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In 1986, I had been retained to build a classic Regency Pedestal table for a New Hampshire couple that collects high-end antiques. They had recently acquired a set of fine Chippendale chairs, and needed a table to match. As they were quite pleased with that first commission, they came to me in 1998 for additional furnishings for a second home in Naples, Florida.

The table design they chose was a much more elaborate example of Regency period design than their first commission. The design retains the classic oval top with inlaid satinwood border, reminiscent of their New England dining room. However, the pedestal bases of the new table are deeply carved in the Philadelphia style.

The chair they decided upon was from the same time period, but quite another cultural perspective. The Biedermeier period in Austria was a reaction to the excessive ornamentation of earlier European furniture, and emphasized simpler forms rather than surface detail. The primary wood of the period was birch, a light-toned wood that was locally available. Our clients liked the clean lines of this chair design, but chose to stay with cherry wood to match the table.