Today in part two of our series, we’ll discuss how to create a regal looking living room that will be fit for royalty – and you and your family too. Window treatments should be made of richly draped fabrics such as velvets and damasks. Accent pillows and cushions will have gold braid and gold tassels. Area rugs are opulently patterned in classic Oriental style. Grand and stately, all the living room furniture in the room should be traditional style pieces that are oversized and impressive, designed to make a statement with their stunning presence. It’s all about creating a space that possesses timeless beauty combined with contemporary functionality.
Royal Colors
The two colors most closely associated with royalty are purple and red. Any tone of these two colors will you’re your living a luxurious feel. Jewel shades such as ruby, jade, sapphire, amethyst, topaz and emerald are also good choices for a traditional style living room, especially one with a Victorian ambience. Deep, muted shades (from Benjamin Moore) are the best for emphasizing the sumptuous wood finishes of the traditional furniture made of mahogany, walnut, teak or cherry.
Royal Furniture
Generally, when choosing living room furniture for your castle or palace, select traditional sub styles that have a royal ring like Queen Anne, Louis Philippe and Victorian. The most recognizable features of Queen Anne style furniture cabriole legs, the pad foot and shell or fan carvings. Victorian style furniture is typically opulent, “heavy” and lavishly decorated with detailed carvings and intricate scrollwork. Louis Philippe style furniture is distinguished by pedestal bases, bracket feet, do decorative motifs and smooth lines with rounded profiles.
The Office Star Queen Ann Traditional Blood Sofa has the signature cabriole legs, rounded back and delicately rolled arms.
If you prefer the dramatic and ornate styling of Victorian furniture, choose the Distinction Leather Tufted Chesterfield Leather Sofa. It possesses classic, oversized rolled arms, tufted upholstery and bun feet.
The Distinction Leather Tufted Chesterfield Leather Sofa has the framed, “squared-off” profile characteristic of the Louis Philippe style.
The American Drew Bob Mackie Nutmeg Coffee and End Table Set definitely displays Queen Anne sensibilities, with its cabriole legs and fan motif carvings.
Should you wish to add a bookcase in the Louis Philippe style to your living room, the Louis Philippe Cherry Bookcase perfectly demonstrates cabinetry set on a pedestal base with bracket feet. Note the rounded corners of the molding.
No contemporary home can be without a TV. Give your home theater or entertainment center a touch of royalty Victorian style with the Parker House Grandview Deluxe X-pandable Plasma Entertainment Center.
Accessorizing Royally
Especially if you have chosen Victorian style for your royal living room, Victorians are well-known for their penchant for excessive accessorizing: in a well-appointed Victorian parlor, literally ever surface would be covered by doilies, embroidered runners, figurines, heavy brass or silver candlesticks and ornately decorated lamps. Large portraits or landscapes in elaborately carved wood frames would decorate the walls. However, luxurious accessorizing, although not to quite the extent as in a Victorian style living room, also applies to Queen Anne and Louis Philippe styles. When making a royal statement, layer the room’s look by including different textured fabrics; don’t forget to mix nubbed wools, course tweeds, embroidered seat cushions and accent pillows with velvets and brocades in reds purples and dark greens.
Come back next week when we will be discussing how to design a traditional style dining room that will definitely make a royal impression.
