Antiques Magazine Archive, September 2014

Autumn is just around the corner and the majority of us will be spending our time indoors. We need comforting interiors and warm colours as winter closes in, something that makes us want to sit indoors and listen to music, or pick up a book and read. You may be thinking of redecorating, or simply changing the drapes and furnishings in an effort to create the right kind of ambience for those warm nights spent in front of the fire.

If you’re looking for ideas, then I cannot suggest anything better than Georgian, that regency style with hints of the neoclassical, rococo and the orient. Warm colours and fabrics are key when going down this route.

If you are considering this as a possible theme for your home, or even just a single room, then there are a few things you need to consider. Firstly, a Georgian style is uncluttered, with certain dominant motifs such as cabriole legs, ball and claw feet and toile de jouy paper and fabrics.

Oh the Georgians. They crop up again and again, not only when searching for antiques or discussing history, but today there is something of a revival of interest in all things Georgian. On top of that, the more we discuss the Georgians (and the Georges themselves), the more we notice the legacy they left behind in the form of antiques and buildings. Georgian buildings are constantly being saved and restored – if we could only furnish them with the furniture of the period!

On the website at the moment are two beautiful examples of Georgian sideboard design, which you can find http://www.antiques.co.uk/antique/SALE-George-III-Inlaid-Mahogany-Serpentine-Sideboard and http://www.antiques.co.uk/antique/Georgian-sideboard-3 They both seem to be in lovely condition and what’s more, invite us to explore the period a little more. When purchasing antiques, it is essential to identify with the utility of the piece, or identify its original purpose. Was a painting designed for a certain room? Did a piece of furniture originally serve a different purpose? What is very important to us here is in fact how the pieces were used.