Colors of the Regency Era
Looking to turn your walls into a steamy Bridgerton wonderland?
Eager to read Jane Austen with walls that feel just like Pemberly?
Wall colors are one of the defining features of any home and they influence moods, decor, and general atmosphere. They literally paint the age! So what colors adorned the walls and interiors of Regency Era?
Here’s your guide to the Colors of the Regency.
MAIN REGENCY COLOR TRENDS
If you caught our previous blog, you’ll remember that during the Regency, designs simplified into a more classic, British-style elegance from previous more elaborate styles. New travels and archaeological digs created a rage over Neo-Classical Greco-Roman designs—a desire to echo the simple, unmatched elegance of those past cultures.
Three main colors and patterns dominated the Regency.
Pastels
Neutrals
Stripes
REGENCY WALL COLORS
Take a look above at our guide to 3 wall colors of the Regency Era.
What do you notice?
First off, the walls of the Regency period knew how to have a little more fun than the past. Pastel colors were very popular and sparked new vibrancy into homes and public buildings, giving a feeling of lightness and enjoyability that was less grave. With furniture still being ornamental (if less so) than the past, the interplay of brighter pastel walls and gilded furnishings remains a wonderful style to this day.
What Were the Most Popular Colors?
For the Regency period, colors like pea green, pearl gray, celestial blue, blush pink, and golden yellows defined the interiors of the age. They looked elegant while also being very light on the eyes and enlivening up the atmosphere.
Additionally, stripes were also very popular during the Regency Era. These stripes were thick and alternated darker and lighter colors. Originally inspired by designs in India (“Bengal stripes”), these became a common feature in wealthy Regency homes.
The pigments got bolder and the walls got brighter.
REGENCY WALLPAPERS
Regency-inspired wallpaper in my house w/ an electric light ;)
When we think of the Regency, we often mentally put ornate wallpaper as the backdrops to our imagined scenes of love and conversation. However, technically, the word wallpaper didn’t technically come into use until 1827, several years after the Regency.
Still, what we consider to be “wallpaper” today was commonly used in higher class homes. The Regency Era finds wallpaper at the start of a big upswing in popularity with technological improvements easing the printing process. Many of the designs we love today have a Regency Era inspiration to them—floral patterns with birds, long arching branches, French fleur de lis, and more.
During the Regency, the highest quality and most expensive patterns were imported Chinese and Indian designs—reserved only for the select few.
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