Victorian (1837 to 1901)

Queen Victoria’s reign was a time of great change in the home. Mass production meant more goods were available to buy. The newly emerging middle classes took immense pride in their homes which they saw as a reflection of status.

Style

• eclectic mix of styles
• excessive ornamentation
• plump, heavily upholstered furniture
• flowers, birds, animals are portrayed realistically rather than the stylised versions of art nouveau

Get the look

• Lay patterned carpets with a faded grandeur, leaving a border of polished floorboards. Floorcloths, a canvas painted with oils and many layers of linseed oil, can be used for less grand rooms.
• Tiles - for areas with heavy traffic, such as halls and kitchens, the best flooring is encaustic tiles (where the pattern is baked on in a kiln). Victorian ones are usually highly patterned. Many original floors still exist today but very good reproduction tiles are also available.
• Rich dark colours such as ruby reds and forest greens are typical. The Victorian colour palette was quite limited because chemical processes were still developing. Purple and blue came in by the middle of the century. Most of the leading paint companies now produce good heritage ranges.
• From the 1840s, wallpaper went into mass production. Paper from the skirting board up to the dado rail. Look for flock, damask or water silk papers featuring large blowsy flowers or other recurrent motifs of the time such as birds and animals. A William Morris design would be perfect.
• Furniture - should literally be overstuffed. Look for plump armchairs with button backs, easy chairs, pouffes and ottomans. Crowd the room with furniture.
• Fabrics - highly patterned. Use velvet and damask for the winter and exchange with muslin, cottons and chintz for the summer.
• Paint - the Victorians liked their paint effects. Try faux marbling, stencilling, and stippling surfaces, borders and wood.
• Woodwork - stain it dark. If your skirting boards have been ripped out, replace them with new ones. Victorian skirting boards were particularly deep, about 30cm high and 4cm thick.
• Fireplaces - ornate and ostentatious and mostly cast iron, although wood can also be used. Fabric is draped rather dangerously from the mantelshelf.
• Mouldings - made from papier maché and stuck on rather than being an integral part of the wall. You can buy them from DIY stores and specialist suppliers. Large ceiling roses are essential but for other decorative mouldings (corbels, cornices, etc) any style goes from Gothic gargoyles to rococo scrolls and feathers to classical urns and swags. Paint them the same shade as, or one tone darker than, the ceiling.
• Runners suit a Victorian hallway and stairs. Look for ones in plain colours such as red or green or with a contrasting stripe. Paint or stain the outside treads a dark brown.
• Opt for brass, cast iron, pewter and tin light fittings. If you’re hunting for original pieces, look for the lozenge-shaped mark topped with a crown that was stamped on most Victorian designs from 1842 to 1883.
• Have a roll top bath with claw feet. Buy one new or find an original at a salvage yard.
• Cover every available surface with ornaments and particularly stuffed animals in glass domes. Place pairs of porcelain dogs at either end of the crowded mantelpiece.
• Fill your fireplace with dried flowers.

Shaker (c.1747 to 1900)

A religious sect founded in England in the late 1700s, the Shakers believed in common ownership of property and communal living. Persecuted for their beliefs, they emigrated to America where they led lives of abstinence and celibacy.

The Shakers believed that every object in the home should have a function and that decoration was unnecessary. ‘Whatever is fashioned, let it be plain and simple and for the good’ and ‘Beauty rests on utility’ are two of their favourite sayings. But because they also believed that the quality of their work was a testament to God, each item they made was painstakingly honed to perfection.

Style

• open plan
• simple, uncluttered
• limited colour palette of red, blue, yellow and blue-green
• handcrafted wooden furniture
• natural materials
• storage
• hand within a heart motif - it meant ‘hands to work and hearts to God’

