Furnishings
Elegance and comfort are essential elements of the classic style living room. Choose a boxy-shaped sofa with comfortable, soft cushions covered in a longwearing woven stripe or damask. Team it with a selection of different seating styles, covered in toning but different fabrics. This looks more natural than a matching suite, and you can pick up bargains to revamp. A chesterfield or chaise longue adds an authentic touch.
Glass-fronted cupboards are perfect for displaying favorite china or old books. Chests and trunks with upholstered tops - or draped with a shawl or throw - provide a useful surface, and hidden storage space, too. Modern items such as the TV and stereo are best tucked away in built-in storage systems.
Look for small decorative tables to hold lamps and collections of silver-framed photos; or buy inexpensive particleboard tables and disguise them with matching floor-length circular cloths trimmed with deep fringing.
Create a soft, atmospheric glow with careful lighting. If you have a central chandelier, fit a dimmer switch so you can create a candle-like glimmer. Wall lights, table lamps, and floor lamps, or candles set around the room, create pools of warm light. Large Chinese-style vases in blue and white or green provide good lampbases; wood stained to a mahogany or ebony finish on brass bases are also ideal. Fit them with a simple parchment or pleated silk shade.
Large, gilt-framed landscapes or portraits look suitably imposing, together with a large framed mirror over the fireplace. Architectural engravings or botanical prints in narrow black frames add a sophisticated touch. Hang them in groups, perhaps linked with a picture bow or stick-on, printed classical swags and borders.
Choose ornaments carefully, avoiding a cluttered look; a single big plaster bust - some museums sell copies of original antiquities - placed on a side table or in the hearth, has real impact. Symmetry is an important element - matching stylized china dogs or cats either side of the hearth is a typical classic look; or place matching china figurines on the mantelpiece.
