Tommy Smythe- HGTV star, Sarah's House co-host and Toronto has made over his historic home into a residence with glitz and glamour. Hollywood Regency has been known to combine the high end elements such as polished marble, glossed walls, classic panelled cabinets, crown moulding and tufted furniture gussied up with accents of brass silver and gold. Geometrical patterns are very popular in this style, and commonly implemented with stone floors, patterned rugs, painted or stone walls, tile and art work.
Borrow a Few Ideas From Smythe:
1 -In the few pictures of his home, you can see the house is not cluttered, which is a key to any design. You can see he only features the very best in his house, which means he donated the rest of his junk that doesn't pertain to his style, and so should we.
2 -Incorporate a great geometrical pattern in your room. Having a good rug with a strong pattern can go a long way. Zebra rugs are very popular and add a graphic print to the room in a very glamorous way.
-3 Hang a handmade over-sized graphic oil painting with lots of color on the wall, and spend your money on great furniture. Color isn't necessary, but having a pop of color can go a long way with this style. You don't even have to spend lots of money doing this.
Shop around for a over-sized frame from your local thrift store, or second hand store. If you have the money find a high quality frame and make the artwork yourself. Once you have the room together, over time, you can exchange out the graphic print with another print online at a later date.
If the frame has a canvas print inside already you can paint over the existing picture. If not, take a piece of thin wood purchased at your local hardware store, and cover it with canvas and staple it into the frame. Home Depot allows you to buy sample paint sold for a couple dollars each, which you can paint your own geometrical pattern on to. Pick out your favorite colors or leave the paintings to the end of the project and choose colors that will tie your design together. All you need is tape, paint, and a good looking gilt wood frame.
4 - Spend your money on high end furniture. Look at Smythe's home. You can carefully tell he really put a lot of thought into his furnishings. Ebay is the perfect place to buy Klismos chairs, and other high end Regency pieces. They are so hard to find, but such a great investment. Good looking furniture captures the attention, and KEEPS the attention over the years.
5 -Keep your eyes open for a dining room set of chairs in the Hollywood Regency style. A set of chairs can be broken up in a living room, and lined against the wall or accenting a sofa. A room that has common elements which group together nicely presents better than a bunch of miss-matched furniture.
7 - Gloss walls are a signature style of Hollywood Regency. You can see Smythe painted one of his rooms in a high gloss black. Black or any dark color for that matter can bring a very very dark appearance to a room. One time, we painted our living room in a really dark navy. The room had two windows, and it felt like a dungeon. When working with dark paint colors, consider if you have enough light coming into the room naturally to pull it off, otherwise count on a high electricity bill from all the lighting you have to install. One way to get around this is to purchase a set of over-sized matching mirrors that you can hang on the walls. Adding a number of WHITE hand drawn prints on a light yellow or white background will produce a layered effect. Painting your walls a dark color can be very RICH and captivating. To pull it off you need to bring in the light by layering the walls in lighter frames, mirrors, or art work.
8 - Don't skip on quality. Look at Smythe's dining room, and you will understand that less is MORE, and Quality is MORE! His cabinetry is painted in white, and the walls are tiled in a white subway tile. The window frames are painted white, giving attention to the amazing tiled floor. Again here we see a geometrical pattern, and it is well done!
For additional Flooring inspiration see these posts:
9 - My last tip is to not forget about natural wood finishes. They ground the outrageous looks of the Hollywood Regency style. Sometimes the flamboyant nature of the glamorous style of Hollywood Regency needs a foot in reality. Natural wood chairs, with earthy leather really ground this style well. You can see this element in action in one of Smythe's rooms. Amongst black walls, wild zebra patterns, gold and lots of pattern, the wood furniture provides a breath of fresh air and balance to the room.
Clarence House is located in London in the city of Westminster. For over 50 years it was the residence of the Queen Mother and was also the official residence of H.R.H. Prince Charles and Camilla until 2009. The house was commissioned by William IV and built between 1825~ 1827 by John Nash
The north wing (facing the north private garden and Green Park beyond) contains the apartments used by the Queen and Prince Phillip. The Queen uses the "Queen's Apartment" - which runs from the northwest corner to about the middle of that wing. In addition to the Queen's Bedroom, Dressing Room, Bathroom, and Sitting Room, is an AnteRoom (just outside the Queen's Bedroom), a private Dining Room (adjoining the Sitting Room), and a few smaller rooms near the NW corner. At that point her private suite connects to the Queen's Audience Chamber (facing the west gardens), then another good size room (name unknown), then finally the Royal Closet. Beyond the Royal Closet is the White Drawing Room, the first of the proper State Apartments on the west front.