Get the look

• Colour palette - keep the walls neutral. Bare white plaster is best if your walls are good enough. Stick to the Shaker colour palette: red, light and dark blue, warm yellow, and a blue-green. The Shakers used natural plant dyes and clays to make their paints and dye their fabrics. The paint should be matt rather than gloss and, for real authenticity, use casein or milk paints; some of them are still being made from the original recipes.
• Furniture - is key to the look. Cherrywood and maple were the most used woods. Choose simple shapes such as ladder back chairs with woven-tape seats in one of the colours of the palette. Use a simple trestle table for dining. Sofas and padded seats were comforts the Shakers did without. However, as not many of us are prepared to live so austerely, cover your sofa with a fabric in keeping with the colour scheme.
• Storage - everything should have its place. A typical look is peg rails hung all round the room at head height. The Shakers hung chairs off these, as well as mirrors and tools - basically, anything that could go up, went up. This kept the rooms neat and tidy plus it was easy to sweep underneath.
• Wardrobes - wardrobes and chests of drawers can take up whole walls. All the handles should line up.
• Fabrics - choose natural fabrics such as wool, cotton and silk. The Shakers made their own. A discreet check or denim is also suitable and ginghams can be used for curtains.
• Flooring - the floor should be bare boards but can be varnished.
• Woodwork - this should be left plain or given an orangey stain with varnish.
• Lighting - look for plain candlesticks and sconces, particularly in tin.
• Boxes - oval-shaped boxes in three different sizes, with a beautiful swallowtail and copper pin construction, are one of the quintessential Shaker looks.
• Have a clear out - the Shakers didn’t believe in clutter or unnecessary objects. However, small details such as beeswax candles, lavender sachets and wooden toys can add to the overall look.

Scandinavian country

 (17th to late 19th century)

The Scandanavian country style suits the Nordic climate. Interiors let in as much light as possible during long, dark winters, while readily-available wood is used for warmth.

You can mix both looks in one room if you’re careful; a streamlined sofa can sit comfortably alongside a gingham check curtain. Look at the room sets next time you go to IKEA and see how it’s done.

Style

• rustic, farmhouse, peasant
• light, bright whitewashed rooms
• simple painted furniture with folk art stencils
• bleached wood floors
• unfussy window treatments

Get the look

• Flooring - floors should be bare floorboards. The wider the planks the better. Choose roughly chopped boards for that peasant look. You could paint them off-white with a whitewash, or use a lye treatment, where lye is applied to the floorboards to draw out the yellow of the pine, and then is oiled to a milky white finish.
• Patchwork - add striped or rag rugs and patchwork quilts for the beds.
• Furniture - paint wooden furniture in faded primary colours. Add simple stencils in contrasting colours of hearts and roses. Make seat pads out of checked fabric.
• Beds - furniture shapes should be plain and simple. Cot beds and day beds are typical.
• Walls - walls should be plain white and preferably of bare plaster or painted tongue and groove.
• Fabrics - choose small gingham checks, sprigged florals in bright colours.
• Curtains - hang plain muslin instead of curtains or hang simple curtains from a wooden curtain pole.
• Lighting - choose plain wall sconces in tin, brass or dull gold.

Scandinavian modern

(c.1930s to present)

Also know as Swedish modern, this style emerged at the same time as modernism in the 1930s. It was interrupted by the Depression and World War II, and then finally reached its height in the 1950s.

It took the basic concept of modernism and fused it with traditional materials. The result is beautifully made furniture in organic shapes chiefly fashioned from wood, which is in abundance in Scandinavia. Its basic philosophy ‘beauty for all’ has arguably been continued into the present day with the Swedish phenomenon of IKEA.

Style

• white
• accents of colour
• blonde wood
• natural materials
• well designed, functional furniture

Get the look

• Flooring - floors should be wooden but using good quality wood with the grain showing through. This has developed into laminated floorboards.
• Colour schemes - colours are white, white and more white.
• Accessories - add dashes of colour in the form of paintings and modern art.
• Furniture - look for furniture in blonde wood in curvy, organic shapes often teamed with tubular steel and leather.
• Flowers - flowers should be in stark, architectural shapes such as lilies, orchids; or cacti.

Modernism (c.1918 to 1950)

Modernism is more a way of thinking than a style. Modernists believed that the design of an object should be based purely on its purpose - that ‘form follows function’

History

It was perhaps difficult to imagine how radical the idea of having no extra ornamentation in a room was at the beginning of the 20th century. It was a total departure from the obsession with historical revivals from neo-rococo to neo-Gothic that had not only dominated the Victorian years but for centuries before.

Modernism really took hold in Europe - where it became known as the international style - and particularly in Germany, with the Bauhaus movement, and Italy. At a comparable time, England was caught up in the fashions of art deco, art nouveau and Edwardian style. It was not until after World War I that the influence of modernism really began to be felt.

