What Is Regency Era Design?

Regency Fusion by Urban Lark

Why hello there whipper snapper! Today we’re diving into the time of Jane Austen and Bridgerton to highlight Regency-style design. Recently, Regency and Regency-inspired furniture has continued its power renaissance thanks to these movies, books, and shows.

If you’re looking for design inspiration, taking a closer look at the Regency Era might be the secret key to making your home elegant. There’s a reason this brief period of English history continues to fascinate, inspire, and create dreams for so many people.

WHAT IS THE REGENCY ERA?

King George IV

Before we start our Regency Era masterclass on furniture design, let’s learn a little bit about the period. With Regency’s popularity, it’s very easy to be deceived about what is actually Regency (or Regency-inspired) and what definitely is not.

So what is the Regency Era?

As simply as possible, the Regency Era is the period that includes the end of King George III’s reign and is either referred to as the (almost) end of or successor to the Georgian Era of British history. Spanning from 1811 to 1820, the Regency is defined by the time period that King George III’s son, George IV, took over as Regent for Britain while his father was destabilized by mental illness (yes, that Mad King George).

In 1820, Prince George IV would end the Regency by becoming the actual King George IV and oversee the tail end of the Georgian Era. In popular culture, it is remembered as a time of wealth and tranquility (“Mr. Darcy!”)—however, the reality is very different.

The Regency is a time of haves and have nots—the rich experienced a cultural flourish with literature, music, and (as we’ll see) design hitting new heights of excellence. However, the poor faced the grind of industrialization. Across the English Channel, the Napoleonic Wars engulfed Europe, straining resources.

CULTURE OF THE REGENCY

Regency Styled Living Room

When we think of the Regency Era today, our imaginations wander mostly to the drawing rooms, love intrigues, and quiet drama of the wealthy. This is mostly because of a certain barely-known-in-her-day female author Jane Austen.

The author of Pride and Prejudice and Emma lived on mostly (increasingly smaller) country estates. In her day however, the heavyweight champion author was Sir Walter Scott, whose Waverly novels (including Ivanhoe and Rob Roy) dominated readers’ imaginations. Poets like Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley also contributed poetry that last today.

Architecture really gained several milestones during the Regency Era, with John Nash’s Buckingham Palace Expansion and Royal Pavilion in Brighton becoming trademark works of English architecture.

Still, despite all the incredible work in literature, art, and architecture, the start of “interior decoration” (receiving its first book mention in 1807) might be the greatest artistic advancement of the Regency Era.

AN OVERVIEW OF REGENCY DESIGN

Thorne Miniature Room of Regency Library, Art Institute of Chicago

What is Regency Era design?

This huge question can only be answered by illustrating many unique characteristics. However, let’s start with the most basic.

As a change of pace from the Baroque and Georgian periods of furniture design, Regency at its core represented a slight shift towards simplification and diversification. Simplification resulted in a rejection of opulent Baroque fashions in fav or of simpler lines and less ostentation. Diversification came from the variety of travel books and reports of archaeological digs being published that inflamed imaginations.

Neoclassical, Greco, and Egyptian inspired designs became more popular (a result of those archaeological digs) but rather than being the main motifs—these mythological designs ornamented furniture as extra details. Additionally, the new travels and Napoleonic Wars introduced more types of wood for furniture making that for the wealthy, superseded mahogany as the dominant wood type. These included rosewood and ebony. Brass also embellished many furniture pieces.

Next week we’ll break down some examples of Regency Era furniture!

Thank you for exploring the Regency with me! Explore more Urban Lark here, and don’t forget to take a look at my personalized design services!