Prince Phillip's suite is what was known as the "King's Apartments" in past reigns. In Victoria's time it was occupied by her mother the Duchess of Kent. Starting in the middle of the wing (where the Queen's Apartment leaves off) and headed toward the Mall is the King's Dressing Room (and bath), the King's Bedroom, Sitting Room, and Study. (Note: The names of these rooms have changed over time). Beyond the Study are two smaller rooms- the Indian Room and the Chinese Room, and the wing completes at the Chinese Dining Room which is at the northeast corner.
A wide corridor extends the full length of these apartments facing the Quadrangle, and on the Quadrangle side in the middle is the Queen's Staircase, flanked by two small rooms which I've been alternatively told were small libraries, or rooms for attendants.
Regency Furniture- Walnut Drum Card Games Casino Roulette Table From Abbey Antiques Ebay
Abbey Antiques is selling a sensational burl walnut George III / George IV / Regency design games roulette table. The table stands on a very attractive burl walnut and carved gilt paw and wing foot tripod base with the paws with decorative Eros wings rising back from the feet. Each foot has a different figure or mask featuring a theatrical mask, a sitting frog and a lion. Rising over this are the splay burl walnut veneered legs and solid mahogany column with a faux burl walnut painted finish with a standard solid mahogany block. Rising over this is the circular drum table with six flush fit and push open and close drawers, each draw fitted with a different architect's style lecturn which folds up to store playing cards.
In front of each of these drawers, in the top, is a lift up lid to protect your cards from view from across the table. You have to love that feature!!
Either side there are chip stores, each place marked by a diamond in different colours, matching or near matching the leather inlays on the lecturns. To the centre is a very decorative 'lazy susan' style spinning centre, the top cover having radial burl walnut veneers which match the panels to the top. On the reverse side is a green baize for card playing, the underside having an inset black, almost velcro covered centre piece and a third layer forming a mahogany polished layer. The table comes complete with chips and a roulette wheel!
A very nice quality and most unusual games table having excellent quality burl walnut veneers which would be very expensive, having a rich walnut colour. The roulette table is Italian made by "Treviso - Made in Italia" "Dal negro" and in solid mahogany with a chromium plated wheel to the centre.
Thomas Hope was the eldest son of John Hope, a Dutch merchant of Scottish extraction and a member of a very wealthy and powerful family of merchants and bankers who had settled, four generations earlier, in Holland.
By the early 1780s the merchant bank of Hope & Co were in the business of raising large sums for kings and governments throughout Europe and in the United States of America, and were recognised as one of Europe’s greatest banking dynasties.
After the death of his father in 1784, Thomas shared his father’s fortune with his two brothers but appears never to have been active in the management of the lucrative family business, which remained the source of his considerable wealth. The fortune allowed him to devote fill time energy to the arts.
Hope's extensive travels in Europe, Greece, Turkey and Egypt inspired his interest in antiquities as a source of designs for Regency interiors, furniture and metalwork.
Regency Egyptian Revival Style Armchairs By Thomas Hope
Grand Thomas Hope Chair
After years of travel, Hope, at the age of twenty six, returned to acquire an Adam House in Duchess Street, Portland Place, London. This city was none other than the very city his family had fled to during 1794 in anticipation of the French invasion of Holland. The house was designed by Robert Adam, which he remodelled with a series of themed interiors. The colourful interiors of Duchess Street and of Hope's country house, Deepdene in Surrey, played a unique role in the history of collecting, interior design and display.
Both were open to select visitors, but his furniture reached an even wider public through his book, Household Furniture and Interior Decoration. Published in 1807, this book introduced the term 'interior decoration' into the English language.
Hope established himself in London as a scholarly collector of art, an interior designer and a patron of artists and craftsmen.
Records show how Hope’s considerable wealth enabled him to collect many paintings, sculptures, antique objects and books, which were displayed in the Duchess Street mansion and at the Deepdene, his country house in Surrey.
Thomas's brother shared his passion with collecting, and became influential in many London societies connected with the arts.