Style

• under-furnished, austere spaces
• use of tubular steel, plastic, laminated plywood, fibreglass
• abstract motifs
• bold primary colours

Get the look

• Walls - leave your walls bare concrete or painted white.
• Mouldings - there should be no obvious decorative plasterwork or mouldings, but if you live in a period house paint them white to make them disappear rather than ripping them out.
• Wallpaper - wallpaper is generally out. You could fit mirror glass to one wall.
• Floors - flooring should blend seamlessly from one room to another. Choose wall-to-wall fitted carpet in a neutral shade or, if that’s too impractical, lino or quarry tiles. It can be broken up with kelim rugs.
• Skirting - skirting boards should be very slim. Paint them the same colour as walls so that the eye doesn’t notice them.
• Light - is very important. Long banks of picture windows are typically modernist. If you don’t have those, then porthole windows are another typical feature.
• Windows - should be as plain as possible to let maximum light in. Hang simple curtains in natural fibres such as linen or a slub cotton from plain wooden poles or tracks. Otherwise hang plain white venetian blinds.
• Glass wall - install a glass block wall, either as a feature or as a dividing wall. They now come in a myriad of colours but it’s best to stick to plain or opaque glass for this look.
• Furniture - should be made from a combination of tubular steel, bent wood, and leather. Don’t allow any loose covers or comfortable upholstery. Modular seating of the type you see in office waiting rooms is perfect.
• Built-in furniture - buy or make built-in furniture such as cabinets and bookcases, but only at a low-level and not stretching up to the ceiling.
• Glass and chrome - choose other furniture such as coffee tables in glass and chrome with simple lines.
• Fireplace - the fireplace should still be the focal point of the room. Choose as simple a surround as possible. MDF is good painted white or just wood. You can leave brickwork round the fireplace exposed or add some white tiles.
• Lighting - by the 1920s everyone finally had electric light. Lighting designers borrowed techniques from industry so anything industrial looking is suitable. The angle poise is used for the first time.
• Heating - radiators are often exposed and made a feature of. There are some striking designs around from coils and springs which look like pieces of modern art.
• Plants - choose architectural plants such as cacti and succulents but only one or two.
• Accessories - ornaments are out but one or two pieces of modern art or sculpture are permissible. Go round the end of year degree shows at art colleges to pick up the names of the future.

Japanese

Japanese stye is the defining influence on modern day minimalism. Find out more about its history and its key influences.

History

Japan is one of the ancient civilisations and the west has been fascinated by it, since arriving there in the 16th century. Japan promptly closed its doors again, leaving a sole port open for foreign trade. It was not until the mid-19th century that trade opened up and when the Victorians arrived there they were totally shocked at the bare rooms compared to their own.

The traditional Japanese home is based on Ma - the balance between space and objects. The tatami matting made of woven rice straw is fundamental to Japanese interiors. The dimensions of a room are measured in tatami mats. For example, a doorway should equal the height of two mats and be one mat wide. Each mat is about 180cm x 90cm wide. The mats are used for seating, flooring and sleeping. The space is divided by shoji screens, which slide on wooden tracks and can be removed to let the outside in.

Today, the interest in all things Japanese is as popular as ever with karaoke bars, the latest miniature gadgets, Zen Buddhism, and sales of sushi overtaking the common sandwich. For interiors, the current look tends to be drawn from all over with elements of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai creating a fusion of Oriental styles.

Style

• simple, minimalist, Zen
• flexible boundaries - moveable screens, sliding panels
• outside coming inside
• low off the floor
• storage
• natural, organic materials - cane, bamboo, paper, wood
• indirect lighting
• muted colours with accents of red, black, gold

