Add the Glam Without the Clams

Add the Glam Without the Clams

Article by Jason Scott

If you are looking at your plain, boring apartment and wondering what to do with it, consider hitting it with a big dose of ‘glam’. When you think of glamorous people, your thoughts go straight to Hollywood. Opulent, red carpet affairs, fame and fortune are all around you when you are in Hollywood. And when you look back in time to the glory days of Hollywood, you cannot help but remember Joan Crawford, Marion Davies, Carole Lombard and Gloria Swanson. Along with their colleagues, who were also ‘beautiful people’, this Hollywood royalty graced the elegantly appointed Hollywood Regency, which created quite a ruckus in its day. The Regency was created by Billy Haines in the 1930s. Haines started as an actor, and then he turned to interior design where his bold design ideas won him international recognition. He crossed the lines and tried bold design moves, which ultimately proved to be very successful. For example, he mixed period styles, which we do without batting an eye today, but in his time it was quite a design stretch.

Step 1 Go Shopping in Grandma’s Attic

To replicate this style for your own apartment, you need to keep your eyes peeled. If anyone in your family has old furniture that they are getting rid of, claim first dibs. Perhaps anornate Rococo style candelabra that is hiding in your grandmother’s attic, or a decorative table lamp could work nicely into your design. Or even something as small as a Chinese medallion could add the finishing touch to your accessories. Vintage fabrics can really add depth to a room design.

Step 2 Tastefully Combine Rustic and Elegance

The trick here is tasteful combinations of vintage furniture. So think in terms of combining elegant pieces with simple pieces of décor to create a nice balance in your room. Or combine a rustic vintage piece with a highly refined piece of furniture. By adding an ornate wood carving from Bali to a room with otherwise simple décor, makes it pop as a focal accent.

Step 3 Comfort is Key

The point of the decor in your room is to be comfortable for people, not to overshadow them. You want your furniture to have interesting detail, but you do not want it to be large and imposing.

Step 4 Embrace the Eclectic Aesthetic

The beauty of the Regency style is that you can mix many different genres and styles. It is absolutely fine to place a Tiffany lamp beside a piece of metal wall art. Or you may want to place wicker chairs in front of heavy, velvet drapes, and they will fall well within the regency style.

Step 5 Work in Some Sparkle

The Regency style loves a little sparkle, so use lacquer liberally. You can coat your wicker chair with a generous coat of lacquer, and any other piece of furniture in the room will appreciate a coat as well.

Step 6 Create a Focal Point

You do want to remember to add focal points to your rooms, so consider a lavish piece of wall art in bold colors.

About the Author

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