with jogging for a half hour on the treadmill like a hamster. Also… no crunches, no situps, no elliptical, no stairstepper. Basically, none of that crap! I have much better exercises that are more fun to do.
3 Exercises to Reduce Waist Size
1. Hindu Squats
This helps reduce the waist size by burning up a ton of calories. It creates a huge oxygen deficit which ellicits the body to burn off fat for energy. Here’s what you do…
In your living room or wherever, just squat up and down as fast as possible. Be sure to touch or swipe your finger tips onto the ground with each repetition to insure you went low enough with the squat. Do 100 repetitions in less than 5 minutes. Once you can do that, add another 100 repetitions and do in under 10 minutes.
There are no weights or anything else needed. Just keep your back pretty straight when you do it. Do this everyday. Hey! Don’t complain, it only takes 5-10 minutes.
2. Walking up an incline
This is another biggie. It also creates a huge oxygen deficit which forces the body to burn belly fat for energy. All you do is take a treadmill and incline it to 10-15 degrees and walk for 15 minutes. Sound easy? Try it. You can thank me later. It’s like night and day inclining a treadmill and walking or jogging on a flat treadmill.
You can also walk up hills. But I can’t snap my fingers and put a hill outside your house. So the first 2 exercises are more calorie and fat burners which annihilate belly fat by stealing it for energy.
3. Vacuum Pose
Ok, now this is a direct abs exercise. In fact, it’s the best exercise you can do to reduce your waist size. My clients lose between 1.75-3 inches off their waists in less than a month doing this exercise.
Here’s what you do…
Suck in your belly button… not your upper abs area. Suck it in until you can’t suck it in any further. It should feel like your belly button is touching your spine.
Now, hold that position for 15-60 seconds. Rest, then repeat. Do this for 5 minutes everyday and you should be down 1.75 inches from your waist in less than a month. My clients who’ve done this for 20 minutes a day have lost an incredible 3 inches from their waists.
So if you do these 3 exercises, you should reduce your waist size by a couple inches in less than a month.
Furniture Hardware
Replacing the old and worn hardware on your furniture can go a long way towards bringing new life to your older pieces and it can save on the expense of buying new furniture. Knobs and pulls come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be mixed and matched beautifully on one or more pieces in your home to create a common theme. Glass knobs and pulls add a touch of unexpected elegance while ornate brass hardware can accent precious antiques.
When replacing any type of hardware it is important to pay attention to the original knobs, pulls or hinges that were used. Heavier drawers tend to use larger knobs to compensate for additional weight and this should be considered when choosing a replacement. If you are planning to use the original holes for replacement pulls, measure the space between them (the “center to center” mounting distance) and choose a pull that will fit that size. Different pulls may have different center to center spacing so pay attention when reviewing the details for installation.
There are several different materials to choose from when selecting new or replacement hardware for the furniture in your home. Solid brass provides incredible strength and durability while pewter comes in a variety of unique patterns and designs. Cast iron is a wonderful choice for colonial or mission style furniture. Glass knobs are a unique way to introduce color into any piece and are available in a range of choices from bright ruby red to deep cobalt to pink.
How to Remove Scratches From Plastic
Scratches can easily be inflicted onto plastic surfaces in your car as they are fairly soft in comparison to paintwork and other materials. These scratches can look very unsightly especially in direct light and if it is a clear plastic affected they can even detract from and obscure what is underneath or behind it.
Plastic surfaces in your car that may require restoring would include areas like gauge cluster and dial covers, stereo displays or trim details.
A designated plastic polishing product can be used to effectively remove scratches and restore the surface. It should be carefully applied with a soft sponge or micro fibre applicator pad, spread evenly over the surface and then worked in using both circular and linear motions. Once the product has been sufficiently worked in it should then be gently buffed off. It is very important that you use a clean, soft high quality micro fibre towel for removing the polish residue to prevent any more scratches from being inflicted. The process may need to be repeated in order to fully remove the scratches from the plastic.
If you cannot use a designated plastic polishing product then an all in one polish product can be used to achieve similar results. The light abrasives in the product will help to remove lighter and fine scratches and the fillers in it will help to mask any deeper marks. It should be applied, worked in and removed in the same way as a plastic polishing product. You should ensure you do not to get any product onto the surrounding areas and trim as this would leave unsightly residue marks. Again, the process can be repeated if necessary until the desired result is achieved.
It should be noted that some newer plastic surfaces such as dial covers and sat nav screens come with an anti glare coating on them from the factory, this appears as a purple tint when viewed in the correct light. These surfaces should not be polished as the polish will remove parts of the coating and leave it looking very messy.
