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 [...]]]>

Antique Chandeliers Clarence House

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.

Informati0n and Pictures gathered at Alexander Palace Forums.

English Decorating Regency Furniture Clarence House

English Decorating Regency Furniture Clarence House- The Garden Room

English Decorating Regency Furniture Clarence House- The Lancaster Room

English Decorating Regency Furniture Clarence House- The Desk In The Garden Room

English Decorating Regency Furniture Clarence House- The Hall

English Decorating Regency Furniture Clarence House The Horse Corridor

We are familiar with the interiors and furniture of Thomas Hope chiefly through his 1807 book, Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, and its exquisitely restrained plates composed of thin black outlines on white grounds, free of all shading, shadow, or color. And so, faced here with more than 400 color illustrations of the [...]]]>

Thomas Hope

We are familiar with the interiors and furniture of Thomas Hope chiefly through his 1807 book, Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, and its exquisitely restrained plates composed of thin black outlines on white grounds, free of all shading, shadow, or color. And so, faced here with more than 400 color illustrations of the real spaces and objects, we are dazzled by their vigor and presence. The images are just as elegant as the ones in his book but, with their outlines filled in, even more impressive.

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.

Designed by Thomas Hope, London

Regency Style Greek Krater-Style Copper Vase

Picture Credit The Enchanted House Blog

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 [...]]]>

Regency Empire Furniture Ideas

Picture Credit The Enchanted House Blog

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

54 Wide Duralee Dalesford Yellow Fabric By The Yard

54 Wide Ticking Stripe Gold Ivory Fabric By The Yard

54 Wide Ticking Stripe Gold Ivory Fabric By The Yard

54' Wide Premier Prints Chipper Slub Corn Yellow Fabric By The Yard

54' Wide Premier Prints Chipper Slub Corn Yellow Fabric By The Yard

George Hepplewhite (1727? - June 21, 1786) was a cabinetmaker and was regarded as having been one of the "big three" English furniture makers of the 18th century, along with Thomas Sheraton and Thomas Chippendale. His elegant furniture became fashionable between about 1775 and 1800 and reproductions of his designs continued [...]]]>

George Hepplewhite Dining Chairs

George Hepplewhite (1727? - June 21, 1786) was a cabinetmaker and was regarded as having been one of the "big three" English furniture makers of the 18th century, along with Thomas Sheraton and Thomas Chippendale. His elegant furniture became fashionable between about 1775 and 1800 and reproductions of his designs continued through the following centuries and is popular today. His shield back chair is still one of the most elegant antique dining chairs today.  Find more pictures of this home on Maureen Bower's Blog

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Set of 6 Antique Hepplewhite Solid Mahogany American Shieldback Dining Chairs    US $2,500.00

Regency Dining Set Pedestal Table and Hepplewhite Chair    US $7,584.00

8 HEPPLEWHITE Chippendale MAHOGANY DINING CHAIRS BAKER KITTINGER Quality    US $2,489.79

Hepplewhite Dining Furniture

Baroque Tray With Feet

Baroque Tray w/ Handles By Wallace

Antique Silver Pierced Gallery Footed Tray

Antique Silver Oval Footed Tray

SILVER PLATED OBLONG GALLERY TRAY

Sueno Footed Server

Faye from Dartington Antiques describing A superbly coloured late Regency Sofa Table. This antique has had just the right amount of exposure to allow figured grain to be seen at its best. As you can see in the photographs the colour is even all around with hardly any movement to the two drop [...]]]>

Faye from Dartington Antiques describing A superbly coloured late Regency Sofa Table. This antique has had just the right amount of exposure to allow figured grain to be seen at its best. As you can see in the photographs the colour is even all around with hardly any movement to the two drop leaves.