Get the look

• Use screens to divide and conceal. There are lots around from the high street to catalogue companies to exclusive oriental shops. Alternatively, make your own from a simple wooden lattice construction. You shouldn’t be able to see any nails. In traditional Japanese homes the screens are placed on sliding wooden tracks. Attach and staple gun translucent paper to your wooden frame. Tracing paper will do the trick but might not last that long. Paint the frame black or leave in plain pale wood. Screens can also be made from bamboo and cane. Garden suppliers often have suitable ones.
• Flooring - should be tatami mats. These are best described as half seating, half flooring. You can buy them but they are quite pricey. To imitate the look, buy cheap mats, the sort you get at seaside shops. You could have paper flooring as well. Remember to leave your shoes outside.
• Colour schemes - muted and neutral but with accent colours of red, black, occasionally yellow (this is more Chinese) and the green of sushi. You could paint a whole room in a vermillion red with a lacquered finish - apply lots and lots of varnish or use a specialist paint and work in a well ventilated room.
• All furniture - low-level and kept to a bare minimum. Go for a futon in the bedroom, or just a mattress on the floor. For tables, put low school-type benches either side of the table. Black ash furniture is just right. There is still a lot around thrown out from the 1980s. Also look for lacquered furniture. Real pieces will have beautiful intricate inlays of mother of pearl and gold and silver. Paint your own with a high-varnish spray paint.
• Lighting - very important in the Japanese home. Light is diffused through paper to give a warm glow. Place lights behind your screens to achieve this. You can’t go wrong with a simple white paper lampshade. Chinese lanterns are more heavily patterned than Japanese with tassels and calligraphy but you could mix the two looks.
• Traditional Japanese baths are high-sided wooden boxes made from teak, marine ply or cedar wood. If you want one, check whether your floor would need reinforcing. Fake the look with a wooden surround.
• Japanese table settings are very organised. Use bowls rather than plates, with a long runner down the centre of the table. Craquelure ceramics are very Japanese in long slender shapes in greens and black.
• Hang a kimono on the wall as a piece of art. Traditional Japanese ones have a deep blue indigo dye or black and white.
• Display one single spray of orchids, miniature bonsai, pebbles, twigs, and tortured willow. Use fine grey gravel round the top of pots and plants and look for bamboo accessories.

Gothic

Gothic was an architectural style predominant throughout the Middle Ages, from the fall of the Roman Empire until the Renaissance in the early 15th century.

In the late 18th century aspects of the style were used for interiors and known as ‘Gothick’, along with rococo and chinoiserie, but in a romantic, frivolous way with no real historical basis.

The Victorians revived the style again in the mid-19th century but this time it was a reaction against classical style and its symmetry. It was also historically accurate. The style began principally in churches and public buildings but by the 1860s it influenced even domestic interiors.

Style

• ecclesiastical details - pointed arches, ogee arches, stained glass
• red and blue, gold
• ‘tracery’ - decorative ribbing
• heraldic emblems - coats of arms, mythical beasts and the tree of life
• ‘cusping’ - decorative projections of heads, gargoyles, animals or leaves

Get the look

• Beams - if you already live in a property with exposed wooden beams, you’re halfway there for that medieval baronial style look. The Victorians added fake beams.
• Fireplaces - are large and imposing and usually made of stone (limestone) or elaborately carved wood. Choose a surround which has a pointed arch shaped inside surround.
• Lighting - tried to emulate the candlelight of authentic medieval ages. Look for huge metalwork chandeliers in black wrought iron and wall sconces in wrought iron and brass.
• Cornices - elaborately carved with tracery (ribbing) and latticework or ogee shapes.
• Walls - paint in stone colours either flat, or to resemble stone with a paint effect. Create recesses or niches in your walls and give them the pointed arch shape. Hang a medieval style tapestry on your wall attached with simple wooden battens.
• Wallpaper - ornate, typically red and gold, and heavily patterned. Look for naturalistically depicted flowers and foliage, stencilled lattice or trelliswork, coats of arms and fleur-de-lys. To get the effect of powdered ornament (evenly spaced motifs) make a stencil from acetate and stamp on your design with gold metallic paint. Alternatively, buy a stamp of your chosen design.
• Flooring - choose from large flagstones or fake the effect with clever stone blocking, which is a paint technique. Floorboards can be stained a dark oak colour with woodstain.
• Furniture - visit salvage yards and pick up old church furniture such as pews and lecterns. To guarantee the pieces have been obtained legally, check the yard is a member of Salvo. Choose chairs and screens in designs with pointed arches.
• Furniture - buy sturdy, hefty furniture such as huge oak dining tables and chairs with barley-twist legs.
• Stained glass - an important part of Gothic style because of its church connotations. Have panels commissioned, or make them yourself. Fake the effect with coloured acetates and gels (the kind the film industry uses). Cut out quatrefoils with a scalpel knife.
• Accessorise - with pewter plates and tankards, and suits of armour. Cover every available surface with ornaments and particularly stuffed animals in glass domes, place pairs of porcelain dogs at either end of the crowded mantelpiece.

Georgian (1714 to 1837)

Georgian style embraces a century under the reign of three Georges and is often divided into the Palladian, early and late Georgian periods. The style was partly a reaction to baroque which George I loathed.

The three phases of Georgian are a continuum of each other. As the century progressed, the style became lighter and lighter in terms of colours and decoration and eventually became regency style.