To help prevent any further scratches from being inflicted, or from them even occurring in the first place, the correct cleaning technique needs to be utilized. Sensitive plastic surfaces should never be cleaned using harsh products. You should use a detailing spray, or an anti static cleaning product designed for cleaning computer monitors and similar, in conjunction with a clean, soft micro fibre towel. This is the most important factor to consider when cleaning plastic surfaces as this is when scratches are easily inflicted.
How To Design A Patio Roof – Great Ideas To Consider
A patio is an area outside your home where you can relax, have a good conversation, and even listen to music while sipping some drinks. Whether it’s a day or night, this can be the perfect setting for many different things. However, when the weather turns nasty or becomes too hot, an uncovered patio is almost useless. So, to make it more usable, you need to install a patio roof. No matter what the weather conditions are, you will not have to worry if you have a patio roof. You can design it any way you like, but first you must look at some great ideas to help you on how to design a patio roof.
A patio umbrella will make a good patio roof design. If you have a swimming pool at your home, this will be a perfect match because it is inexpensive and provides a natural and relaxed feel to your patio. To know how to design a patio roof with the umbrella type, first you need to consider the size of your patio and the number of seats that it can accommodate. If you have a smaller sized patio, you will also need just a smaller umbrella. But if your patio accommodates 6-8 seats, you can look at a bigger size so that it will be well-covered. Whether you have big or small patio umbrella, this will sure look good and will give you more advantage since it can be easily closed to enjoy the sun or opened if you like more shade.
Another great idea to consider so you will know how to design a patio roof is a wood pergola patio roof design. Many homeowners consider wood design because this can be stained or painted with the color that they prefer. You can also grow plants around it like Bougainvillea or vines to add more color to your pergola. But, make sure that you trim the plants because these can easily grow to the other areas of your house. And if you choose this wood design option, be ready to do a lot of maintenance because it is exposed to elements. When this is neglected, it can get warped or cracked over time.
And lastly, you can look at other designs like vinyl awnings and metal patio roof. These ideas can help you a lot on how to design a patio roof. Vinyl awnings will make great patio roof designs during the summer because they let the filtered sunlight through. However, during the rainy season, it would be better if you have metal patio roof design. This is designed to be sturdier and more durable so it can withstand any element. Unlike the vinyl awnings, the metal patio roof is more permanent because it can be attached to your home to provide maximum shade and protection from rain.
The patio umbrella, wood pergola patio roof design, vinyl awnings, and metal patio proof are just some of the great ideas that you can consider on how to design a patio roof. From the descriptions given above, you now have the idea which of those designs will look great and will complement your patio. With the idea in mind, you can already design the patio roof yourself. But if you want to be certain about the result, you might as well consult a professional who has the knowledge and experience on how to design a patio roof.
Five Tips For Improving the Reception Desks Area of Your Company
People face a number of challenges across the world of today. The challenges being faced come in a wide array of variations in difficulty. One challenge that a great many people must face daily is improving the area because of their reception desks – whether it’s with a law firm, or the salon reception desks. Many thousands of individuals have trouble with that challenge, with mixed results. Now how does one discover a path through all of this to have methods that actually work?
The answer is knowledge. Nothing is easy whenever you don’t understand it, don’t know how to do it. In the same manner, the key which will get great results with the task of gaining better reception desks is more understanding of what works and about how, and why it works.
Keep reading to increase your own understanding.
Listed below are 5 tips for improving your reception desk area:
1. Refreshing Blooms being a focal point. Just why is this important? It gives a little bit of life to the area, in addition to coloring and lastly the scent of beautiful fresh flowers around work desks is definitely exhilarating. And exactly what occurs you follow these tips? Your consumers will value them, and hopefully take slightly better mood for following my visit through and smelt them.
2. Satisfactory Lighting. This is important because with no adequate lighting inside the space, it has a tendency to feel limited, dank, etc. And in addition can be very important because if it’s too dark, the climate usually follow. You desire your waiting consumers for being enlightened, not sunken and drained with the shadows on the waiting room. If it is possible, make an effort to employ pure lighting just about everywhere it is possible to.
3. All-important Mood Music. The main reason behind this is to provide a specialist ambiance on your waiting visitors. It is also a great idea because it adds something to pay attention to while they are waiting around. Just ensure it’s relaxed (elevator music). I realize there are numerous bull crap about elevator music, but in all honesty, it’s chosen for it’s soothing dynamics.
