The regency of Philippe d'Orléans lasted from 1715 to 1723, but the Regency style emerged at the beginning of the century and continued into the reign of Louis XV. The Regency state of mind was a reaction to the strict rules of etiquette in the Louis XIV court. The turn was toward intimacy, comfort, distraction and pleasure and away from the stiff ceremony of the court. The glory and majesty of the Louis XIV era gave way to the grace and charm of the Régence whose elegance is reflected in the new furniture of the day.

Abroad
England: End of Queen Anne period
Italy: End of Baroque period
Spain: Philip V style (imitation Boulle)

Furniture
The furniture of the Régence period became less bulky in the interest of comfort and intimacy. Pieces of furniture became smaller, easier to move and more numerous. Their lines grew more fluid and curvaceous. Forms were more elegant and agreeable to the eye. Régence is a transitional style with conservative and new elements in the same piece.

Materials and Techniques
Oak was the wood of choice for the finest furniture pieces. Pine and poplar were used for the more ordinary ones. Beech, walnut, fruitwoods or lime wood was used for seating. Natural woods were favored but gilded wood remained in fashion for consoles, ceremonial chairs and frames.

The use of wood veneer was widespread. Rosewood and kingwood were the most prized veneers. Marquetry of colored woods was set into ebony backgrounds, often in geometric patterns.

Bronze fittings were used around desk- and tabletops, as drawer reinforcements and handles, as protective sabots, or shoes, and as console espagnolettes to protect projecting corners. These fittings were of ormolu, also called bronze doré.

Ornament
Ornament in the Régence style is softer than in the Louis XIV style but not so supple as in the Louis XV style that it is indistinguishable from the armature it supports. Overall compositions remain symmetrical for the most part. Curved profiles become the norm. Right angles are softened by decorative motifs.

Moldings become thinner and less imposing than under Louis XIV and are in low relief. Indents and bronze fittings mask corners. Furniture of solid wood is decorated with delicate ornament on panels fielded by moldings.

Decorative motifs were widely used in both carved and bronze-mount form. Masks and mascarons are still present, but they are replaced by smiling heads of fauns and women. The lion's head from the Louis XIV style disappears. Espagnolettes, or female busts emerge from console legs and on projections of corners on desks, chests of drawers and console tables. Scallop shells are the most characteristic motif of the Régence style, but they are more natural in appearance, never twisted, as they would be under Louis XV. The bat's wing, not to be confused with the scallop shell, is also used. Toward the end of the Régence period, monkeys, dolphins, dragons, birds and chimeras appear as a decorative motif. Motifs of vegetal origin include less stylized palmettes than under Louis XIV. Acanthus leaves are longer and suppler and are worked in everywhere. Waterleaves, palm fronds and gadrooned leaves are also widely used. Some motifs of exotic origin such as pagodas, peacock feathers, parasols, humpback bridges, misshapen rocks and exotic flowers also appear.