It's wallpaper week at Apartment Therapy, the perfect time to look at the history of wallpaper. Evidently the Chinese were hanging decorated rice paper on their walls for a couple thousand years, but the history of European wallpaper begins in the 16th century. More

Wicker furniture might seem like an invention of the Victorian era, but that's just when it hit the English and American markets. In fact, wicker is one of the oldest methods of making furniture, common all over the world for thousands of years. But wait, I'll bet you're wondering what wicker is exactly, am I right? So let's define our terms, and take a quick look at the history of wicker. More

For the last few years, barrel-shaped ceramic stools have been a popular decorating accessory, adding luster, color or texture to a space while serving as little side tables or room accents. But where do they come from, and where were they traditionally used? Okay, the answer is in the title of the post: they come from China, and they were traditionally used in gardens. But read on to learn more about the fascinating origins of this familiar form. More

Now that we've reached asphalt-melting temperatures in New York, it's time to start thinking about breezes skimming across lakes, icy tumblers full of Pimm's Cup, and the rustic luxury of a quiet hour spent in an Adirondack chair. Which for me, design history nerd, means that it's also time to start thinking, what ARE Adirondack chairs anyway, and where did they come from? More

The British Colonial look is always especially appealing during these tropical New York City summers, when creamy neutral spaces provide a cool haven from sizzling concrete. Caned furniture is classic in a colonial interior. Lightweight and airy, it seems at home in a palm house or on a veranda (image 1). But while cane was especially popular during the Victorian height of the British Empire, it is one of the most ancient techniques of furniture manufacture, used by Tibetan warriors, Peruvian princesses, and Egyptian pharaohs, for thousands of years. More

The Arco lamp is one of those classic designs where form and function meet and live happily ever after. Designed in 1962 by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, it is so practical as to seem almost obvious — how else would you turn a floor lamp into an overhead light? — but the Castiglionis' interest in ready-mades and functionalism makes this design complex in its simplicity. More

We've all seen Marcel Breuer's famous Wassily chair — the first to use tubular steel for a domestic setting — supposedly inspired by a bicycle frame (image 1). Would you believe this chair, maybe the most famous design to emerge from the Bauhaus, is a grandfatherly 87-years-old? More

Oh, IKEA. For some, the name itself conjures up images of off-kilter bookshelves and teetering tables. For others, the modern-on-a-budget wares are necessary to adequately furnish a home. But though IKEA has become an international brand and a consummate capitalist success story, its roots in Scandinavian progressivism — both aesthetic and social — remind us that there's more to the company than meets the eye. More

This week, Maxwell posted about how he raised a yurt in his garden in only 4 hours. For modern Westerners, a yurt is a kind of refined tent, both primitive and sophisticated. But the yurt is a type of structure that has been around for thousands of years. Let's take a look at the history of yurts. More

In the 1950s and '60s, Acapulco became a hot destination for the jet set. Airline ads and other images from the time depict a glamorous, fun beachy town in full technicolor. The rat pack vacationed there, Liz Taylor got married (again) there, Jackie and John Kennedy honeymooned there. And at some point during that era, someone designed the Acapulco chair. More