Baroque styled furniture is for the person who loves pompous detail, and awe-inspiring first-class luxury. Baroque beds are not commonly found in your local furniture store, as they are a very specialized rare bed that can only be found online. These stately looks feature grand carvings, and incredibly ornate detail. It seems as though within the last few years this bed as been featured most painted black or in white. Ideally, when overly ornate beds are painted, they look best when they are slightly worn or distressed which breaks up the paint finish allowing the natural wood to show through. Gloss Black also allows the intense details to shine attracting light to its surface. Baroque furniture became in fashion with the reign of the French King Louis XIV who introduced a style of excess grandeur and luxury. Baroque furniture encouraged the privileged person of that time a chance to show off their money, wealth and status. If you decide to decorate using Baroque elements, we can show you how to pull this look together without it feeling overwhelmed. We discuss step-by-step how you can decorate around this magnificent style giving your home a luxurious balanced feel.
One way of toning down very ornate furniture is to pair it with natural elements which takes the edge off of the flamboyant and flashy nature of the excessive details of thisfurniture. By approaching it with fabric or natural details that are rather dull and organic, it allows the eye not to be overwhelmed, and in essence creates a balance between the simple, and the ornate.
For example- Instead of painting the frame of a baroque chair a traditional gold, one can go for a cream which can be paired with a linen upholstery. When picking colors for your frame, stay away from bright whites, and opt for the greenish grays or creamed whites which have beige or green undertones. Creamy white washes over these colors can also create a depth compared to a simple painted chair.
Although white has been projected as the typical color for baroque styles, it tends to give a modern feel which is cold. The warmth of the creams, along with distressing will give more of an authentic 17th - 18th century feel than stark whites. In addition, if black is the color choice, again, distress the details of the frame which will give it more depth, showing the natural wood details.
Upholster your baroque chairs with natural linens, hemp or a natural ticking. The natural fabrics will allow a person to take in and appreciate the extravagance of the carvings without feeling overwhelmed.
There are no set rules to decorating, so pair your furniture up with what ever works in your home. I always suggest to find furniture you love and adore and utilize accessories to tie things together.
Remember less is more. More is often overwhelming and messy.
Ornate furniture is almost better with like pieces that tend to pull together the entire look. Opt for additional furniture with details, and cherry pick only the best furniture for your home, and get rid of the excess that just doesn't measure up or work with the stately furniture of your home.
Again, less is more in many cases. Showcase your best furniture, and accessorize with details that will highlight your style. If you truly are after an 18th century look, put your money into reproduction or authentic furniture, and accessorize with paintings which showcase that period in history such as portraits. You will not need as much furniture as the normal person, as less will be more with embellished furniture.
Don't be afraid of using gold in your home to pull things together. Gold works beautifully with brighter colors, as well as muted natural looks. If you love silver, work with silver leaf, and pair it with grays. Grey linens, gray throws, and natural linen gray toned pillows. Gold tends to work yellows, and creams, creamy greens with gray tones. Gold and silver serve as neutrals, so when you cannot find a color to work on your chair frame, guaranteed, either of these metallic colors will work well.
French Style Baroque Rococo Beds
Lets talk about the other way of decorating with this style:
Incorporating highly ornamented furniture calls for a balance of details around the room. One way you can do this is to faux finish the walls using a sponge to give a simulation of parchment walls.
Brick would also give additional detail into a plain room by painting the brick, and distressing the finish before the paint dries to give it an old world look of wear. Today beautiful faux finishes can be purchased and installed as wallpaper.
If you are wanting to go towards more color than a neutral or natural palette, consider a color that you love and work around it using wallpaper and patterned fabrics. Upholster your chairs in a coordinating fabric and finish the frames in a faux wood finish, or a gold. Again, ornate furniture should be somewhat distressed to give some dimension to the piece, otherwise it can look much like plastic. Showing some depth, really can draw the eye to the amazing detail.
Using a color circle to guide your color choices, pick colors that are either similar in color, or opposite in color. Colors which are similar create a flow of colors, such as green and a combination of lighter greens and blues.
Opposites work mainly in one color and create a splash of difference. For example using green as the home base, slight accents of orange (which is the opposite of green on the color wheel) can be used in throw pillows and gold frames on the wall with colorful art. Working with a busy look, you want to start with 1 pattern such as an upholstery fabric or wallpaper and find other fabrics to complement it. The overall look will be balanced with the furniture.
Wainscoting or Boiserie are most often featured with baroque styled furniture. Both were used to define walls with ornate and intricately carved wood panelling. Many early examples of ornately carved wood panelling were not painted, but later as raised mouldings became popular with baroque finishes they were either painted or gilded. Boiseries were popular in seventeenth and eighteenth century. A perfect example is the Palace of Versailles,in which the panels were not confined just to the walls, but were also used to decorate doors, frames, shelves and cupboards.
Victoria Beckham appeared in the December issue of 2009's Harper's Bazaar posing in front of a showy french mansion featuring a cream washed wood baroque french bed. Looking at the bed itself, the finish is beyond spectacular. It is washed in white, but the wood itself can be seen through the paint. The walls and doors have delicate details themselves, all drawing ones attention to the grand bed.
Due to the stateliness of Baroque furniture it is recommended that you take measurements of the room before purchasing any pieces. We hope we have given you some ideas for decorating your rococo / baroque styled bedroom.
French Baroque Rococo Bed Victoria Beckham Harper's Bazaar December 2009
French Baroque Rococo Bed Victoria Beckham Harper's Bazaar December 2009
French Baroque Rococo Bed Victoria Beckham Harper's Bazaar December 2009
French Baroque Rococo Bed Victoria Beckham Harper's Bazaar December 2009
