Decorating Styles Series kickoff

Decorating Styles 

    by Powell Brower Home   

          

When I was in the decorating business between 1990- 2002 the prevailing 4 decorating styles were Traditional, Contemporary, Country and Eclectic. Fairly simple and clear-cut.  Now there seems to be dozens of styles.  HGTV defines 18 different styles including Art Deco, Arts and Crafts, Asian, French, English Country, Shabby Chic, Moroccan, Tropical-to name a few. 

This is a bit complex for the lay person, so we will simply the characteristics in this series.  We feel a need to define the basic design styles today as a primer for our clients to help them decide on their own style.  

Real Simple names 4 current styles: Sophisticated Classic, Modern Graphic, Cozy Casual or Vintage Eclectic.  Sounds like categories a retail store invents to sell it's products. It's just not that easy to put yourself in one category, is it?  There are some basic premises that our tastes fall into.  Once we define those tastes, we can mix in some others.

Part 1: Traditional

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This style encompasses design from all continents  based on heritage, antiques, and history.The most popular styles are British Colonial revival, 18th Century English, 19th Century Neoclassical, and French country. In a traditional room you will find these characteristics:

• formal
• symmetrical
• matched sets of furniture
• curvilinear lines,
• rich fabrics, multi layers, patterns, florals
• dark woods
• vintage antiques
• rolled arms, heavy padding
• authentic antiques, historical accents
• heavy window treatments
• embellishments, trims, fringe

Have you heard the term New Traditionall?  This is an updated version of traditional, or transitional,characterized by more attention to comfort than formality, deeper seats in the sofas and chairs, mixing periods and finishes, using reproductions, media cabinets, updated rugs in place of orientals, lighter window treatments... Something like this for example:

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Traditional Home magazine showcased ten NewTrad designers in their Spring 2012 issue.  Looking at their rooms you'd swear they were more contemporary; and that's exactly what "new traditional" is; a mix of traditional and more up to date styles. 

Is  your style  Traditional?
Stay tuned for Decorating Styles Part 2: Contemporary


Nancy

Check out the entire series here:

Traditional Style
Contemporary Style
Country Style
Eclectic Style
Updating Any Style