Early American furniture is rudimentary, utilitarian furniture made from local woods. It was brought from or modeled after European furniture styles, particularly from England, France, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and Spain. ​

Simple - Straight lines, simple design, and little ornamentation.

(Contemporary style shown)

The American Colonial period dates from about 1620 to the end of the American Revolution. Popular furniture styles included the familiar designs of Jacobean, Queen Anne, and Chippendale. Most commonly, Colonial American furniture is based pretty extensively on the Jacobean style of English furniture. It is named after James I of England, and covers the period of the reigns of James I and both Charles I and Charles II, 1603 – 1688. It is easy to get confused since there is also Indian Colonial furniture and style, as well as British Colonial, which is Caribbean. Federal describes after the revolution (think Duncan Fyfe rather than Ethan Allen).