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Georgian-Inspired Elegance Lives on in Today's Homes

Classical design from a bygone era gives today's homes beautiful proportions, subtle color palettes and decorative architectural features

Julia Pockett November 24, 2012

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Many of us still admire the elegant proportions and soft colors that dominated English homes of the early Georgian period — the 18th-century reigns of George I and George II. King George III was succeeded by his son, who was first prince regent and then became George IV when his father died. This later period is more commonly recognized as the regency era.

English Georgian homes were inspired by the strong classical designs of early Romans and by Italian Palladian and Pompeian ornamental details. They had light rooms with beautiful proportions, large windows and a subtle but sophisticated palette of soft blues, dusky pinks, pale grays and whites. This era has even inspired whole ranges of heritage paints today, helping create a historic elegance that so many modern homeowners admire.

Traditional Exterior Contemporary Exterior

The typical English Georgian facade with a portico took its design from the ancient Greeks and was used to grand effect in the Pantheon in Rome. A porch is still a practical feature today, although we may or may not choose this formal design.

Midcentury Living Room by Matter of Architecture

Matter of Architecture

The bowfront Georgian with large windows created rooms of great proportion, with highly decorative plasterwork for additional elegance. While people in the Georgian period dressed their windows with sumptuous curtains and pelmets, the absence of these allows for a very contemporary aesthetic with a Georgian backdrop.

Traditional Traditional

Georgian properties had an abundance of moldings, and decorations included ribbons, classical figures and urns. We may not be lucky enough to own a period property, but the decorative nature of the design has been used to create many wallpapers, replica moldings and updated takes on classic pieces — such as chandeliers.

Traditional by Christine Huckins Franck, Architect, LLC

Christine Huckins Franck, Architect, LLC

Josiah Wedgwood was famous for his pottery and specifically for his jasperware — for which he, like so many of his Georgian design counterparts, took inspiration from the classics. Taking the shapes of Roman vessels, his pieces included classic scenes in white on a background of the colors typical of the era.

Dining Room by Dijeau Poage Construction

Dijeau Poage Construction

Whether or not you like the traditional Wedgwood design, it has inspired generations of color schemes with while moldings — in particular, white on Wedgewood blue. You can see this classic scheme here in a beautiful room with Georgian-style light and proportion. Note also the wooden floor and Oriental rug, also typical of the era.

Traditional Dining Room by Patrick Sutton

Thomas Chippendale, another Georgian designer and cabinetmaker, hardly needs an introduction, as his work continues to inspire furniture design today. His unique style has an underlying simplicity with exotic Chinese influences. Nowadays his work is often used in the styling of balustrades and railings.

Traditional Dining Room Traditional Dining Room

In the Georgian era, furniture was made from wood, such as walnut; mahogany was also introduced, first from Spain and then from Central America. Today many of us still love rich, dark wood. Here it adds warmth and elegance to a softer Georgian color palette.

Lincoln Mirror

Lincoln Mirror

$194

48" Artificial Spiral Boxwood Topiary Tree Plant, 48"

48" Artificial Spiral Boxwood Topiary Tree Plant, 48"

$149

Cobalt Blue Spice Printed Polyester Layla Area Rug by Loloi II, 2

Cobalt Blue Spice Printed Polyester Layla Area Rug by Loloi II, 2'-6"x7'-6"

$46

Rustic Farmhouse Primitive Dough Bowl-Natural Tone

Rustic Farmhouse Primitive Dough Bowl-Natural Tone

$64

Moroccan Blythe Contemporary Area Rug, Gray, 4

Moroccan Blythe Contemporary Area Rug, Gray, 4'x6'

$80

Traditional Medallion Verona Rug, Blue, 5

Traditional Medallion Verona Rug, Blue, 5'x7'5"

$115

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Comments (19)

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frenchdecor

There 3 dining rooms, didn't give me comprehensive understanding of style, though it's interesting and I would like to see other rooms as well.

Like November 27, 2012 at 10:42AM

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Diamondflame

Pic 2 does not work for me. The Paul Smith rug doesn't complement the architecture at all. Geometric patterns in more classic styles would. The modern sparse chandelier style emphasizes width while a drop design will work better at emphasizing the high ceiling. The whole design seems ill at ease with the architecture. Maybe I'm just not a fan of the color pallet.

Like November 28, 2012 at 7:57PM

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Peg

Have to vote in favour of pic 2. I slavishly furnished a Victorian with "appropriate" period furniture; the people I sold it to switched it up to contemporary eclectic and it was stunning. Now while my tastes are generally contemporary (maybe as a reaction against all that Victorian) I'm not shy about adding in the occasional antique. Clean Georgian lines can look wonderful in a modern home. And vice versa :)

Like November 25, 2014 at 4:39AM

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