Regency Style Egyptian Settee By Thomas Hope
In 1804 Hope opened exhibition galleries, after having had the Duchess Street house extended by one of the foremost architects and designers of the period, Charles Heathcote Tatham, where visitors paid for admission by ticket. The popular view of Hope was as ‘the Furniture Man’. There he was met with compliments and enthusiastic supporters; but also hostile critics. Hope’s ambitions pressed on regardless of criticism as he sketched designs for furniture, room interiors which he included in books Household Furniture and Interior Decoration (1807); Costumes of the Ancients (1809); Designs of Modern Costumes (1812); and posthumously An Historical Essay on Architecture, with the illustrations based on early Hope drawings (1835).
Hope's influence continued long after his death, partly because of his book. His designs appeared in trade journals and books on interior design, and though the Duchess Street house was demolished in 1851. In 1917 his collection was dispersed in a great sale at The Deepdene. This led to a renewed interest in Hope's vision for objects designed by him. Collections were displayed in Europe and the USA, reaching a wider public view.
Hope's style influenced the Regency Revival of the 1920s and '30s, and even Art Deco design.
Buscot Park Hall- Pair of Ebonised Gilt chairs From The Thomas Hope Suite
Buscot Park is a glorious example of the Regency style. The estate was built by Edward Loveden Loveden between 1779 and 1783 for Edward Loveden Loveden. The house was inspired by the architecture of the great Renaissance architect, Andrea Palladio. Most of the furniture here is of the Regency period, and reflects the revival of interest in that style in the inter-war years.
The entrance hall's gilt-metal chandelier from Barnsley Park
Most of the decorative scheme in The Hall is due to the 2nd Lord Faringdon, who inherited Buscot in 1934, and who acquired the celebrated suite of Thomas Hope furniture especially for this room.
The large ebonised and gilt couch, and the pair of chairs standing in front of the scagliola pillars, are in the Egyptian taste that became fashionable after the battle of the Nile (1798). They, together with the ebonised and gilt torchères, were made for Thomas Hope, the pioneer of Regency furniture design, and are illustrated in his Household Furniture and Interior Decoration (1807) as part of the furnishing of the ‘Egyptian Room’ at Duchess Street, his London residence off Portland Place.
The tripod-stand behind the couch, ebonised and gilt, with lion monopodia supports, is in the manner of George Smith, the cabinet-maker whose pattern book of 1808 (A Collection of Designs for Household Furniture and Interior Decoration) did much to popularise the Regency style.
At the far end of the Hall is a pair of ormolu-mounted French Empire side-tables in mahogany with marble tops. The tables carry Empire figures of kneeling cupids in ormolu, and Sèvres bleu celeste shell-shaped dishes of 1756, which were originally simply painted with flowers, but when mounted in ormolu,
the turquoise grounds and bird paintings were added (perhaps by Edward Holmes-Buldock c.1830).
The pair of amboyna and giltwood tables, with pineapple motif stems,supporting seventeenth-century panels of Genoese marquetry, reflect the antiquarian taste that became fashionable under the Prince Regent's influence, and were bought at the Hartwell House sale in the 1930s. The ormolu candelabra on the mantelpiece, their four-branched lights supported by winged figures, are
French of the Empire period, in the manner of Thomire. Either side of the chimney-piece are two eighteenth-century gout stools.
A cut glass chandelier in George III style In The Dutch Room
The Dutch Room was created out of two smaller rooms in the 1930s, during the 2nd Lord Faringdon’s extensive alterations to the house. The Dutch Room has a plasterwork ceiling and frieze made at that date in the Adam style. In this room exist a set of six single chairs, two stools and settee, is of the Chippendale
period. relief. Two satinwood commodes with concave fronts, inlaid with paterae, are closely related to Chippendale’s work in the neo-classical style of about 1775.
Between the windows is an unusual pair of side-tables of the Sheraton period, completely veneered with tortoiseshell, stained green and red. The oval mirrors above are giltwood frames with festoons of husks, paterae and ribbons which are supreme examples of the Adam style. At the far end of the room are a pair of fine inlaid cabinets. The highly elaborate tops of the cabinets,decorated with red-stained tortoiseshell and engraved bone, date from the mid-seventeenth century.
Regency Style Decorating -Buscot Park Sitting Room
The Sitting Room date from the 1930s, when the 2nd Lord Faringdon made extensive alterations to Buscot, intending to return the house to its original eighteenth-century appearance.