Design Haven always seems to amaze me with their unique collections of vintage furniture.  Although they specialize in Mid-Century Modernism, Post-1950, and Italian furniture, you will find lovely french and primitive furnishings as well.  It is wonderful to come across a dealer with a great eye for statement [...]]]>

Hollywood Regency CARVED WOOD TABLE ELEPHANT TRUNK LEGS

Design Haven always seems to amaze me with their unique collections of vintage furniture.  Although they specialize in Mid-Century Modernism, Post-1950, and Italian furniture, you will find lovely french and primitive furnishings as well.  It is wonderful to come across a dealer with a great eye for statement furniture.   The Hollywood Hollywood Regency carved Wood elephant trunk table is really a remarkable piece to showcase in a home.  Personally, I would gold leaf this lovely table and center it in a living room.  For a antique look, you could faux paint it a wood color and apply white paint on top of the wood look for a distressed painted finish typically seen in primitive antiques.  It has been one of the most interesting pieces I have seen in some time.  Check out my favorite Hollywood Regency picks below.  Book mark this dealer, they never fail to impress!

Regency and Hollywood Regency Furniture & Accessories From Design Haven 1000 on ebay

2 RED LACQUER Chinese Chippendale Hollywood Regency TABLES, 4 FAUX BAMBOO CHAIRS Hollywood Regency Baker CHINOISERIE, BAKER Double Cane LOUNGE CHAIRS Faux Bamboo French, Antique Empire CHAIR Wonderful Patina OLD, 8 HENREDON English Regency styl Dining Chairs Hardwood

Actress Sarah Jessica Parker revealed that she loves to go shopping in second hand stores.   Aren't celebrities filthy rich to afford the brands that most of the public couldn't even dream of?  The article by Contact Music said that Parker rarely goes shopping, but when she does, [...]]]>

Sarah Jessica Parkers Home From Blue Butterflies Blog

Actress Sarah Jessica Parker revealed that she loves to go shopping in second hand stores.   Aren't celebrities filthy rich to afford the brands that most of the public couldn't even dream of?  The article by Contact Music said that Parker rarely goes shopping, but when she does, she loves to hunt for clothing that has a unique edge that she knows for sure no one else will display on the street.  I suppose Parker is like everyone else, in that we all enjoy the hunt for great design that won't blow our budget.  We all have a creative side to us, that wants to explore areas of design, without being married to something for the rest of our lives.   Parker says that she can always find good prices and clothing that is unique-  “I think these are the only stores where you know for sure that you can find something unique. ”

(Pictures of Sarah Jessica Parker's Home From Full House Blog, Sarah Jessica Parker January Elle 2011)

Western Interiors Magazine had a fantastic interview with Designer Windsor Smith that was particularly fascinating. Did you know she once was an antique dealer? A great knowledge of antiques is a foundation to great interior design. After all, many of the antiques are still some of the best furniture these days. [...]]]>

Regency Designer Windsor Smith

Western Interiors Magazine had a fantastic interview with Designer Windsor Smith that was particularly fascinating. Did you know she once was an antique dealer? A great knowledge of antiques is a foundation to great interior design. After all, many of the antiques are still some of the best furniture these days. Smith tells Western Interior that her own personal design and decorating is focused around elements of the past but recreated in a new way, as she describes her style as " I like the idea of a new vernacular pitched against classic sensibilites. Everything should feel like it is of the present but also has some kind of thread to history" as she tells Western Interiors magazine. She is not afraid of using punchy forbidden colors most people wouldn't dare touch such as dark navy she used in her kitchen, and toxic pink she splashed in her dining room. How does she pull it off? Her secret is to create a balance with white. She tells Western Interiors she is particularly inspired by the iconic designers from the 30's and 40's, and anything to do with Old Hollywood. Elsie De Wolfe, Slim Keith, Babe Paley she notes as particular designers she looks to for inspiration. This on fire designer has her own furniture collection, fabric collection and rug line. Can you believe she has kids too? Oh yes~......she can balance it all!

Regency Furniture Gilt Table Designer Windsor Smith's Entry Way

Designer Windsor Smith