Typically made of mahogany, teak or bamboo and featuring a range of fabrics and prints with botanical patterns, antique British Colonial furniture and decor varies as it involved local materials and techniques and spanned centuries of design styles.
As the British Empire expanded from the 16th to the 20th century, its conquest and control of colonies around the world bolstered its wealth through the extraction of resources. Including colonies in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australasia, this spread of often violent subjugation imposed British culture, language and faith on Indigenous peoples. The design of homes was included in this expression of imperial power, with government officials, merchants and military officers creating homes mimicking the luxuries they were used to in England.
Local artisans were commissioned to replicate British designs, resulting in versions of Regency, Chippendale, Sheraton and other styles of furniture being crafted from mahogany, rosewood, ebony and teakwood as opposed to beech and oak, which were more common in Europe. Whereas the colonial furniture for the Portuguese and Dutch regularly had motifs of indigenous flora and fauna, the British tended to want more exact reproductions of their home country’s designs.
To escape the summer heat in places such as India and the Caribbean, British colonizers relocated to airy houses in the hills or plantations, leading to foldable chairs and collapsible desks in the style of military campaign furniture. Rather than upholstery as they might have in Europe, chairs and sofas in the British Colonial style had rattan and cane seating for these higher temperature climates. The contrast between the light textiles and the dark colors of the sturdy furniture became a defining aesthetic of British Colonial interiors.
Find a collection of antique British Colonial outdoor furniture, seating, bedroom furniture, decorative objects and other items on 1stDibs.
Large 19C Rustic Indian Carved Wood Coffee Table
Located in Sheffield, MA
Large and impressive, this plank table top is made with unusual curved wood pieces. Table is supported by six turned legs and iron braces with intricate carved decoration on the apro...
Iron
$8,400
Inlaid Center Table
By David Linley
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Unusual center table crafted in mahogany and walnut veneer with an octagon form top having a sunburst grain design with a floral border inlaid with Macassar ebony, satinwood, sycamor...
Burlap, Ebony, Sycamore, Walnut
Barbados Mahogany Leather Top Rent Table with Sand Box Feet on Casters, C. 1810
Located in Charleston, SC
Barbados mahogany leather top four drawer rent table with a turned bulbous pedestal resting on a tripod base with original sand box feet and brass casters. Early 19th Century
Brass
Vintage Bamboo Chinese Style Demi-Lune Center Table with Open Fretwork Design
Located in North Fort Myers, FL
Introduce an element of refined elegance to your space with this Vintage Bamboo Chinese style demi-lune low profile center table. The table features a distinctive open fretwork design...
Bamboo
Dos Gallos Custom Walnut Wood Round Pedestal Dining or Center Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Custom beehive pedestal table in walnut with dark walnut finish. Elegant piece. Can be made to order I mahogany, walnut or oak, in a variety of ...
Walnut
Louis XV Style Extensively Inlaid Marquetry Center Table
Located in Montreal, QC
Louis XV Style Napoleon III period extensively inlaid marquetry center table in walnut, boxwood and ebonized pearwood and sycomore fitted with gilt bronze mounts and central hidden ...
Walnut
Fine 19th Century Italian Inlaid Center Table, 1840
Located in Rome, IT
A fine 19th century Italian inlaid center table.
Wood
$4,800
H 15 in W 42 in D 42 in
Burl Wood Root Organic Base Large Rounded Square Glass Top Coffee Center Table
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Burled wood root organic base large rounded square glass top coffee center table. Organic free form walnut burl root base coffee table. Studio...
Burl
$3,000
H 27.5 in W 36 in D 36 in
Antique German Biedermeier Mahogany Inlaid Round Center Pedestal Table 36"
Located in Dayton, OH
Antique early 19th century German Biedermeier period mahogany centre / breakfast table featuring round form with inlaid fruitwood design supported by a turned and carved column on t...
Mahogany
Mahogany, Oval Table, circa the 19th Century
Located in Miami, FL
We present you this piece of furniture made of solid mahogany wood and partially veneered with pyramidal mahogany. The whole is dated the second half of the 19th century. The oval ta...
Wood
18th C Style Ming Chinese Bamboo Center Table by Burton-Ching
Located in LOS ANGELES, CA
18th C Style Ming Chinese Bamboo Center Table by Burton-Ching.
Bamboo
$3,890
H 19.69 in W 48.04 in D 27.56 in
Late 19th Century Spanish Carved Coffee table with Wood Stretchers
Located in Miami, FL
Spanish church table or altar from the 19th century with wooden columns and top with a fine line of hand carved marquetry. An unusual shape with a nice shiny patina. Good size for...
