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The furnishings in the Federal Parlor reflect the French-inspired taste that dominated American decorative arts after the Revolution. In the Federal period that followed the Revolution, Americans began to look beyond England to France as a model for civilization and as a source for sophisticated furnishings. |
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| Neoclassicism had dominated French design from the middle of the eighteenth century, when discoveries at Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy created a renewed interest in the ancient world. American Neoclassical or Federal furniture is light and delicate with flat surfaces decorated with geometric shapes. |
 
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Straight legs predominate, along with classically inspired decorative motives such as urns, drapery, and swags. Geometric shapes and angular forms replace the exaggerated curves of the Rococo style. |
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