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Posts Tagged ‘British Colonial style’

British Colonial Style for the Dining Room

Friday, February 18th, 2011

The Brits, especially during the height of Queen Victoria’s 63-year reign when her vast empire was spread over several continents, were ardent travelers and explorers. This is richly evident in the British Colonial style dining room where eclectic, exciting and inviting elements work together, resulting in furniture that is diversely sophisticated. Since British Colonial style celebrates tropical influences and travel to exotic places, this décor style is sure to add a little spice to the room where you spend time with your family and friends.

Color and Texture

Because of the many cultural influences that affected life in the British Colonies, colors were rich and vibrant. But they are usually reserved for the fabrics of upholstered dining room furniture, curtains, area rugs and accessories. Using a variety of bold animal prints and brightly colored fabrics is what makes this style so visually textured and exciting.

When decorating a British Colonial style dining room, color palettes for the walls are quieter and more subtle. Select muted shades of berry, forest, sky or sea. Cool-hued pale yellows and soft reds are also ideal. Should you choose to go the neutral route, use deeper shades as opposed to lighter ones to avoid a “washed out” look.

British Colonial Style Dining Furniture

When British subjects were sent on behalf of Queen Victoria to conduct business, govern territories or protect the empire’s interests in colonial regions like the West Indies, India and East Africa, they of course entertained royals, heads of state and prominent military leaders. Though the dining room or banquet area was dressed to impress, British Colonial dining furniture displayed more relaxed, regional influences while still retaining the formal beauty and dignity of Victorian furnishings.

British Colonial style dining room furniture, usually made from tropical woods like ebony, mahogany and teak is distinguished by rich finishes, either polished or distressed. Typical features of British Colonial style dining tables and dining chairs are curvaceous profiles, sweeping curved lines and relaxed decorative detail. Chair backs, tabletops or tables often had cane, rattan or bamboo insets. Decorative detail could include tropical motifs like shells, botanicals and animal prints. These features would also apply to other dining furniture pieces like buffets and sideboards.

Accessorizing British Colonial Style

It might seem counter-intuitive, but heavier fabrics were used for curtains, essentially to keep out the tropical heat. Swag curtains with ornate valances were commonly used for window treatments while fabrics used for the curtains often included gold thread while tie-backs were made of braided and/or tasseled cords. Another option is to select shutters – they were also a popular way in British Colonies to keep out the heat and the damaging effects of the sun.

British Colonial style dining room accessories could include heavy candlesticks made of wood or brass placed on the dining table or the buffet; a sisal area rug underneath the dining set; hurricane lamps or hurricane style sconces; one or two potted plants in oversized Oriental ceramic planters, or tall case goods like a china cabinet or a curio cabinet.

Come back next Friday when I start a new 3-part style series called Contemporary Loft Furniture Ideas.

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Posted in Dining Room Furniture & Design, Home Decor and Design Ideas, Home Decor Design Ideas, Interior Design Styles | No Comments »

British Colonial Style for the Living Room

Friday, February 11th, 2011

A British Colonial style living room has an appeal and allure that comes from exploring and spending time in exotic lands. While still retaining some of the flamboyance and opulence of the Victorian style, British Colonial living room furniture is noticeably smaller in scale, especially furnishings like the sofa, an armoire or a curio cabinet. The secret to a successful British Colonial living room décor is to mix polished woods with cool, light colored fabrics.

Color and Texture

Start with a cool color palette of green or blue or cooler toned yellows or reds; ones that are pastel or muted – you don’t want anything too bright. Deeper shades of earth toned colors are also good choices.

Plan to add texture wherever you can, but keep it balanced and sophisticated. Simple ways to give a décor a textured appearance is to pile the sofa with accent pillows in different fabrics and patterns; select a window treatment that uses two or more types of material; and place a botanical patterned, animal skin print or sisal area rug on the floor.

British Colonial Style Living Room Furniture

Living room furniture made of woods like mahogany, teak and tropical wood veneers is right at home in a British Colonial style living room. End tables, the coffee table, a console table and an accent chest often include exotic influences like shell motifs, cane accents or animal print insets or tabletops. For finishes you can choose shiny (polished) or “dull” (matte or distressed); if you want to include both, select mostly polished furnishings but add one or two distressed accent pieces to create visual interest (or vice versa).

Accessorizing British Colonial Style

Accessorizing British Colonial style is relatively easy; simply layer textures upon textures. Place a bamboo framed accent chair next to a traditional neutral fabric sofa with plenty of accent cushions in different materials. Include handmade wood candlesticks; a table lamp with a brocade shade in bold colors; an upholstered chair or ottoman in woven fabrics of natural materials.

Come back next Friday for British Colonial Style part 3 when I will be discussing how to create a traditional dining room with those little exotic touches that are visually stunning.

