Thursday, August 20, 2015

Let Your Rooms Bloom With Rose Patterned Wallpaper



Rose patterned wallpapers have traditionally been one of the most popular mainstays over the years. We just can't say goodbye to them for long.They have graced English walls for generations and today can be found in traditional, shabby, vintage and yes, even modern interiors. While the style might be different than what graced grandma's walls, a floral wall featuring a classic rose motif still represents the cozy romanticism of yesterday, something the masses seem to be drawn to. I can't say I like all rose patterned wallpapers but there are some rosy walls that draw me in too. I have gathered some photos that will thrill traditionalists and hopefully entice the modern crowd to consider the new rose patterned wallcoverings. 



Roses are old-fashioned, homey and romantic and traditionalists love them. The trick is knowing how to choose a pattern that doesn't look dated. You want to stay away from the 80's look and choose something a little more current. Even if the color palette is soft and pretty, modern rose patterned wallpapers features bigger and bolder roses. Your vintage look will still be enhanced by a selection like this one.


I think this rose patterned wall is fabulous and works really well with vintage and antique pieces. If I were starting over today and looking for something unique and over the top I would definitively embrace this look.


Rose patterned walls have always set the stage for a vintage, traditional style.....and they still can, just in a different way. The popularity of painted furniture and brighter color palettes will help to refresh a traditional style rose wallpapered interior.


Another example of how brightly colored painted furniture can team up with a vintage rose patterned wallpaper  for a more updated look.


This fun rose wallpaper is a modern take on a floral pattern and proves that old fashioned roses can work in a modern interior whether used on all the walls or only one.


If you still love a romantic rose covered wall, it isn't difficult to find a pretty rose patterned paper. Just be willing to check out a few of the current unique collections like these.


Murals are another trendy way to cover your walls in roses. If you are bold and not intimidated by the size of the florals, you can create some pretty stunning interiors.

Diana Watson design  at backtothewall.co.nz

Another fantastic floral wall mural design featuring a classic rose motif.

Diana Watson atbacktothewall.co.nz

Create a beautiful accent wall with an oversized rose pattern.


I like this colorful old world style wall covering with oversized roses and gold calligraphy. It reminds me of a huge oil painting.

Two perennial favorites, stripes and roses, but combined in a more modern way. The painted piece for vintage and the acrylic modern lamp pull this pretty eclectic look together.


via Pinterest

English interiors were saturated with rose patterns. The trend today for the popular English County style interior is traditional looking, rose patterned wallpapers with larger roses as opposed to the smaller patterns of a few decades back.


An all-over rose pattern for your walls will always be a classic look if, (and that if is extremely important), you treat the room in a more updated vintage style and not make it a throwback to times past. Even if you choose antique furniture, add in some edge so you won't get the "grandma" effect.

This rose patterned background gives the room a touch of modern and chic while keeping it feminine and comfy.


For those who want a neutral rose inspired wallpaper, you have many wonderful choices. I love this grey and white version from Windsor Smith in an all-over pattern. Very feminine with a subdued elegance.

A soft greige all-over cabbage rose patterned wallpaper is a pretty choice if you are into neutrals.


via Pinterest

I LOVE this rose wallpaper selection. It is traditional, soft, and feminine but the tone on tone pattern and neutral French, painted furniture make it classic and not dated.


A modern take on the traditional rose chintz wallpaper.


Many of today's rose patterned wallpapers are not as "serious" as paper in the past. The roses are more lively and whimsical but they can still help in creating lovely rooms.


Stenciling a wall in a mono rose design is another alternative if you are not interested in wallpaper.

petitevanou.tumblr.com

For those of you that love the old fashioned vintage look, you can still enjoy wonderful rose covered walls. As you can see from this picture and the one below, this cottage style interior with it's rose and fern covered walls and accessories is on trend with today's interest in botanicals. 


The fern motif keeps his space current as botanicals are a popular design element right now.

via Pinterest

A pretty old-fashioned tea rose motif - perfect for a vintage shabby chic look.

designyourwall.com
ruome.com

Whether you like your roses vintage.......

source unknown

colorful and trendy........

realhomesmagazine.co.uk

 tone on tone subtle...............


................or layered, oversized, and edgy, there is a rose wallpaper out there that will give you the desired look.


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This blog post was published by Lisa Farmer

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Sunday, August 16, 2015

Decorating In Italian Grotto Style




Seashells have always captivated and enticed. Just try and go to the beach without picking some up. It must be the lure of the sea and the fact that it deposits a portion of its deep for us to capture before it returns to claim it back again. This post puts the spotlight on ancient Grotto Style and how today's shell furnishings and accessories follow the same quest as theirs.....to create fantasy furniture from natures stockpile of beautiful things from the sea.

