Decorating In Traditional Style Traditional Style decorating is influenced by the 18th and 19th centuries. Art Deco, Greek, Gothic and Rococo styles are the foundation for this style's elegant elements. It combines the blend of popular trends and toned-down decorative, timeless decor. It is not the reproduction of the past, but reinvented look for the modern home. The aim here is the mixture of the harmony of the past with the contemporary. The overall scale of traditional look is large and was aimed for American middle class in prosperous times. The ceilings used to be magnificently high, which allowed for bigger furniture pieces with larger patterns. The typical living room look for this style would be two huge wind-back chairs placed in front of a brick fireplace, an Oriental rug covering the middle of the room and a few candlestick lamps on the sides of the fireplace. The rooms in the Traditional Style are open and airy. The windows are large, heavily curtained, and let through plenty of natural light. Mahogany and walnut are two kinds of traditional wood. They can be reproduced by staining or faux painting inexpensive wooden furniture. Those techniques can also be used to ornament doors, trims and shelves. Window treatments are elegant and complex. They can be valances, swags or just layers of rich fabric. The draperies are decorated with fringe, tassels, brackets, rosettes and finials.
Furniture is upholstered in rich fabrics, such as velvet and silk. Those fabrics should also have rich patterns like large florals or fancy geometrics. Wallpapers, which are popular in the Traditional Style include classical motifs taken from patriotic symbols, like columns, eagles and wheat sheaves. The designs usually imitate such styles as Georgian, Edwardian or Empire. The colors here are bold from bathroom to living room. To unify them, use similar colors and patterns throughout the house. The color schemes are bold, rich and romantic, combining greens and reds, lavender and yellows. These color combinations in the Traditional Style are very popular in interior decorating, because of their sophistication and elegance.  |