ornament took its proper place as a decoration of the construction, and
was subordinate to its design. During the period of Louis XVI the rooms
had rectangular panels formed by simpler moldings than in the previous
reign, with pilasters of delicate design between the panels. The
overdoors and mantels were carried to the cornice and the paneling was
usually of oak, painted in soft colors or white and gilded. Walls were
also covered with tapestry and brocade. Some of the most characteristic
marks of the style are the straight tapering legs of the furniture,
usually fluted, with some carving. Fluted columns and pilasters often
had metal quills filling them for a part of the distance at top and
bottom, leaving a plain channel between. The laurel leaf was used in
wreath form, and bell flowers were used on the legs of furniture. Oval
medallions, surmounted by a wreath of flowers and a bow-knot, appear
very often, and in about 1780 round medallions were used. Furniture was
covered with brocade or tapestry, with shepherds and shepherdesses or
pastoral scenes for the design. The gayest kinds of designs were used in
the silks and brocades; ribbons and bow-knots and interlacing stripes
with flowers and rustic symbols scattered over them. Curtains were less
festooned and cut with great exactness. The canopies of beds became
smaller, until often only a ring or crown held the draperies, and it
became the fashion to place the bed sideways, "_vu de face_."

There was a great deal of beautiful ornament in gilded bronze and ormolu
on the furniture, and many colored woods were used in marquetry. The
fashion of using Sèvres plaques in inlay was continued. There was a
great deal of white and colored marble used and very fine ironwork was
made. Riesener, Roentgen, Gouthiére, Fragonard and Boucher are some of
the names that stand out most distinctly as authors of the beautiful
decorations of the time. Marie Antoinette's boudoir at Fontainebleau is
a perfect example of the style and many of the other rooms both there