4. Happy Personalities along at the Reception Desks. Why’s this a good idea? Realize, this can be a first person clients have of your company. It is important to get started with right, with a happy demeanor. So use pleasant receptionists. Any other reason? No body wishes to handle a grumpy receptionist. Not them, and if you place them to deal with irritated receptionists, you’ll wind up paying the outcomes insurance firms to cope with less than happy clients.
5. Comfy Waiting Chairs. And just why is this important? Have you ever were required to sit for a long period of your time in a very waiting room, by using an uncomfortable chair? You should make sure that your customers have as pleasant some time as you can whilst they wait. What other reasons are there? Like with coping with irritated receptionists, the not comfortable furnishings will rapidly generate an unhappy customer. Comfortable seating allow for more happy friends.
Keep to the 5 tips above and you will get great results with gaining better reception desk for satisfied clients. You will probably have great results and all of the advantages, joys and good things that these great results will bring with them. Should you ignore these 5 tips, prepare for much worse results and concurrently lower benefits.
How to Become Thin Fast
You ARE beautiful!
You need to know this first.
I know you want to know how to become thin fast, and I will tell you, but I know that this thinking isn’t far from wanting to be anorexic or bulemic.
I know that you may be thinking you don’t look pretty or gorgeous or that no one loves you.
But you are…And I love you!
If you are just looking to get into those “skinny jeans”, then great, but if you hate yourself and think that becoming thin is a way out, you’re totally wrong.
I have seen too many young, beautiful women wreck themselves because they thought they weren’t thin enough, or they didn’t think highly of themselves.
3 Ways To NOT Become Thin Fast
1. Eating and throwing up your food.
2. Starving yourself.
3. Taking lots of weight loss pills.
These 3 ways above are NOT the answer to becoming thin. If you do these things above, they will negatively affect your health and your beauty, and in many cases you may not be able to recover.
Those bad ways of becoming thin will put you in the hospital, where no one will see how skinny you are anyway.
Some conditions that you could suffer from are osteoporosis (bones break easily), inability to have children, stomach rupture, heart failure, extreme muscle loss (difficulty walking), kidney failure, and that’s just the beginning.
4 Ways To Become Thin Fast
1. Eat a healthy diet: A diet high in fibrous veggies and fruits, some lean protein (even yogurt and milk) and a few good carbs for energy. Stay away from high calorie, non-nutritous foods like candies, alcohol, and white flour.
2. Get physically active: The more active you become, the more fat you will burn off and the thinner you will be. Also, you want to maintain lean muscle because it will help you burn more calories just living.
3. Stay hydrated: Drink enough water to support your body and activities. Also, add in a glass of juice or milk.
4. Eat organically: These foods have more nutrients and you will find that you have to eat less to still feel full. You will also be more healthy and look more radiant (that is…you’ll be glowing and beautiful).
If you follow these simple rules, you will become thin fast and you will stay healthy doing so. You will feel confident about yourself and your self esteem will soar.
Turn Your Porch Into a Sunroom For Year-Round Use
Everyone enjoys an open porch in warm weather. It provides an extra space in the open air that is unmatched my patios or decks. It shades you from the sun and protects you from the rain. Some porches have a hanging swing or a hammock for maximum relaxation. But when the weather turns cold, an open-air porch can lose all its appeal and doesn’t get much use until the weather warms up again. Enclosing your porch and turning it into a sunroom is a compelling option for porch-enthusiasts who want to add square footage to their house and enjoy the many benefits of a porch all year round.
Because much of the porch structure is already in place, turning it into a sunroom is a pretty uncomplicated project. Most of the time, depending on your specific porch, all that is required are installing some windows, adding insulation and possibly providing some extra heat – either through your home’s existing furnace or adding a wood or gas fireplace. For maximum energy efficiency, use double-pane, low-e, tempered window glass.
A sunroom is ideal for entertaining guests, relaxing and adding to the resale value of your home. They can be a variety of styles and designs, including sloped roofs, gable roofs, solarium-style curved glass roofs and Victorian-style conservatories with glass or polycarbonate roofs. A sunroom addition can add more light to a home that might not have a lot of southern exposure. The extra ambient light can make a smaller home appear larger.
Adding a sunroom costs less than a conventional household addition, and can be built where local building codes and zoning ordinances restrict backyard additions. Because of the financial and usage benefits, sunrooms are a popular amenity requested by potential homebuyers. Homes with an appropriately designed sunroom are likely to sell faster and for more money than those without. Usually, a sunroom addition is not considered to be a square footage addition to your home. Check the local ordinances to be sure.