Regency Style Decorating -Buscot Park Sitting Room
Regency Style Decorating -Buscot Park Sitting Room
As in the Hall beyond, most of the furniture here is of the Regency period. This style can be seen in the rosewood sofa table at the western end of the room, and the pair of rosewood card tables, with elegant lyre-shaped supports, made by the leading cabinet-makers of the day, Gillows of Lancaster. In the room eight single chairs with sabre legs, grained to simulate rosewood, exemplify a type of painted decoration characteristic of the period. The pair of Regency mahogany bergere chairs are a recent acquisition. The chandelier is a good example of a Regency glass ‘lustre’, and the gilt pelmet boards, with elaborate scrolls are of the same period, moved here from the Drawing Room at Barnsley Park, when Nash carried out his alterations there between 1807 and 1809.
Don't discount a vintage trunk the next time you run across one in an antique or second hand store. Decorating with trunks presents limitless opportunities around your home. Almost every decorating photograph involving trunks shows Louis Vuitton trunks, but you don't have to limit yourself to name brand luggage. There has been countless times where I have run across great looking rustic slatted wood trunks with old fashioned leather straps. Other trunks are all brass plated, making them just like a piece of jewelery in your home. Often times these trunks aren't overly expensive. Ebay has a number of spectacular trunks which are very affordable, making it possible to collect a few to stack up tall on a small feature wall. The brass hardware on trunks make them irresistible to me. I love the trunks like the one below which feature a combination of wood, brass tack details and leather.
Decorating With Trunks -2002 Steven Klein Liya Kebede
Stacking Trunks- Some Ideas For Decorating With Trunks
Many times you can get trunks cheap enough that you can paint the details the color that coordinates with your interior.
Consider a stack of trunks in two tone colors. For Example - consider painting 3 trunks in a blue color range, say peacock, navy, and cobalt blue, and an orange trunk. Work with the color wheel to determine the colors.
Consider faux painting your trunks. Buy an overhead projector and copy a pattern on to overhead projector paper and paint on a geometrical pattern that appeals to you.
Make your walk in closet extra grand by setting one aside for a stack of old trunks. They make excellent storage while at the same time looking fabulous.
1920s Louis Vuitton ‘Malle Courier’ In orange Style Court Blog
Decorating With Trunks -Designer Tony Espuch
Decorating With Trunks - Darryl Carter Louis Vuitton
Often times when people think about decorating with a particular color, they automatically gravitate by painting the walls that hue and accessorizing with coordinating furniture. There certainly isn't anything wrong with that approach, although for many people who adore bold pops of color they tend to be at a loss because they don't want it splashed on their walls.
Here is a room that shows us how to use color in a very sophisticated approach. They have done everything right! Some of the nicest designed interiors base their homes around high end architectural materials, and well chosen antiques that reflect the owners style. Many times these homes let the architecture speak for itself, and the furniture is often carefully chosen pieces of art themselves. A kitchen which has beautiful cabinetry doesn't need a dozen accessories, but rather one masterpiece bowl sitting on the counter is enough to say, "look at me, but REALLY look at the cabinetry" A minimal approach to decorating works. Approaching decorating this way, a person doesn't need a wide range of accessories, but nicer furniture that can hold a persons intrigue for a longer period of time.
Regency and Empire furniture does just that. Empire furniture is known for the outstanding mahogany veneer wood that appear so intricate in its natural design that a person is drawn in to take a closer look at the details of such a luxurious example of wood. Layer on top of the wood a few well chosen decorative ormolu accents, and you will have a piece of furniture that will stop you in your tracks several times a day.
In this space you can see that the architect looked at the space and figured out the design based on the architecture of the room. You can see their initial approach with how the floor is laid out. In this room you see the floors feature a checkerboard marble pattern in both black and white carrara marble. The pattern on the floor was brilliantly laid in such a way to distinguish two different areas. One which features one half of the room with a round table, and the other which highlights some antique chairs. You can see the oval or round table is an exceptional antique, either gold leafed or brass and has nothing on top of the table. This table most likely features a gorgeous marble pattern which speaks for itself, and doesn't need anything in addition.
The walls were painted in a simple gray beige, and glossy black doors with heavy hardware provide a rich yet simple look. The chairs seem to be the most brilliant feature of this room. Long hallways that connected one room to another has been seen in the most premier castles around the world. Here you see the opportunity for that design to be showcased here.
