Another stop inside ʻIolani Palace
THE FURNITURE THAT BROUGHT ʻIOLANI PALACE TO LIFE
Inside the Royal Rooms, One Furnishing at a Time
By Teresa Davis | Travel & Lifestyle Explorer
One of the rooms I photographed inside ʻIolani Palace, where the furniture, rugs, draperi
es and polished floors work together as part of the room itself.
More Than Rooms in a Historic Palace
After writing about the outside of ʻIolani Palace and its grand staircase, I wanted to look more closely at another part of the experience: the furniture. My photographs captured beds, chairs, settees, tables, desks and cabinets, but they also captured how those pieces were arranged inside the restored rooms.
That is what makes this part of the Palace interesting to me. The furnishings help the rooms feel less like empty historic spaces and more like rooms that once had a purpose - places for sleeping, sitting, reading, writing and receiving visitors.
A Palace Furnished for Royal Life
According to ʻIolani Palace, 225 pieces of furniture were ordered from A.H. Davenport Co. of Boston while the new Palace was being constructed. The four second-floor bedrooms used similar furniture forms but different woods and upholstery schemes. Many original pieces were later dispersed, and the Palace continues to recover and research furnishings that once belonged here. Explore the official ʻIolani Palace furniture collection.
Queen Kapiʻolani’s Bedroom: Red, Mahogany and Gilt
The Palace identifies Queen Kapiʻolani’s bedroom as originally furnished with mahogany furniture, red curtains and red upholstery. That makes the red bedroom photographs among the pieces in my collection that can be identified with the most confidence. The Palace furniture collection also documents a cylinder fall desk in Queen Kapiʻolani’s bedroom and a mahogany-and-gilt bedstead with a half tester. Read the Palace description of the Queen’s Bedroom.
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Two views of the ornate red half-tester bed and its carved woodwork, canopy treatment, lace trim and richly patterned bedding.
A wider view of the Queen’s room shows red draperies, upholstered seating, a writing desk and decorative tables around the restored space.
A historic photograph displayed in the room adds another layer of context beside the furnishings and red draperies.
The bed is the piece that visually dominates these photographs. The dark carved wood, red fabric, lace and decorative motifs make it feel designed as a complete composition rather than simply a place to sleep. Nearby, the desk and smaller tables show another side of a private royal room: a space that also accommodated writing, personal objects and everyday routines.
Furniture as Part of the Whole Room
In another room I photographed inside the Palace, the furniture is arranged almost like a conversation. Tufted upholstered chairs face inward around smaller tables, while a taller red chair stands apart. A dark decorative cabinet or screen, framed artwork, large draperies and a chandelier fill out the room.
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Two views of a room I photographed inside the Palace, with tufted chairs, carved wood furniture, a tall red chair, artwork and an ornate chandelier.
A closer view makes the variety of seating easier to see, including the unusual curved upholstered piece in the foreground.
I am intentionally not assigning a room name to these photographs because I cannot verify the room confidently from the available official descriptions. What can be seen clearly is the attention to shape, upholstery, woodwork and placement. Even the seating pieces are not all alike, which gives the room a collected rather than uniform appearance.
Curves, Carving and Upholstery
Another room I photographed inside the Palace: a blue-gray tufted chaise, a richly patterned round table and a green-topped table framed by tall windows and draperies.
This room has a completely different character. The blue-gray chaise introduces a softer shape, while the round table in the foreground has a highly decorative top and carved base. It is a good example of why I wanted to focus an entire article on the furniture: every room seems to offer another combination of form, fabric, wood and pattern.
Another Bed, Another Color Story
A blue-draped bed in a room I photographed inside the Palace. Without stronger documentation, I’m leaving the room itself unidentified rather than guessing.
This bed shows how dramatically color changes the feeling of a room. The blue canopy fabric, pale lace and lighter bedding create a very different impression from the red mahogany-and-gilt setting associated with Queen Kapiʻolani’s bedroom. The carved wooden frame still carries the same sense of craftsmanship that caught my attention elsewhere in the Palace.
The Details Around the Furniture
A decorative table, glass-covered floral arrangement, mirror and dark cabinetry in another room I photographed inside ʻIolani Palace.
The furniture does not stand alone. Mirrors, framed portraits, chandeliers, rugs, draperies, lace coverings and decorative objects all contribute to how these rooms read visually. Looking back through my photographs, I notice just how much of the experience came from those layers of detail.
Why Some Palace Furnishings Are Still a Mystery
There is a reason to be cautious when identifying individual pieces. After the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, Palace contents were inventoried and furnishings not needed for government use were sold at public auction. The Friends of ʻIolani Palace has spent decades locating, recovering and preserving original Palace and monarchy objects, while some original furniture remains missing. Curators use historic photographs, inventories, newspaper accounts and identifying marks to research objects. Learn about the Palace collections and recovery work.
Teresa’s Take
What I noticed most: The variety - carved beds, tufted seating, desks, tables, cabinetry and decorative pieces all had their own personality.
The room with the strongest color story: Queen Kapiʻolani’s red bedroom, where the mahogany furniture and red textiles create a dramatic setting.
The detail worth slowing down for: The carving, upholstery, lace, rugs and small decorative objects surrounding the larger furniture pieces.
What the furniture added to the visit: It helped me see the Palace not only as a historic landmark, but as a royal residence made up of rooms that once served everyday purposes.
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About Teresa
 | Hi, I’m Teresa Davis, a Florida travel and lifestyle writer sharing memorable destinations, food experiences and discoveries from my travels. |
Every destination has a story. Thanks for exploring this one with me.
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