Explore by style

Twelve architectural styles, told through their details

Each style page explains how to recognize the style and gathers real historical examples of its cabinetry, paneling, mantels, doors and built-ins. Every example can be the starting point for a custom piece.

Drawing room at Red House with a large painted built-in settle and cupboard and a brick fireplace

c. 1880–1930

Arts & Crafts / Craftsman

Honest construction made visible: quarter-sawn oak, exposed joinery, built-in seating and storage, hand-wrought hardware and nature-derived ornament.

20 examples

Black ebonized secretary with bands of golden floral marquetry on the drawer fronts and fall front

c. 1837–1901

Victorian (Queen Anne, Eastlake)

Layered, ornament-rich interiors: overmantels, spindlework, incised Eastlake geometry, dark stained hardwoods and elaborate trim.

24 examples

Catalog page illustrating paneled interior wood doors from 1926

c. 1890–1920

Denver Square

Denver's take on the American Foursquare: a boxy brick house with a hipped roof and front porch, and a practical, lightly classical interior of oak trim, built-in buffets and simple mantels.

14 examples

Historic photograph of a richly paneled Jacobean room at Hatfield House with a carved chimneypiece

Original c. 1485–1603; revival c. 1890–1940

Tudor & Tudor Revival

Dark oak paneling, linenfold carving, heavy beams, arched doorways and stone-and-timber chimneypieces.

16 examples

Miniature Georgian drawing room with carved pedimented overmantel and fully paneled walls

Original c. 1714–1830; revival c. 1876–1955

Georgian & Colonial Revival

Symmetry and classical order: raised-panel walls, pedimented doorways, carved chimneypieces, dentil and egg-and-dart mouldings.

20 examples

c. 1780–1900

Shaker

Utility as beauty: built-in drawer walls, peg rails, recessed-panel doors, fine proportions and no ornament.

19 examples

c. 1920–1940

Art Deco

Geometric glamour: exotic veneers, sunbursts and chevrons, stepped forms, fluting and lacquer.

16 examples

c. 1890–1910

Art Nouveau

Organic line and carved nature: whiplash curves, plant and flower forms, sculptural doors and inlaid case furniture.

12 examples

Swiss wood-paneled room with arched wall panels, a coffered ceiling and a tiled stove

Vernacular, 1600s–present

Alpine & Tyrolean

Warm wood-lined rooms (Stube): pine or stone-pine paneling, coffered ceilings, chip carving, painted cupboards and heart cutouts.

14 examples

Historic photograph of an old kitchen with a large fireplace, a china hutch full of plates and a spinning wheel

Vernacular, 1600s–present

English Country & Cottage

Lived-in practicality: oak dressers, settles, plate racks, painted cupboards and plain panelled doors.

14 examples

Double-height mid-century living room with open shelving, wood paneling and tall windows

c. 1945–1970

Mid-Century Modern

Clean lines, warm walnut and teak, slab and slatted fronts, wall-hung storage systems and live-edge craft.

16 examples

Log lobby structure with gnarled branching brackets and railings rising to the roof

Rustic c. 1880–1940; modern 2000s–present

Mountain Modern & Rustic

From national-park lodges and Adirondack camps to today's Colorado homes: heavy timber, stone, warm oak and simple, durable built-ins.

15 examples