Interior Design Center

Defining the Georgian style is not as easy as it might sound. We use the term quite loosely these days to cover a century's worth of design innovation and change. The Georgian period actually covers the years 1715-1830 and the four king Georges who reigned over them.

Georgian colours (frequently referred to simply as 'Period' colours) are often described as sludgy and drab - pea greens and putty, however, towards the latter part of the century much more vibrant hues were favoured such as bronze-greens, rich reds and vivid yellows. Cream, dusky rose, sage and powder blues were also popular, giving the historically conscious a much broader scope in palette than at first imagined.

One of the most notable aspects of the Georgian period is the use of Classicism - a Greek and Roman architectural style that was admired and brought home by the wealthy after their 'Grand Tour' of Europe. It can be seen externally in very grand facades using columns, pediments and balustrades and Classical details were also used internally in pilasters, arches and elaborate mouldings on the ceilings.

Interior decoration became very fashionable during this time thanks, in part, to the first books cataloguing design. This gave the people an opportunity to copy how the aristocracy were decorating and building their homes. In the book they would have seen not only the architectural details but also decorative devices - the egg and dart, cornucopia, satyr masks, garlands of fruit and even Roman eagles. These devices could be interpreted into furniture designs or mouldings on walls and ceilings.

There were also key trends within the period. Rococo was very popular in the Early Georgian era and this brought about curvy and fanciful designs of branches, leaves, icicles and shells carved into mirrors frames and furniture legs. Chinoiserie (a mix of Chinese style and Rococo) developed from there and was all the rage by 1750. Pagodas, fretwork and lacquer were incorporated into everything from bed frames to teapots, chair backs to painted armoires.

The window is a renowned element of the Georgian style - tall and expansive they are the envy of many a home owner. On a four-storey Georgian built town house (imagine the terrace houses in the crescents of Bath) it was the first floor where the sash windows were tallest, shorter both above and below but all in exquisite proportion. Inside the windows were covered with pairs of curtains, as well as the pull-up blinds of earlier times. Pelmets were also introduced at this time and the fabrics used would have been damask, velvet, chintz, silk and brocade.

Thomas Chippendale was the famed furniture maker of the time. He designed lower square backed chairs with straight legs, though cabriole legs were still fashionable as were ball and claw feet. Chair arms were set well back to allow for some of the more elaborate fashions including panniered skirts (an extremely broad skirt that does nothing for the hips!)

The lighting of the period came from candles, chandeliers, candelabras and sconces and, of course, well-positioned windows. That being said, it was not unheard of for a room to go without a window at all if the window were to spoil the look of the façade. The external appearance of the building was of utmost importance.

Niki Schafer is the founder of dwell-being designs ( www.dwell-being.com ) based in Henley-on-Thames - Dwell-being designs inspiring spaces, inherently yours.

In truth, she's actually far too down-to-earth to be an interior designer, but she's passionate about colour and texture and re-arranges furniture within minutes of entering an establishment so the career choice became more of a must than anything else.

She's also a writer. This started with an obsession with Scrabble and grew into sentences and paragraphs later.

Niki is a phenomenally inspiring wife and mum and reminds her family of this on a daily basis.

In her spare time, Niki experiments in a number of martial arts in a pair of lilac boxing gloves.