How to create your very own Downton Abbey-inspired room

The only show that rocks the country more than the Great British Bake Off is soon to be back on our screens. The new series of everybody’s favourite period drama, Downton Abbey, starts on September 21^st and promises to be as action packed and thrilling as ever (apparently Lord Grantham blows his nose TWICE this series!)

One of the reasons that the show is so phenomenally successful is the feelings of nostalgia it stimulates even in viewers who were born many decades after the program’s setting. Aside from the charming mannerisms, the beautiful clothing, and seemingly straightforward way of life, many people admire the glamorous decor portrayed in the drama.

While the beauty of a place such as the fictional Downton Abbey would have at the time been reserved for manor houses, these days you can easily replicate the stunning aesthetics in any home. With the Farrow & Ball range creating your very own Edwardian, Downton-inspired home has never been easier. Here are our tips on how to do it:

Curtains

A simple way to add a sense of grandeur to an otherwise ordinary room is to decorate it with very tall, heavy curtains. It does not matter if your home does not have particularly large windows; using oversized curtains will give the illusion that the window and the room itself is a lot larger than it actually is. Choose a rich, velvet material in a deep red or purple to instantly make a room look and feel expensive. 

Crockery
Edwardian crockery looks beautiful and can be incorporated into a room either as decoration or as items that you will use day to day. This style of crockery tends to be very detailed with lots of colour and patterns, it can be mixed and matched – any modern chintzy crockery would be ideal.

 

Lighting

One of the most obvious symbols that represent the wealth of an aristocratic family such as the Crawleys is of course the fabulous chandelier lighting. Through the series we have seen the family evolve from traditional candlelight to using the modern invention of electricity (to the horror of the Dowager Violet Crawley who initially could not stand the bright glare of light bulbs!) Adding a modern chandelier to the centre of the room instantly screams Downton.

 Ornate Furniture

As demonstrated in the picture above Downton Abbey tends to use furniture which is made of dark, solid wood. The close details of the furniture is important – the brass plating attached and the carefully crafted shaping of the legs for example. If you are keen on emulating Downton furniture then invest in a writing desk - writing letters is one of Lord Grantham’s many exhausting chores – and an impressive book case.

Walls

 

 

Probably the most significant way to perform a Downton makeover is by decorating the walls. At Kent Blaxill our Farrow & Ball wallpapers offer the perfect styles for your Downton theme. Depending on your individual taste, you might choose to decorate all of the walls with wallpaper (nobody painted their walls at this time obviously) or you might choose to have one feature wall covered in traditional wallpaper while you can paint the rest of the room to match.

In Downton Abbey many of the walls are covered with mint green wallpaper similar to the geometric tesella paper (top left) which is a bright, attractive wallpaper that features a simple pattern.  This wallpaper’s delicate colour tones mean that it is not too overpowering to be featured across all of the walls, but you might want to add it to one wall and match it with a neutral creamy colour such as the 2005 All White paint or its similar variations.

Watching Downton you may also have noticed that lots of the rooms feature wallpaper with delicate, detailed patterns like those on our Silvergate Farrow and Ball wallpapers range. These designs are based on early 19^th Century English damask ones so are another style that would be suitable for your new room. 

If you would like to find more inspiration for your Downton creation, visit the Kent Blaxill website where can find hundreds of paints and wallpapers to choose from.

Arranging a Baby Room

Every child values their bedroom. It is the one room in the house that is truly their own. It is where their choice is the final decision; the area through which they can express themselves and their identity.

As they grow up most children will inevitably change their mind about how they want their room to look. When they are babies it is completely the parents’ choice as to what the space will look like, as children they might want images of their favourite cartoon characters everywhere, as teenagers they might have posters of pop stars all over it, and as they enter adulthood if they are living at home then they may wish for it be more subdued.

This is the lifecycle of the children’s bedroom. If you have no plans to move house then it is likely that your child will grow up in the same room. So how should you decorate it to begin with?

The Walls

The walls are what make the biggest impact on the overall look of any area. We often associate colours with certain emotions: red with anger, yellow with feeling bright and happy, blue with the cold, green with nature, and more. With children it is traditional to associate blue with boys and pink with a girl which is why these colours are often chosen for baby rooms.

Typical Baby Colours

Farrow & Ball paints come in a huge range of different shades, from very vibrant blues and pinks such as Nancy’s Blushes and St Gile’s Blue (above) through to more neutral shades such as Shade White and Matchstick. Explore the different colours that we have to find the combination that suits you.

If you are not keen on the idea of pink or blue, then you might be interested to know that instead many interior designers suggest using creamy tones for a baby room. Colours such as Farrow and Ball’s Wevet and Ammonite (below) are much calmer than other colours, and they have the additional advantage of being accessorised with easily. 

Recommended Colours

As children get older, rather than continually reapplying “Toy Story”-like wallpaper of their favourite characters, you can accessorise with this sort of thing through fun bedding, cushions, toys, lampshades, etc. Leave the walls as they are.

If you want to add a bit more personality to the room, then why not alter one wall alone? Choose one statement wall to continually update with new wallpaper or your child’s favourite colour. This way your son / daughter has the bedroom that they want but without you having to continually spend hours altering it each time they enter a new phase.

Secure Bed & Supervised Play Area

The most important thing for any baby is safety. All new parents have that feeling of not knowing enough; that sense of being lost in the new world of parenthood. This is completely normal but the best way to gain confidence is to know that the bedroom is laid out in the way that it should be.

Choose a secure cot from a well-known brand. If you want to save money in the long run then you can purchase a cot that can later be used as a children’s bed. It is also important to make a space for supervised play. A small mat on the floor near the baby toys is a good idea; when your little one is restless during the night, you can sit them there for a couple of minutes before they get sleepy again.

Storage

You will be amazed by how much stuff a person as tiny as your baby needs. All of those nappies, baby wipes, baby lotion, cotton wool, toys, clothes, blankets, dummies, pacifiers, breast pumps, bottles, bottle warmers, baby towels, cleansers, etc need somewhere to go.

While you might think that you can store most of this in the bathroom – depending on how big your bathroom actually is you will find that you need to store more things in the baby room than initially expected.

Additionally, all of your well-wishing family and friends will have undoubtedly bought you more toys than you could ever imagine. While soft toys are brilliant for children in many ways, they can also gather dust in the bedroom.

Therefore storage is a major component of any children’s room so be sure to invest in deep cupboards and drawers. Although there probably won’t be anything dangerous in the room, you might still want to consider childproof latches on cupboards just so that the little one cannot open something and bump their head on the corner.

If you want to find some inspiring colour schemes for your baby room have a look at the Kent Blaxill Farrow and Ball paints where you will find all sorts of colours to choose from.