Sunrooms give a sensation of being outdoors while providing indoor comforts. They can be the perfect place for a hot tub, an exercising / recreation room, a child’s play room, a home office, or a peaceful, relaxing spot to unwind with a good book. Many sunroom owners plant bushes and flowers around their enclosure to enjoy nature from the comfort and protection of their sunroom.
Create a sunroom that will add to the architectural beauty of your home. It can save you money on your energy bills, create extra space, increase the overall value of your house, add striking natural light to your home, and bring you closer to the environment and surroundings in which your family lives.
How to Answer That Sticky "Tell Me About Yourself" Question
How can such a seemingly simple question cause such confusion in a job seeker’s mind? Some people can get so befuddled by it that they find themselves discussing their elementary school education, stint as president of the high school student board, first day of college, favorite flavor of ice cream, and how they bought the car they drive now. Twenty minutes later, they are desperate for a glass of water, and the interviewer just wants to show them the door.
“Tell me about yourself” is typically the first question an interviewer will ask a candidate when they are ready to begin the interview. In the interviewer’s mind, they are just trying to give you a simple question to answer. Think of it this way, the interviewer has just dug your resume out of a pile and left their desk to meet you in the reception area. Their mind, however, is still on the last problem that just appeared in their email. They don’t want to look unprepared by re-reading your resume in front of you, so their intent is to ask you a basic question that reminds them about your credentials and experience.
So give ‘em what they want! You know that there is a high probability that this question will be asked, so there is no excuse for not having an appropriate answer prepared. Before the interview, scrutinize the job description and your experience. What experiences have you had that are most relevant to the position you are applying for? It’s OK to even reuse the material on your cover letter as a springboard for the discussion (though don’t be obnoxious by impatiently saying “as I stated on my cover letter,” be respectful of the interviewer’s heavy workload and memory). At this time in the interview, you don’t need to go into your experiences in-depth, but think of your answer to this question as the trailer to a feature film about your career.
Your intent is to remind the interviewer about your experiences that brought you to be qualified for the job you are applying for. Give them the highlights with enough detail that ideally the interviewer will be able to ask several follow-up questions about what you have discussed so far. You probably want to talk for no longer than three minutes. The intent is to turn the interview into a conversation instead of an interrogation, and the easiest way to have a conversation with someone is to give them information that they are interested in hearing more about.
A History of Victorian Furniture
During the course of the1800′s Britain developed into the most prosperous and technologically advanced nation on earth. Invention, mechanization and industrialization brought the greatest and far reaching change in England and the English. The nation rapidly grew in confidence of its place as a leading world power. Fueled by the wealth of its industrialization and new manufacturing industries its influence reached far around the world to the furthest corners of its empire. This was a new world and with it came a new order to challenge the old accepted power structures. A new class middle class of wealthy industrialists whose money gave them power and influence became the Victorian rich and their choices and values were to be a major influence in Victorian life. Their money, founded in the production from the new factories bought them fine new homes, large and important. These great new houses borrowed from the styles of the upper classes with many rooms which needed filling. The rise of the middle classes meant more homes with more money to spend and the need for more furniture.
Along with the new modern Victorian world came an inevitable change in style of the Victorian home and the history of Victorian furniture is one of variety. Furniture styles that reflected a fascination with the past were also a showcase of what was now possible in design and production. This age saw the beginning of mass production of furniture in a manufacturing industry whose new industrial techniques could rapidly reproduce the styles and designs which before now has been expensively carved by craftsmen.
The history of Victorian furniture is one of variety. Out of favour went the grace and fine lines of the Regency style furniture which were replaced by the more robust heavy furniture of the prosperous Victorian home. Ornate decoration and dark shining woods of mahogany and rosewood veneer and elaborate machined turned legs. However no one style was dominant in the Victorian home as designers, encouraged by the fast output of the new furniture manufacturing industries gave their imaginations free run. It was now possible to mass produce styles from other historical periods and the reproduction of earlier styles from the Tudor, Elizabethan, and Neo Classical periods became popular. However the one style that perhaps recalls this period most is the Gothic revival style. Large heavy furniture pieces in Gothic design were made in solid oak to reflect Englishness. The Victorians embraced the Gothic style with enthusiasm as can be seen in architecture and art as well as in the design of these furniture pieces. The history of Victorian furniture reflects the history of the Victorian age where a society underwent huge changes yet also huge uncertainties. Which made them look forward with pride and confidence while still looking back to a fictional age of order, glory and chivalry.