Antique & Period Furniture

Bring classic style to your home with traditional furniture and furnishings. The year in which somewhere was built, the architectural details included in each room and the overall ambience of the place will lead you towards a particular look.

Pick up your house keys and purse and head to Blockbusters or your local multiplex. If your home has a history you'll want to reflect that in your design, and one of the best ways to research a look is to watch a classic movie.

Think about the interiors in Scorsese's The Age of Innocence or Merchant Ivory's The Remains of the Day. Consider the backdrops in Dangerous Liaisons and the sets in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. They all place you right in a particular period from which you can pick out ideas. Clearly museums offer a visual resource too. And there are magazines dedicated to period homes and the way to dress them that offer endless listings of useful stockists and suppliers.

By researching the period you'll be guided towards particular colours, patterns and designs. And while you may want the authenticity that antiques provide, you can use your research to include reproduction pieces that reflect a particular age. Don't be too rigid in your interpretation unless you want to live in a museum - it could leave you with a 'repressed' room. Stay in sympathy with your chosen style but feel free to allow one or two quirky elements to creep in to create a more relaxed environment.

MAIN FEATURES

You have really lucked out if your house already has particular features that reflect its age. An original fireplace or architectural mouldings like dado or picture rails, wood panelling, cornicing or even a tiled floor could all be the starting point for your design. Can I just say that if you have an original parquet floor then you must lavish it with affection and show it a great deal of love. Treat all of your original gems with respect. Too often people rip them out without due regard for how this will change the face of the place. But don't despair if you lack these kinds of details, they are easily introduced. Original and reproduction antique fires and mantelpieces can be sourced from manufacturers and reclamation yards. Wood mouldings are simple to fix in place by anyone with even a smidgen of DIY ability and are available in a mix of shapes and styles to suit.

DESIGNER DETAILS

Fabrics have an important role in the period home. Depending on the theme you'll want to look out for sumptuous silk, delicate lace, floral patterned chintzes, heavy damasks or richly coloured velvets. Consider how they were used in the past and you can introduce them today. You could pleat silk and use it as a wall covering for example, a lace panel may make a perfect table runner and a length of velvet might make an ideal throw. The shape of furniture can also influence a mood. Introduce a heavy. imposing mahogany piece for a Victorian-style bedroom or a streamlined sofa in an art deco lounge.

Adding a single choice piece like those above can also create the focus for your room. My advice would be to look out for one purchase that is indicative of the period that you wish to work with and then dress the rest of the room around that. Invest in a chandelier for the lounge, a cheval mirror in the bedroom, an antique washstand in the bathroom or a vintage bedspread in the bedroom.

CHOICES FOR WALLS

From Shaker style to art nouveau and from the eighteenth century to the present day, certain colours are associated with certain styles. If you are looking for a guide you'll find period collections available wherever you shop for paint. It's important to get your walls the right shade because they provide the backdrop to the furniture and furnishings that will dress your room. Also don't forget that wallpaper is an option. If the historians who trace its use back to the 1400s are to be believed, then it has most certainly earned a place in the history of home décor.

If you are looking to create a period setting, treasure your original features, supplement them with some reproduction designs, and history shows that you are on the right track.


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