If you are among the many people enamored with TV period dramas like Bridgerton and Sanditon, the quality of the residential decor on screen could have particularly caught your eye. Unfortunately, though, the prospect of buying an actual period home could be one your bank balance just can’t contemplate. It’s reassuring, then, that there are various simple things you could do to give your home’s interior design an endearingly traditional touch – even if the building’s outer shell was assembled relatively recently.
Paint the walls in warm, medium colours
In an article for the Financial Times, the New York-based designer Thomas Jayne refers to his keenly-held belief that “we practise traditional design not because we lack imagination but because historic designs are tested and true.” He implies that, for a home’s walls currently decked in pure white, he would opt instead for “warmer, medium colours, which are characteristic of historic spaces.” If you want to avoid colour altogether, “a modestly darker neutral” than pure white could serve you well, according to Jayne.
Give each room a sense of symmetry
One article by The Spruce comments on a photo of a particular living room where a Chesterfield sofa acts as a centrepiece and sets the room’s overall tone. Also pictured are matching sets of end tables, table lamps and accent chairs – with the resulting symmetrical arrangement imbuing the space with an elegant and effortless feel. Then there’s the large painting which, hung on the wall emerging from behind the sofa, displays various colours also incorporated elsewhere in the room.
Place a few old rugs around the house
You might already have a fair few rugs like this, even if they are currently just stacked in your attic. If you actually don’t, you probably won’t struggle to source some, such as on eBay or at charity shops. As a general rule, the older a rug is, the stronger the sense of tradition it could bring to your home when placed in full view throughout several of its rooms.
Install some heritage-style lighting fixtures
Jayne explains: “Bringing in textural pendants or chandeliers gives rooms a sense of cosiness and enclosure.” Hence, you could – for example – invest in some vintage-inspired chandeliers to help give your interior decor that Downton Abbey look while allowing for effective mood lighting. You could further contribute to this lighting by adding some old-style table and floor lamps, while Jayne notes: “I would also put picture lighting above select artwork to highlight the pieces.”
Going for a ‘70s style? Then bring in some rattan furniture
Though the weaving technique used to create rattan furniture can be traced back to ancient times, rattan furniture did not become widely popular until the 1960s and 1970s. When used in furniture, rattan and wicker “are the perfect materials to bring a little texture, depth, and fun into the crispness that has permeated new homes and construction for the past few years,” Los Angeles interior designer Stefani Stein says in words quoted on the Better Homes & Gardens website.
No comments:
Post a Comment