The chamfered legs and Gainesborough leg are associated with which furniture style?

• A. Hepplewhite
• B. Sheraton
• C. Georgian
• D. Chippendale

Answer: (D)

Understanding how leg shapes signal a style helps you read a piece’s era. Chamfered legs—edges bevelled along the length—together with the Gainsborough leg point to the late 18th-century English design language best captured by the Chippendale style. Chippendale furniture is known for its bold, curvaceous cabriole legs and strong carving, along with refined profiles that use chamfers to give the leg edge and definition. The Gainsborough leg refers to a graceful, outward-curving cabriole leg typical of pieces from this period, often seen in Chippendale examples to achieve both elegance and sturdiness. In contrast, other styles from the period—like Hepplewhite or Sheraton—tend to favor lighter, slender legs with more restrained ornament, and Georgian is a broader era label rather than a leg-design identifier. So the combination of chamfered edges and the Gainsborough leg is most consistently associated with Chippendale.