Gebruder Knake

Spanning an era of cultural rebirth in Europe that harkened back to antiquity, the Renaissance was a time of change in design. From the late 1400s to the early 1600s, Rome, Venice and Florence emerged as artistic centers through the expansion of global trade and a humanist belief in the arts being central to society. Antique Renaissance furniture was ornately carved from sturdy woods like walnut, its details standing out against the tapestries and stained glass adorning the walls.

Renaissance chests, which were frequently commissioned for marriages, were often decorated with gilding or painted elements. Those that were known as cassoni were crafted in shapes based on classical sarcophagi. As opposed to the medieval era, when furniture was pared down to the necessities, a wide range of Renaissance chairs, tables and cabinets were created for the home, and the designs regularly referenced ancient Rome.

Large torchères of the Renaissance era that were used as floor lamps were inspired by classical candelabras, while marble surfaces evoked frescoes. The inlaid boxes being imported from the Middle East informed the intarsia technique, which involved varying hues of wood in mosaic-like patterns, such as those by architect Giuliano da Maiano in the Florence Cathedral.

Tapestry-woven cushion covers accented the variety of Renaissance seating — from conversation to study chairs — while bookcases for secular use reflected the migration of culture and knowledge from the church into the home. The aesthetics of the Italian Renaissance later spread to France through the publishing of work by renowned designers, including Hugues Sambin and Jacques Androuet du Cerceau. Centuries later, the 19th-century Renaissance Revival would see a return to this influential style.

Find a collection of antique Renaissance case pieces, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.

Pay tribute to a history of rich and diverse musical traditions that have taken shape all over the world by decorating your home with a collection of antique and vintage musical instruments.

Whether you’re playing them or merely displaying them, vintage musical instruments, when cared for properly, can be a wonderful addition to any space. At between four and five feet in length, an elegant early-1900s Steinway & Sons baby grand piano will undoubtedly steal the show if you’re thinking of yielding some precious real estate to one of these American classics, but maybe you’re simply shopping for art to warm the bare walls of your new apartment or weekend home.

For your living room, maybe you’ve already hunted down portraits by Gered Mankowitz, a celebrated 1960s-era photographer who spent his life capturing iconic images of music’s biggest stars. If you’ve got more space to work with there — or perhaps you need some entertainment room ideas — consider positioning an old guitar as a focal point. If a room has no distinguishing architectural features, you could create a prominent focal point with trending paint colors, stylish shelving, an arrangement of flowers or by wall-mounting a spectacularly aging early-20th-century guitar or other stringed instrument.

Alternatively, much in the way that you might group a collection of artwork to hang salon-style, with a little help from strong hanging wire or some wall hooks, vintage brass instruments such as a gong, French horn or trumpet can help elevate a home office or complement the efforts you’ve made to ensure a welcoming vibe in your home’s entryway. Bells or antique wind instruments can add provocative metallic contrasts to dark woods as tabletop decorative objects. Think of them as eye-catching ornamental flourishes that you can bring to end tables in a common area, to the top of a desk or to a mid-century storage cabinet.

Bring culture and creativity into your space with decades-old plywood tabletop radios or musical instruments from all over the world — be they drums from Africa or harps from France. Even if you’re not exactly getting the band back together, we can promise that the range of antique and vintage instruments on 1stDibs can help strike a meaningful chord in your interior design plan.