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Posted in Home Decor and Design Ideas, Home Decor Design Ideas, Interior Design Styles, Living Room Furniture & Design | No Comments »

British Colonial Style for the Bedroom

Friday, February 4th, 2011

Like many interior design styles, British Colonial style has its regional distinctions. Largely due to the fact that it evolved over a period of roughly a century and touches most continents, this style, while firmly rooted in traditional design principles and certain, distinct traditions, has many faces. The look we often readily associate with British Colonial is the eclectic appearance of bedroom furniture that arose from the active colonization period of the some of the islands in the Caribbean during Queen Victoria’s reign. But we mustn’t underestimate the influences other exotic locales like India, China and East Africa brought to bear on British Colonial style. No matter; whatever regional emphasis you choose, British Colonial style is ideal for the bedroom because of its lavish, exotic nature.

Color and Texture

In the Old Country where Victorian style held sway, colors were heavy and rich. But once in the Caribbean or in the Orient, walls were typically painted lighter colors. Softly hued walls made the perfect backdrop for the richly embroidered fabrics of India or China; the floral patterns of the Caribbean islands or exotic organic elements like wicker, rattan, antlers, zebra prints, coral and shell. When painting a British Colonial style bedroom, select gentle shades of the sea, the forest, the sun and the desert.

British Colonial Style Bedroom Furniture

The occasional bedroom furniture piece made of metal or one that has metalwork accents is perfectly acceptable. However to get the look, British Colonial style furniture, especially the bed, is made of wood. Since they were so far from home, local woods were used instead. British Colonial bedroom furniture is typically made of tropical woods such as mahogany and teak with dark, rich finishes. Because the expatriates were often moved from posting to posting, furniture pieces were smaller in scale and tended to be lighter in weight than their Victorian counterparts. British Colonial style furniture might have been scaled down, but decorative detail was still lush and ornate, while profiles consisted of sweeping and curvy lines. Case goods like armoires, dressers and nightstands often included cane insets, louvered doors or panels or bamboo accents.

Accessorizing British Colonial Style

Use botanical prints for fabrics for bed benches, curtains, bedding sets and upholstered occasional chairs. Accessories for a British Colonial style bedroom are sophisticated and can incorporate travel-related items such as trunks, suitcases or sepia photographs in burnished metal or cast iron frames. You can also incorporate objets de arte that reflect the flavor and customs of the region like drums, pottery pieces or brass hurricane lamps. Table lamps often have tropical motifs like pineapples, palm leaves and sea shells.

A British Colonial style bedroom is the ultimate in luxury, with its hint of adventure and the trace of tropical sea breezes. Come back next Friday for British Colonial Style part 2.

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Inspiration from the Tropics for a Master Bedroom

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

For many of us, the bedroom is the one room of the house where we physically and mentally shut the door on a busy world that constantly demands our time and attention. The master bedroom especially should be a retreat that will relax, refresh and revive you. Don’t let space and your budget, (or lack thereof), stop you from designing the master bedroom that you deserve. There are ways to create the look of a luxury tropical resort without spending a lot of cash. When decorating a master bedroom, the overall look should be tranquil, comfortable and luxurious, so taking inspiration from the tropics makes perfect sense.

Traditional style as adapted by colonists, particularly British colonists of the Victorian Empire is the perfect example of how tropical materials and motifs were incorporated into bedroom furniture construction and design for a look that spells the ultimate in style and sophistication. The Tommy Bahama Home Island Estate Barbados 3 Drawer Chest brings a tropical feel into the bedroom interior design through the use of leather wrapped carved wood posts made to resemble bamboo. The lamp has a woven rattan shade, a common material found in tropical areas of the globe. It’s the little details that add up to a master bedroom that will be your own personal tropical retreat.

In a master bedroom, the bed will be the natural focal point of the room. Popular choices when choosing a bed for you master bedroom are the four poster bed, the canopy bed or the sleigh bed. Because of their imposing and commanding profiles – soaring posts for the poster and canopy beds, a covered frame top or draperies for the canopy bed and the sinuous “S” curves of the sleigh bed panels – any one of these types of beds will provide the perfect stage for layers of pillows and accent cushions in exotic fabrics silks and brocades. Ditto for when choosing bedding to dress the bed. Bedding and upholstered accent chairs or bed benches can also include exotic animal prints.

For a master bedroom to be inspired by the tropics, bedroom furniture should be constructed of tropical woods such as teak, mahogany and ebony or have rich, medium to dark finishes. Case goods like dressers, bachelor chests and nightstands commonly include pineapple motifs, faux bamboo posts and cane or rattan panels. Bedroom furniture accent pieces, including bed benches and armoires, can have louvered or open lattice doors or accents. Do you ever dream of retiring to your own tropical island? Well, just open the door to your bedroom.

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