Taking an interest in fashion and interiors was very much the order of the day; entertaining was becoming more popular and print books containing designs and architectural models were becoming available to the public for the first time.

Style

• harmony and symmetry
• airiness, space and light
• pale colour schemes and woodwork
• delicate furniture

Get the look

• Early Georgian colour schemes include burgundy, sage green and blue grey but, as the style developed, they became lighter and included pea green, sky or Wedgwood blue, soft grey, dusky pink and a flat white or stone. Many of today’s leading paint manufacturers now produce historic colours helpfully labelled according to the period.
• Floors can be bare floorboards covered with Oriental rugs. Grander houses had stone or marble floors in pale colours, perhaps a keystone pattern. You could cheat with a lino in the same pattern.
• Print rooms were popular and this look is easy to recreate: paste walls from floor to ceiling with old prints and engravings or photocopies made to look old and add a coat of varnish for longevity.
• Walls were still panelled but the panelling only reached dado height and the plaster above was either painted or papered. If your hall has panelling, paint the cornice the same shade as the walls but, if you have painted walls, paint the cornice to blend in with the ceiling.
• Look for simple repeat patterns in wallpaper such as trefoils. Some of the original designs are still being produced today. Wallpaper was imported from the Far East so anything with a chinosierie feel to it would be in keeping. Towards the end of the Georgian style, simple block papers began to be introduced and experimented with; designs were fairly rudimentary so look for geometric patterns with squares and stripes, perhaps with darker shading behind. Consider handblocking wallpaper yourself with a stamp.
• Mouldings are intricate - ceilings might have ribbons and swags, classical figures and urns. There are companies who specialise in making reproduction ones as well as firms who will restore and repair original features.
• For soft furnishings, look for glazed cotton fabrics with small sprigs of flowers. The same fabric would have been used for both the upholstery and curtains. Armchairs and divans often had loose covers made from cheap ticking or striped linen, which were removed for special occasions. Curtains often had pagoda style pelmets on top.
• The arrival of paraffin was a major breakthrough for Georgian lighting. Look for chandeliers made from glass, metal and wood with curved arms like an octopus for a centrepiece. Elsewhere, use wall lights in brass, silver, or silvered wood or a simple candle flame bulb. Fittings in pewter or tin were used in less grand homes.
• Furniture should be delicate - wing chairs and chairs with hoop or shield backs are typical.
• Fireplaces would have been the focal point of a room. They should be elegant with basket grates, cast iron backs and decorated fronts featuring swags, urns, and medallions, perhaps flanked with classical pillars. Add a firescreen painted to match the room or featuring a trompe l’oeil.
• Decorative objects can include screens, fans, porcelain and lacquerwork from the Orient and bronze ornaments. Hang pictures in formal groupings, flanking the fireplace.
• If your front door is Georgian it’s likely to have a filigree fanlight with a canopy and pediments. Original Georgian properties had sash windows and shutters.

Edwardian (1901 to 1910)

Queen Victoria had reigned for the best part of a century, and it was the beginning of a new century with a new king, King Edward VII, on the throne. But his reign was to be brief, lasting a mere nine years.

After the heaviness, clutter and dark colours of Victorian interiors, people wanted something new and cheerful. Edwardian style was a breath of fresh air.

Style

• fresh and light
• informal, feminine
• bamboo and wicker furniture
• flowers and floral patterns
• pastel colours

