Gilded Age Dining-Room Aesthetics

“… the notion of allowing the public— one’s friends into the family dining-room was debated vigorously for some time, and was not common in midcentury. It was the existence of new money, of created wealth, that turned the dining-room from a refuge from the world into a place of self-expression and creativity.” — Image taken from the book by Christopher Kimball, “Fannie’s Last Supper”

As the Industrial Revolution elevated the upper middle class in terms of wealth, the dining-room became the domestic showcase. It was a semi-public room, one that could be displayed to one’s peers. This was quite different from the period prior to 1880, when the dining-room’s primary purpose was to reinforce the sanctity of family life. Some dining-rooms featured stained glass and an organ: it was a place for a Christian family to reassert its bonds and its faith.

In fact, the notion of allowing the public— one’s friends– into the family dining-room was debated vigorously for some time, and was not common in midcentury. It was the existence of new money, of created wealth, that turned the dining-room from a refuge from the world into a place of self-expression and creativity. Women, in particular, were interested in being perceived as artists, not just housewives, and thus the home became a blank canvas on which to paint their sensibilities and notions of personal artistry. 

Of course, architects and designers wanted the dining-room to reflect modernity and practicality, hence the pass-through pantry and the sideboard for convenient storage and buffets. In terms of decoration, ferns and trailing ivy were often used in the bay window, paintings of hunting dogs on the walls, fruit on the sideboard, and partially closed blinds on a south-facing window. Many classical motifs were incorporated as well, whether in the wallpaper or through the use of pedestal urns.— From Richard Kimball in “Fannie’s Last Supper,” 2010

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