Traditional Interior Design Ideas: Lightweight Classics

The traditional interior design is called a classic. It has a wide range of decorative products starting from antique stucco to expressive floral textiles. Inspired by antiquity, it does not forget about modern comfort. Traditional interiors are comfortable, practical, and functional. Their owners are characterized as calm, reasonable, and successful people.

Content:

1. Style Benefits
2. Specific traits
3. Lines and Shapes
4. Lighting: crystal and warm glow
5. Classic motifs in decoration
6. Collectibles
7. How to reconcile a living room with classic traditions
8. Traditional style in the interior of the kitchen
9. Bedroom Design
10. Elegant bathroom interior

Style Benefits

Versatility

The traditional design is well suited for the decoration of both a country cottage and an apartment in a multi-story building. It fits seamlessly into any interior space both public and private.

Relevance

Classics do not leave trends. You can make a full-scale renovation once, and a cozy atmosphere will please your eye for many years, so you will not want to radically change anything.

Respectability

The elegant style emphasizes the delicate taste of the owners, commitment to tradition. At the same time, it is deprived of the pretentiousness, pomp, and museum nature of palace interiors.

What Features are Inherent in Traditional Interior Design?

We will talk about the main features and give recommendations on how to correct them in practice.

Symmetry Principle

Modern classics was born from antiquity and borrowed from there a love of symmetry and proportionality. Furniture and decorative ensembles are placed around compositional centers – a fireplace, a dining table, and a sofa. And if you draw a line in the center of the composition, objects on both sides will mirror each other. Therefore, we need a paired armchairs, paired vases, tables, etc.

Tip:

It is easy to create an illusion of symmetry with a large wall mirror. The part of the room will be reflected in it. In order for the dynamics to appear in the classic interior, you can add asymmetric details: multi-format paintings, an irregularly shaped carpet, etc…

Smooth Lines and Soft Shapes

Furniture in a traditional style should be elegant, beautiful but first of all, comfortable. This can explain the preference for large soft sofas, deep armchairs with rounded edges, and upholstery made of natural materials. The leather trim of the soft furniture surrounded by lacquered surfaces of wooden tables and cabinets looks very nice. Finely carved linings and gilding inserts are allowed.

Tip:

The new fabric upholstery with a voluminous texture, neutral in color, will help revive the familiar design of an old sofa. To ensure that the room decor does not turn into an old-fashioned one, you don’t need to abuse all furniture with the quilting.

Discreet Color Palette

Home classics prefer muted, pastel colors, with an appropriate complement to more intense accents.

 

Main range	Additional colors
beige	chocolate
cream	deep blue
gray	calm green
light brown	burgundy, cherry

Tip:

The tone-in-tone principle will help the successful realizing of the traditional style in the interior with beige tones. Due to the use of shades of different saturation on the walls, facades, upholstery, and curtains in combination with a light background, the situation will gain depth and expressiveness. The last two photos show examples of such a solution.

Dark Wood Floors

The classic option is dark wood flooring. They use walnut, wenge, acacia, teak, oak, and their high-quality imitation. The color range from golden brown to thick chocolate shades (natural or enhanced with tint) creates a beautiful basis for the rest of the decor. Floor cladding can logically be supported by wooden furniture and stair railings.

Tip:

The combination of wood of two or three different tones makes the design more diverse. The traditional style is characterized by the use of carpets – usually in the area of ​​a sofa group, so they should not completely hide the beautiful floor covering.

Stucco Decoration as a Means of Modeling

One of the hallmarks of the interior in classical traditions is exquisite stucco molding. All kinds of moldings, friezes, borders, baseboards are actively involved in the decoration of the ceiling and walls. They perform another important function by decorating surfaces – they form a space:

• divide the wall into equal parts;
• adjust the height of the ceiling;
• balance the proportions of the room.

Tip:

The use of stucco molding depends on the size of the room. In a small area, it is better to limit yourself to neat wall moldings located symmetrically. If they are painted to match the walls, the effect of expensive cladding panels occurs.

Accent Design Window Openings

The traditional interior is associated with a solid, lush, detail-rich window decoration. Beautiful curtain drapery can have an ornament that jumps together with upholstered chairs and sofas. This creates a holistic textile composition.

Framing Options:

• straight heavy curtains and delicate lace tulle;
• lambrequins – straight ones, with pleating, bordered ones;
• lateral pickups with brushes, fringe, braid.

Tip:

As an alternative to the usual decor, Roman blinds are suitable. They are usually of white or neutral light shades. They also fit well into a smart environment.

