Bringing British Colonial Styling into your home

Bringing British Colonial Styling into your home

British Colonial is a design style rich in history, texture, light and shade.  It is a soothing, classic aesthetic that is at once bold and soft where the contrast of white against dark timbers, highlighted with greenery from plants and prints, resonates with those who have an eclectic heart and a love of exploring and adventure.  

Decorating your home with British Colonial styling should focus on key elements including:-

Fabric Choices

Carefully curated soft furnishings that combine neutral tones, bold prints and a variety of textures create a classic British Colonial feel. Layer your space with textures and colours with an eclectic mix including botanical prints, paisleys, ikats, batiks and animal prints to create an interesting story.

Layering Textures & Materials

Layering different textures throughout your space is at the heart of British colonial style, bringing life and interest to the white walls and dark timber floorboards that are the foundation.

Light weight Turkish or Persian rugs, animal hides or natural fibre seagrass, sisal, and jute rugs help lift the dark tones of the floor. While woven window shades, rattan baskets and wallpapers all add depth, interest and texture. Don’t be afraid to add texture to your dining table too, with table runners, patterned tableware and interesting cutlery and utensils.

Striking Furniture

The exotic British Colonial interiors feature dark stained teak, mahogany or bamboo chairs and tables, dressed with cream or light coloured seat cushions for contrast. Referred to as Campaign Furniture, adding furniture items that fold down, brings to life the idea of transience where a traveller might pick up and go at any moment.

The relaxed nature of this style is reminiscent of a luxurious adventure – think next level glamping and leather trunks, bar carts, 4-poster and canopy beds, cane bed heads and daybeds are all common features of the British Colonial style, displayed within both indoor and outdoor living spaces.

Exotic Decorative Accessories

For the fortunate few, a colonial lifestyle was a globe-trotting lifestyle, and displaying  items collected from exotic locations creates the layered look of a British Colonial style. Decorating in this style offers an opportunity to tell stories from your travels, your family history and your interests by having your favourite mismatched collectables on display.

When displaying your collection, it’s important to mix together a wealth of eclectic accessories like classic English fine china, crystal and silver alongside carved pieces, globes, maps, telescopes, letter-writing boxes and memorabilia.   Vignettes of books topped with candles, magnifying glasses and other accessories that look like a collection of trips and experiences help to create an old-world travel-inspired look.

Further interest can be added with tropical decorative pieces like coral, shells and wood carvings with bamboo, rattan and leather accents.

Fresh or Faux Plants

Plants belong everywhere in a British Colonial home as the greenery provides a freshness to the light and darkness of the walls and floors. It’s important to choose the right type of plants though, including plants with green leaves rather than native flowers and soft English florals. Palm fronds, whole palm plants, orchids and hibiscus flowers are tropical plants that are perfected suited to British Colonial styling, as their rich dark greens give the eye visual relief. Don’t be afraid to mix faux and real plants in your space too, as this allows for some consistently beautiful foliage that’s low maintenance and always showy.

To explore our range of British Colonial furniture and décor items, we invite you to visit our online store at https://piecesofjoy.com.au/collections/british-colonial