How to decorate a Georgian house
Georgian interiors are often the easiest to decorate and restore, says architectural historian Oliver Gerrish in his design tips for historical homes. “Let the attractive, harmonious proportions speak for themselves and leave great piles of furniture to the Victorians. Although grey has become ubiquitous in modern day historic interiors, don’t be afraid of strong and vibrant colours – the cool and serene proportions can take them. The wealthiest Georgians tried to be positively shocking with their palettes. One only has to enter the Ante Room at Syon, with its thrilling gaudiness, to feel transported into another realm. Later Georgian interiors, otherwise known as Regency, can be daring and colourful or simple and light. The architects from this period experimented with a wide range of styles, including Egyptian (as seen in the dining room at Goodwood House), Indo-Chinese (the Royal Pavilion in Brighton) and heavy Greek. This approach works well today with Art Deco pieces and well-proportioned, plain furniture.”
Hugo Rittson Thomas1/32In perfect Georgian style, the pale blue dining room of Beckside House has a cluster of prints and medallions hung above and around the chimneypiece with its distinctive carved frieze.
Catherine Gratwicke2/32In this Georgian cottage with expertly layered interiors by Ben Pentreath, Ben and his team retained the original Georgian shutters in several rooms. In the sitting room, the walls are painted in Farrow & Ball's 'Setting Plaster' and the fabric on the sofa and armchair is R1351-4 from GP&J Baker in Magnolia Cream/Blue.
Simon Upton3/32When David Mlinaric was presented with an an ill-served London townhouse, he brought in expert former colleagues and an array of British artisans to reinstate its Georgian character, while transforming it into an elegant family home. Period features such as this fireplace were kept, while modern touches like a mirrored chimney breast, polished marble floors and curtainless windows conspire to create a gloriously bright and beautiful room.
4/32When it came to renovating her Georgian farmhouse, fashion stylist Louise Roe looked to the experts and called on Edward Bulmer to advise on historically appropriate paint colours. The living room is painted in his own 'Brick'.
5/32Louise worked with British Standard to design the perfect farmhouse-style kitchen for her Georgian renovation. The floors are reclaimed Georgian floorboards. The colour is 'Sage Green' by Little Greene.
Lucas Allen6/32The hall in printmaker Cameron Short’s restored Georgian home leads to the back office with the workshop on the left. The hall itself is eclectic and full of vintage accessories such as the ‘Bonfield’ sign, which is an original from the shop which Cameron has turned into a workshop. The bunting hanging across the hall is perfect for vintage style Christmas decorations.
Lucas Allen7/32In the drawing room of print maker Cameron Short's restored Georgian house, a lamp with a 'Varx' shade made by Cameron sits on a restored eighteenth-century oak table, which was unearthed in a barn adjoining the house. The carpet-covered ottoman and chair were both auction buys.
Lucas Allen8/32Cameron Short and his family live in a restored Georgian house in Dorset. The end the bed in his children's room is full of teddies and toys. Pretty antique dresses hung up on a line are a witty alternative to bunting.
Sharyn Cairns9/32The white Aga in the kitchen of interior designer Ben Pentreath's country house was installed in the Sixties. Ben added the wooden floor, painted in Farrow & Ball's 'Hardwick White', and found the glazed wall cupboard in a junk shop.
'Although we did a lot of rescuing, it doesn't look over-restored,' the designer says. 'The kitchen floor, for example, needed replacing. As there was a patch of old stone flagging, I had hoped there would be more beneath the linoleum. Of course, there wasn't, so we simply glued wooden boards on top of the existing floor and painted them dove grey. It looks really nice and happily maintains the fiction that nothing much has happened here in the past 200 years.'
Sharyn Cairns10/32The hallway has original blue lias stone flags and a lunette window bringing light from the sitting room.
Sharyn Cairns11/32The dining room walls in designer Ben Pentreath's Georgian parsonage have been painted in Farrow & Ball's 'St Giles Blue' and lined with Piranesi prints. The imari lamp and shade are from Pentreath & Hall.
Sharyn Cairns12/32Plenty of seating is arranged around an ottoman in the sitting room of designer Ben Pentreath's Georgian parsonage, including a sofa from Max Rollitt, an original Howard & Sons armchair bought at a local auction, and a Regency cane bergère chair. The black linen-covered fireside chair is the 'Chauffeuse' from Pentreath & Hall.
Paul Massey13/32The front entrance of Bradwell Lodge leads into a domed neoclassical vestibule with access to the Tudor wing to the left and, up the steps to the right, the Georgian wing.
