subject: How To Deck Out An Apartment In Decadent Hollywood Regency Style [print this page] One cant think of the words glamour and glamorous without thinking of Hollywood, or of a younger Lauren Bacall in a white silk swing dress with the signature massive shoulder padding. This is probably due to the fact that no other place on the planet exists where so many fascinating people reside. Hollywood Regency style is very popular among modern homeowners. Billy Haines created the style in the Thirties and was adhered to by such famous icons as Nancy Reagan and Joan Crawford who were smitten by Haines boldness and good taste in mixing period styles and doing the unthinkable. If you want to deck out your dull apartment in Hollywood Regency style, the following tips will guide you.
Step 1 Raid your grandmas attic, especially if your grandma happens to live in the Hollywood area.
Keep your eyes peeled for anything thats of interest: a candelabra in the ornate rococo style or a ceramic lampshade with an equally ornate base. Don't look over small furnishings simply because of their size. Perhaps you will not see a 118 B.C. Wu-Chu coin with the square hole, but anything exotic like a Chinese medallion might find use as a cabinet door pull, for instance. Do not pass up Grandmothers sheer fabrics. They are just as valuable as any period piece and can be useful.
Step 2. Anything that looks as if youve traveled halfway across the world to get is okay.
But remember that your aim is to keep from overdoing while establishing a high level of glamour. Always. Bali, for instance, has incredible wood carvings that ooze elegance anywhere. The same is true with rough African bench carved from solid wood, or an Egyptian wooden headrest that looks like it came from King Tuts tomb.
Step 3 Avoid imposing furniture.
In authentic Hollywood Regency style, the focus is on those who live within a home, not just on the furniture, so keep furniture low-key and smaller. In no way should they begin to compete with guests for attention. Distinctly feminine curved legs, yes: large size, no.
Step 4 Eclectic is in, so you may mix period styles. Feel free to have your dining set in ornate rococo side-by-side with wall tapestries or metal tree art side-by-side real or faux bamboo poles. Likewise, feel free to go for velvet window treatments, side by side chairs made from wicker, stained glass lamps and tree wall art.
Step 5 Use lacquer liberally.
A wicker chair can be dressed up in lacquer. Give a lacquer finish to your Chippendale secretary. Lacquer that Queen Anne dining set.
Step 6 Do at least one decor in an outrageously grand manner.
Look at displaying large wall art or a ceiling-to-floor mural that is accentuated with golden Chinese characters against a background of mandarin red.