Lighting: Crystal and Warm Glow

According to the classical interior tradition, a large chandelier made of crystal or expensive glass acts as a central lamp, or as an option – a bronze model with fabric shades. For local lighting install floor lamps, table lamps, candelabra. We remember the principle of symmetry and select paired sources.

The luminous flux of the warm yellow spectrum as from candles is appropriate. It will be in harmony with the color scheme of the room. If you connect a dimmer (brightness adjusting device) for the main chandelier, you can control the tonality and saturation of light by mood.

Tip:

As with windows, there is a decent fallback. Well-chosen spotlights around the perimeter will not only emphasize the design in a traditional style but, in addition, will support the attractiveness of the situation with an even soft glow.

Classic Motifs in Decoration

The most typical drawings for wallpaper and textiles: strip, plaid, floral patterns (the famous “Damascus”), wreaths, images of antique vases. Borders made in a similar style will indicate the boundaries of the decor on the walls and ceiling joints. When mixing ornaments, the rule applies – adhere to a single color scheme.

Tip:

Of course, patterns in a traditional interior must follow the idea of ​​symmetry. But nothing prevents you from using motives of a non-standard scale or non-trivial shades.

Collectibles

It’s about expensive and unique things – china, antique books, paintings, sculptural miniatures, candlesticks. They are located on shelves, tables, decorate the walls. The look of the classic design of the lamp with stained glass or fabric lampshades completes the photo in silver frames.

Tip:

It is not necessary to buy reproductions with sea battles or hunting scenes. A suitable solution is canvases of contemporary art and black and white photographs. And to make the atmosphere informal, you can let the picture unframed.

How to Finish a Living Room in Classic Traditions

• The front room must have the correct shape; otherwise, it is difficult to maintain the principle of symmetry.
• Zoning is done using furniture: the main place is occupied by a sofa group. It is concentrated around a coffee table or focused on a fireplace.
• Separately located additional places of relaxation (for reading, tea drinking).
• The background finish is calm, neutral, light: gray, beige, cream shades of the walls. The upholstery of chairs and sofas can be emphasized more vividly.
• The walls are decorated with ornamental wallpaper, white stucco molding. To underline the accent, areas use a composition of paintings, graphics.
• A typical element is a fireplace. The decorative one is quite suitable for the apartment. It is also often decorated with stucco molding, and the mantelshelf is used as a stand for expensive accessories.

Traditional Style in the Interior of the Kitchen

• The ideal option is a separate room which also has the correct geometry. In the case of combining with the living room, decoration methods common to both zones are used: decoration with cornices, close color gamut, the same type of light sources.
• The task of decoration is to adhere to external canonical styling and implement modern functionality.
• If the area allows, the center of the room is an island – this is an additional work surface and at the same time a place for eating.
• The kitchen is made of hardwood, the countertop is of stone.
• It is better to hide household appliances behind wooden facades. Give the preference for built-in models.

Bedroom Design

• The bed for the traditional bedroom should be made of natural wood. It should be covered with a luxurious bedspread, which in color and pattern is combined with curtains and textile upholstery.
• The head of the bed is in most cases soft: fabric or leather, decorated with a carriage quilting, carved details around the edges.
• Additional furniture items are dressing table, chairs, soft poufs, banquets, chest of drawers, etc. The design of the facades of wardrobes and the door is as identical as possible, so the room acquires visual integrity.
• The leading decorative accent falls on the wall behind the headboard. It is decorated with beautiful wallpaper and is framed with pilasters, and symmetrical composition of moldings (in the central part there is a picture, a mirror, on the sides there are paired lamps).
• Two lighting scenarios are set up in the room: the main source is a For a more comfortable local glow add a sconce or table lamps.

Elegant Bathroom Interior

• The bathroom is decorated in bright colors. In combination with mirrors, this will visually enlarge a small room. Pearl, sand, vanilla palette enhances the effect of openness in large rooms.
• With the help of pilasters, moldings, carved cornices, you can focus on the functional areas. If there is a window – curtains are required. You do not want to hang solid curtains, you can do with neat Roman curtains.
• Finishing materials for walls and floors are natural stone, and ceramic tiles with imitation of natural materials (marble, granite). Design option – tiles with floral motifs as on wallpaper.
• Cabinets, a washbasin cabinet have facades with panels, carved elements. Countertops are made of marble.
• Plumbing is stylized. Faucets for sinks and bathtubs should be kept in retro style. The colors of bronze, brass in combination with an expressive form look very atmospheric.

The traditional interior is a beloved classic theme without pomp and frills. The order is in the modeling of space, the calm and noble atmosphere in furniture, color palette, lighting. This design is easily updatable – with modern accessories and the inclusion of brighter tones.