Paul Massey14/32An arrangement of blue-and-white china surmounts the dining-room chimneypiece.
Paul Massey15/32The paint on the drawing-room walls was mixed by the owner to complement the upholstery. A Bennison sofa in 'Tatting Stripe' complements the eleborate ceiling, inset with monochrome grisaille panels.
Paul Massey16/32In Home Counties terms, few houses can be more remote than Bradwell Lodge, tucked away where the Essex flatlands east of Chelmsford meet the sea. Yet few houses of its modest size anywhere can claim a more fascinating history, especially over the past 80 years or so.
The study in the Tudor wing has bookcases from Langford Grove, a demolished house also designed by John Johnson; the bust of Darcy John is by Sheila Arbuthnot.
Michael Sinclair17/32This restored Georgian house in Somerset was an irresistible challenge for its owners, who put together a team including architect Ptolemy Dean for the painstaking restoration, which won a Georgian Group award in 2015.
Curtains in Robert Kime 'Wild Iris' linen hang in this country bathroom, which has been decorated with a pale palette. The star-shaped lighting adds an unusual touch to the traditional space. See Vaughan's 'Star Lantern' lights for similar.
The free standing cream clawfoot bathtub, white walls and natural wooden floorboards ensure that this space is simple and unfussy in its design.
Michael Sinclair18/32Layers of paint were removed from the walls of the original staircase to reveal the quality of the mid-eighteenth-century stucco work.
Michael Sinclair19/32In the drawing room, Sophie has combined antique furniture with pieces found in Istanbul, such as the three Syrian inlaid side tables bought from Iznik Classics. The carpet from Farnham Antique Carpets, sets the colour scheme.
Simon Upton21/32The dining room of Bowood House is painted a bracing tomato soup colour and leads onto Lady Lansdowne's Garden, where the family eat in high summer.
Simon Upton22/32One of the guest bedrooms at Bowood House in Wiltshire has walls covered in Colefax & Fowler's 'Bowood' design - a pattern named after this house with interiors by John Fowler. The same pattern features on the bed valance, headboard, curtains and chair upholstery.
Simon Upton23/32The hall of Bowood House, with its cantilevered staircase, was converted from a dining room in the Fifties, under the direction of John Fowler. The soft yellow walls are a perfect compliment to the wooden floors.
Paul Massey24/32The panelling in the dining room, which bestows an elegant symmetry along with the two wall chandeliers, has been painted in a grey shade from Papers and Paints.
Paul Massey25/32On the second floor of Clare and Mark's Georgian house, the bathroom features a whole wall of églomisé mirrored glass, which Clare produces and restores for designers and private clients. The room is furnished with an antique dressing table and a small sofa bought at a flea market, covered in a fabric from Claremont.
Paul Massey26/32This bed in the bedroom of gilder Clare Mosley and husband Mark Bicknell was bought in Paris. Its journey hasn't been smooth. During the eight months it took to make the house reasonably habitable, Clare and Mark camped in one room and the builders worked around them. However, even this safeguard did not protect them from a few of the traditional building disasters. Having gone away for two days, they returned to find that the bed had been cut up and thrown out of the window and into a waiting skip below. Thankfully, it was saved. It is now resplendent with matching quilt, half-tester and cushions in 'Mikado L2804' by Le Manach.
Simon Brown27/32The living room of decorative artist Bridie Hall's house includes many of her own designs, including the cowhide and beech 'Trav' chair, and her 'Roman Emperor Intaglio Cases' which hang on the wall, working with the Ikat and Kelim cushions to add a burst of colour to the blue/grey scheme. On the mantlepiece is 'The Scholar Set', also by Bridie - a group of shapes based on the Platonic solids. All can be found at Pentreath & Hall, the Bloomsbury shop started by Bridie and Ben Pentreath.
28/32The living room features a chimneypiece from Jamb. A large gothic mirror bounces light from the windows opposite back into the space.
29/32A seventeenth-century lacquer long-case clock on the hallway between floors.
30/32The two cane bergère chairs in the living room were designed by Max.
Mel Yates31/32The sofa in the drawing room dates from the Regency period. The walls are lined with prints and Adam Calkin's 'Chateau' wallpaper from Lewis & Wood.
Simon Upton32/32The owner of this 1830s London house wanted it to be restored to its original style, which interior designer Max Rollitt achieved by retaining its idiosyncrasies, including the original dentilled cornicing in the hallway illuminated by an 'Original Globe' lantern from Jamb.