For the longest time, I gravitated away from white paint on furniture, because I have seen too many times how horrible "shabby" white furniture looks from amature painters. I think where many people go wrong with painting furniture is they don't determine the appropriate color for the style and age of furniture.
Would you ever paint an arts and crafts mission style chair a bright white?
Excellent Examples of ANTIQUE White Looking Furniture - French Directoire Console Table and Side Tables
White furniture looks very appropriate on Modern Regency styled pieces. If you think of designers such as Draper, Wearstler, and Adler, they have often used high gloss lacquer in their approach to white furniture. It would be a terrific sight to see a bombe chest in a high white gloss. A piece such as this gives off such a brilliant shine as if it was waxed for hours.
White also looks sensational on primitive furniture in a white that has beige or yellow undertones. I remember the first time I tried spray painting a piece of furniture in Heirloom white, I was amazed at how nice my piece of furniture looked in WHITE!
Swedish furniture is often painted, but never a stark white, rather with gray undertones. Many times the piece of furniture is distressed so heavily that the wood and the paint combination create a beautiful intrigue.
Too many people make the mistake of painting their furniture a color that belongs on the ceiling. They forget about distressing and glazing which gives it an antique appearance.
BRILLIANT White Empire Furniture by William Hodgins
White in my opinion has never looked better in my opinion on on Empire furniture. The additional furniture mounts or carved details are accented in brass or gold leafed makes the white paint even more special to look at.
In this photo by William Hodgins you can see two terrific chairs, which I think are actually gray painted but in the picture they show as white. The one chair is upholstered in a animal print where as the other chair is upholstered in a blue silk dot on white fabric. Both chairs are terrific examples of how a piece of furniture can be the focal point of a room.
A Close up of the Chair
A Close up of the Second Chair
A Close up of the Yellow Chair
Again here is the original yellow chair. The frame is painted in an off white and they chose a butter yellow upholstery fabric for the seats and the back rest. The brass furniture mounts add an extravagant touch which really makes this chair appear high end. Yellow can be extremely vibrant and a brilliant choice to base an interior around. Not only is it bright but very striking to look at.
Patterned fabric paired with a Regency or Empire chair can look very rich. Choosing something as basic as a white and yellow, or a yellow and gray, or a yellow and black pattern can make a chair look like a piece of art. Adding carved wood appliques which are spray painted in gold and finished off with gold leaf is a sure way of adding extra dimension to your antique chairs.
Here are my top three fabric choices for decorating with yellow against a white frame:
54 Wide Duralee Dalesford Yellow Fabric By The Yard
(Monticello to the Left, and the right is a ad for Ralph Lauren's Paint line)
Chrome yellow was first introduced in France in 1809 by the chemist Nicolas Louis Vauguelin. Available in 1809, the pigment discovery produced a more affordable and stable intense yellow. Prior to its discovery bright yellows faded rapidly, or were highly toxic. Jefferson grabbed a hold of this color just 6 years after the discovery in France and applied it to his walls in the dining room. Later on the walls were repainted in a blue. It was only until recently that the original color was brought back into this famous estate. The bright yellow developed in France was extremely expensive during this time, as the cost was $5 per pound compared to 15 cents per pound for basic white. Ralph Lauren's Monticello Yellow is made with light-reflecting pigments which re-create the luster of the original paint in Jefferson's home.
Monticello Ralph Lauren Featured in Elle Decor
Ralph Lauren's Paint collection is my number one choice when it comes to choosing paint colors based on antique colors found in the past. Lauren has several collections:
The Vintage Masters which is a collection of the very best hand selected paint colors.
The Urban Loft collection is a hand picked selection of colors for modern interiors.
The White Wash Collection focuses on just white hues, while the Modern Light collection is simply light paint shades.
The Naturals are the best in grays, beige and neutrals.
My Favorites From The Island Brights Collection
The Thoroughbred collection is a collection that greatly represents 18th and 19th century colors found in Spain, France and England. The Island Brights collection are the concentrated brights found in summer.
5 -Keep your eyes open for a dining room set of chairs in the Hollywood Regency style. A set of chairs can be broken up in a living room, and lined against the wall or accenting a sofa. A room that has common elements which group together nicely presents better than a bunch of miss-matched furniture.