A grotto is a small picturesque cave that is near water and often with the threat of flood at high tide. However the kind of grotto we are featuring are the ones that were constructed as fanciful retreats from reality that appeared throughout Europe. As early as the 1500's grottoes were meant to complement Italian Renaissance gardens. Damp grottoes were used as cool places for Europeans to retreat from the sun, but they also became fashionable baths. Of course there was a need to furnish these spaces, so fantasy furniture, called grotto furniture, became quite the trend and Grotto had it's own "style". 

Today home grottoes and shell encrusted furniture are undergoing something of a revival as we too long to bring our love of the ocean indoors with fun and whimsical seashell-inspired decor.





In 1583, German Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria, built the Grottenhof (Grotto Courtyard) at Trausnitz Castle. It was inspired by Italian Renaissance gardens and designed by Friedrich Sustris.

Photo by Sailko

The Grotto in Boboli Gardens, some of the first and most familiar formal 16th-century Italian gardens, behind Pitti Palace, the main seat of the Medici grand dukes of Tuscany at Florence. Shell encrusted Grotto Grande
was architected by Bernardo Buontalenti, and frescos by Bernardino Poccetti, 1593.

artstheanswer.blogspot.com

Boboli Gardens grotto ceiling.

The word Rococo is derived from the French word rocaille, which denoted the shell-covered rock work that was used to decorate artificial grottoes.

Frederick the Great filled a vast shell-decorated room at Sanssouci Palace with shell-replica furniture.

The first big shell boom occurred in the 1600s when demand became so great that Dutch merchants opened a central shell market to supply connoisseurs with rare species for their “cabinets of curiosities” and architects with enough shells for the “grottoes” that were sprouting up on noble estates.

elogedelart.canalblog.com

A Venetian painted and parcel gilt grotto two seat sofa. Grotto furnishings reflected an appreciation for the proportion and symmetry of the scallop shell and were originally created for the artificial grottoes of royal palace gardens.

Axel Vervoordt

Whimsical and bizarre, Grotto ''fantasy furniture'' became the  stuff of  fertile imaginations.

via Pinterest

The sea has always been mysterious and this is what makes Grotto Style seductive and magical.


Garden rooms and conservatories are great spaces to add some Grotto Style furniture.


A dolphin table, like this one in a David Easton decorated foyer, would be right at home in an interior inspired by ancient Grotto Style.


Venetian Chair (one of set) – 19th Century Reproduction of 17th Century piece. Unknown furniture maker The Venetian Baroque beauty was made up of two silver scallops, one forming the chair back, the other its seat. 


The majority of shell furniture dates from the late 1800's and was mostly made by two Venetian companies, Remi and Pauli.

architecturaldigest.com

A suite of antique carved and silvered wood grotto furniture.

Kelly Wearstler

Grotto style furniture works well today in eclectic interiors because of its classic yet fantastical appearance.


Shell encrusted wall and furniture in the style of designer Tony Duquette. Some use the word grotesque(in a nice way of course) to describe Grotto Style.

There are companies that will help you create your own personal Grotto Style space. 


This classically designed home is the perfect setting for an Italian style grotto. I just wonder how you keep it clean and dust free. Alot of work but it's uniqueness is worth it I'm sure.

Humorous and macabre the Grotto style definitely is not for everybody. However if you are bold and adventurous and looking for a unique interior, you might consider it. 


A new version of a 19th century Venetian grotto chair. Grotto style furniture often had Mediterranean themed carved features to make one feel as if they stepped into Neptune's Palace. 

source unknown


If you want to incorporate a touch of Grotto Style, the bath is a good place to experiment. 

Hutton Wilkinson, Tony Duquette Inc

A few accents like a clam shell basin and shell encrusted mirror will give instant Grotto style pizzaz.

via Pinterest

Or you might choose to go all out in a more ancient, old world Grotto style with murals that set the stage for a heavy encrustation of shells.


Look for furniture with intricately carved aprons with shell and leaf motif, and elegant scroll legs that will create a sophisticated Grotto Style interior.


To accessorize your Grotto Style interior I adore the beautiful old world style sea life objets d'art created by Greyfreth.  

Elegant and aged to perfection, a collection of these would make a stunning addition to an interior style reminiscent of the ancient Italian grottoes.

Featuring shells for chair seats and table surfaces, dolphin-shaped legs, sea horses, algae, coral, sea snakes, as well as other make-believe creatures, Grotto furniture tends to fascinate us with its emphasis on fantastical sea life.



A Grotto style floral arrangement artfully designed from coral and displayed in an urn with the right amount of patina. Add a bronze crustacean to the vignette for the finishing touch.

Shell encrusted accessories can be purchased or try your hand at a DIY project. Just do your homework and find stylish pieces to act as inspiration. Start small with a candlestick or commit to a "go big or go home" project like this chandelier.


Hire a professional (unless you have a good eye for design) to artistically encrust focal points in your home to give it Grotto Style.


Mirrors make wonderful Grotto Style shell encrusted accents.

Some of my favorite pieces are the shell encrusted consoles. They remind me of the authentic old world Grotto Style furniture.




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This blog post was published by Lisa Farmer

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