Walnut
Large Cloth-Covered Square Coffee Table
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Nice cloth covered square Mid-Century Modern coffee table in style of Karl Springer.
Grasscloth, Seagrass
Mar solid ash wood Coffee Table
Located in Mexico City, MX
The Mar coffee table, with contemporary style, was designed from the interaction and conversation that arise around a central table. This piece of furniture was born to smooth the in...
Wood, Ash
Scandinavian art deco inlaid birch center table
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
Scandinavian art deco inlaid birch center table circa 1920. We are pleased to offer this stunning table which has just been re-polished by hand in our workshop. Circular top with f...
Birch
$3,500
H 29.75 in W 51.75 in D 29 in
Antique Carved Victorian Inlaid Marquetry Center Table Attr to Pottier & Stymus
By Pottier & Stymus
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
This antique Victorian center table, attributed to the renowned New York cabinetmakers Pottier & Stymus, showcases the extraordinary artistry and refinement of late 19th century Amer...
Bronze
Sold
H 28 in W 28 in D 28 in
Late 20th Century British Colonial Tortoise Rattan & Cane Round Center Table
Located in North Fort Myers, FL
stylish Late 20th Century rattan center table by PTMC, designed with a warm tortoise finish and woven cane lower and upper shelf. Its round form and gently flared legs give it a bal...
Rattan
Sold
H 29 in W 28 in D 28 in
Late 20th Century British Colonial Tortoise Rattan & Cane Round Center Table
Located in North Fort Myers, FL
A stylish Late 20th Century rattan center table by PTMC, designed with a warm tortoise finish and woven cane lower and upper shelf. Its round form and gently flared legs give it a ba...
Rattan, Wood
Sold
H 22.25 in Dm 22 in
British Colonial Round Bohemian Faux Burnt Bamboo & Grasscloth Occasional Table
Located in Southampton, NJ
A beautiful 2 tier table having faux burnt bamboo frame with leather wrapped joinery and grass cloth shelves. In absolutely fantastic vintage condition having no damage or signs of w...
Leather, Grasscloth, Bamboo
19th Century Colonial Bamboo Circular Tripod Table
Located in Petworth,West Sussex, GB
A large 19th century Victorian period Colonial bamboo circular occasional table. A circular dish top in hardwood with beautifully hand painted decorati...
Bamboo, Hardwood
British Colonial Style Wicker Pedestal Dining Table
By FS Henemader Antiques, Inc.
Located in Palm Beach, FL
British Colonial style wicker round dining table crafted in woven reed over a sturdy metal frame featuring a spiral woven top and a classic pedestal f...
Metal
Wicker Round Pedestal Dining Table from the Flores Collection
By FS Henemader Antiques, Inc.
Located in Palm Beach, FL
British Colonial style wicker round dining table crafted in woven reed over a sturdy metal frame featuring a spiral woven top and a classic pedestal form. From the Flores Collection...
Wicker, Reed
Near Pair of 19th Century British Colonial Ceylonese Specimen Top Tables
Located in Richmond, VA
Fantastic near pair of 19th century British colonial Ceylonese specimen top tables. Made in British Ceylon during the 19th century, these tables are...
Wood
19th Century Mahogany British Colonial Tilt-Top Table / Jamaica
Located in Nantucket, MA
19th century Anglo-Caribbean tilt-top breakfast table of Regency style. The figured solid mahogany top with crotch-grain cross-banding and reeded edge. The tilt-top supported on a ri...
Mahogany
British Colonial Round Table with Turned Legs
Located in Chicago, IL
This handsome British Colonial round table was found in Northern Thailand but originally from Rangoon, Burma. It is made from teak wood wi...
Teak
19th Century Highly Carved Centre Table
Located in Martlesham, GB
A superb quality 19th century Burmese padauk carved centre table, the base profusely carved all over with leaves, flowers and pineapples, the platf...
Padouk
Vintage British Colonial Style Table
Located in Wilton, CT
A very well-made table manufactured by Woodland Furniture. Lightly distressed solid wood with very well executed Bee Hive Base and over-size Nail-He...
Wood
Bronze Elephant Pedestal Side Table
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Bronze elephant standing on a carved wood plinth with decorative brass nailheads. Surmounted by a bronze pedestal halo with a swag faux rope terminating in four tassels. The trunk up elephant...
Bronze