Get the look

• Furniture - Edwardian furniture would have been reproduction furniture to them so you can choose from a range of styles including baroque, rococo and empire. The wing chair is a typical shape. Choose upholstery in chintz, and damasks in pale colours.
• Wicker - bamboo and wicker furniture were also introduced in these period. You can still buy good quality wicker furniture today in a range of colours. If you find some in a junk shop and it’s worse for wear, give it a new lease of life by spraying the paint on with a spray gun or aerosol. Don’t brush it on as you’ll clog up the weave.
• Floors - highly polished wood block floors, with oriental rugs, look fantastic in a living room. If you already have wooden floorboards, make sure they’re not yellowy pine as this will jar. Stain them with an oak-coloured varnish instead. For areas with more wear and tear, go for bricks in a herringbone pattern or red quarry tiles.
• Wallpaper - choose wallpapers with a fresh, cheerful feel such as florals of roses, lilac, wisteria, and sweet peas, with trellises, ribbons and bows. Stripes are also typical - go for something simple but rich for dining rooms such as a gold damask and white, and candy stripes for bedrooms. It was considered too much to have both a dado rail and a frieze: most people papered up to the dado rail and then papered or painted the wall above that with plain paper or distemper.
• Lincrusta - put up some lincrusta - embossed wallpaper - introduced in 1877. It has an almost rubber-like texture and comes in beautiful art nouveau designs. It is still being made today. It can be painted any colour although cream is probably best.
• Fireplaces - fireplaces are smaller than Victorian ones. They had splayed sides with projecting iron or copper hoods and decorative tiles. Smaller versions are usually found in the bedrooms.
• Colour schemes - choose pastel colour schemes in the colours of flowers - primrose yellows, leaf greens, the lilac of wisteria, and grey. Living rooms can take darker colours such as dark green for fabrics and cream walls.
• Lighting - electric lighting was just beginning to be introduced to the grander homes. Buy fabric lampshades in soft colours with frills and tassels. Use them on wall lights, table lights and even standard lamps. For a central light, look for a pendant fitting in smoked glass. Ceiling roses disguised the wiring for light fittings. Tiffany lamps or reclining female bronze figures are also in keeping.
• Windows - hang pieces of lace at the windows and then add plain or floral curtains to co-ordinate with the walls. Alternatively put up a simple striped roller blind.
• Cushions - take up embroidery and needlepoint and make some cushions with floral motifs in an art nouveau style.
• Pictures - hang pictures on hooks but place them halfway down the wall.
• Accessories - add Edwardian-style accessories such as early gramophones (the ones with the conical shells), tiered silver cake stands, and pretty silver photograph frames.
• Flowers - echo the wallpaper with your choice of flowers. Try loosely arranged bunches of sweet peas, roses, and lilac. House palms are also typically Edwardian.

Art ouveau

Art nouveau could be said to be the first 20th century modern style. It was the first style to stop looking backwards in history for ideas, taking inspiration instead from what it saw around it, in particular the natural world.

When art nouveau was showcased first in Paris and then in London, there was outrage; people either loved it or loathed it. Within the style itself there are two distinct looks: curvy lines and the more austere, linear look of artists such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Some aspects of art nouveau were revived again in the 1960s.

Style

• sinuous, elongated, curvy lines
• the whiplash line
• vertical lines and height
• stylised flowers, leaves, roots, buds and seedpods
• the female form - in a pre-Raphaelite pose with long, flowing hair
• exotic woods, marquetry, iridescent glass, silver and semi-precious stones

Get the look

• Floors - are parquet and should be stained and varnished.
• Colour schemes - are quite muted and sombre and became known as ‘greenery yallery’ - mustard, sage green, olive green, and brown. Team these with lilac, violet and purple, peacock blue. Mackintosh experimented with all-white interiors.
• Walls - can either be painted in one of the colours of the palette or off-white, or papered.
• Wallpaper - designs are highly stylised flowers, particularly poppies, water lilies and wisteria; branches, tendrils, leaves, stems, thistles, pomegranates; peacock feathers, birds and dragonflies.
• Tiles - use in panels and intersperse patterned ones with white. A technique called tube lining was used to make the design stand out from the surface - think of piping icing on a cake.
• Furniture - Mackintosh is renowned for extremely high-backed chairs in glossy black lacquer. If that’s not your style go for curvy shapes upholstered in a stylised floral fabric.
• Stained glass - panels went in doors as well as furniture - wardrobe doors, cabinets, mirrors etc, with curved leading for the stalks and leaves, ending in a flower made from pearly enamels or semi-precious stones such as amethysts.
• Door handles - beaten metal for door handles and light fittings are perfect for that handmade finish.
• Lighting - you’ve got to have a Tiffany lamp - the beautiful umbrella-shape rainbow of favrile glass with bronze and metal latticework. Original ones cost the earth but most of the high streets stores produce very good imitations.
• Fireplaces - look for cast iron hoods with the raised sinuous curves of flowers growing up each side and tiles. Many original ones can be picked up in salvage yards but make sure you know whether you’re buying a repro or an original. If you’re unsure whether a salvaged item is art nouveau, study the design carefully: it should grow from the ground upwards with a continuous organic movement.
• Ornaments - in silver, pewter and glass. There are hundreds of outlets selling Mackintosh-style clocks, frames, jewellery boxes etc. Typical art nouveau glass is iridescent with patterns of liquid oil. Lalique glass is usually a pearly opaque with etched designs.
• Flowers - and peacock feathers are the epitome of art nouveau style.