English Style: These British Shows and Movies are Full of Home Decor Inspiration
From Bridgerton to The Crown, these shows go beyond the plot with magifecent scenery and interiors to inspire.
The English look is always an inspiration, whether because of the royal family and its aura of importance, the romantic stories that take place in the English countryside, or the cloudy climate of London. The architecture of the palaces, mansions, and houses brings references that marked important periods, but which can serve as a basis for contemporary decorations with luxurious elements that refer to another era.
Films and series set in these scenarios can be a great source of inspiration for those looking for new ideas to decorate the spaces in the house. Discover some famous shows that bring the best of the English style of decoration.
Bridgerton: Classic and Opulent
The series, launched on Netflix's streaming service in 2020, was a success, winning over audiences and critics alike. The story of the first season is set during the Regency Period and follows Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), eldest daughter of the powerful Bridgerton family, who needs to find a good marriage but also hopes to find true love.
During this time in history, fashion, architecture, and other art movements were heavily influenced by Romanticism. Although Bridgerton is not so historically correct, the tone of the series allows a poetic license and includes elements almost fanciful to the society of the time, which results in a production with striking visuals and lots of personality.
Although the clothes worn by the characters draw a lot of attention, the look of the mansions and spaces for social gatherings shown in the series add another layer of refinement and beauty to the work, making clear the opulence and luxurious tastes of the main families of the series. Most of the outdoor scenes were shot in the city of Bath, 120 miles (190 km) from London. The front of the main family home is Ranger's House, a medium-sized, red-brick Georgian Palladian-style mansion in Greenwich. The interior of the houses and mansions was recreated in several small palaces in England, such as Wilton House, in Wiltshire, Hatfield House, in Hertfordshire, and Lancaster House, in London.
The series has brought Regency Period decor back into the minds and hearts of the public and lovers of furniture and luxury items. Original pieces from the 19th century can still be found through auction houses and collector sales, but modern pieces that make sense for the aesthetic, which has Greek, Roman, and Egyptian influences (largely from archaeological discoveries), with furniture characterized by inlays of brass, gilt, exotic woods, and touches of chinoiserie are adaptable, too.
The Crown: Monarchy and Tradition
Another series that features luxurious palaces and spaces is The Crown, a show also launched by Netflix which recounts the trajectory of Queen Elizabeth II's life from her marriage in 1947 to the present day. Each season of the series consists of about a decade of her life, which leads to an interesting passage of time, with a change in clothing style, decoration, and general customs, as well as a touch of fiction, despite the strong biographical aspect of the story.
Buckingham Palace, the official residence and workplace of the British monarchy, is one of the main settings of the show and the main events surrounding the royal family. The space had to be recreated elsewhere for filming, with the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich being used for the exterior scenes and Wilton House for the interior scenes.
Recreating such famous spaces was a challenge, and Martin Childs, production designer for the series, had to think of every detail so that the production was as historically appropriate as possible, but without actually using Buckingham Palace. All items—from furniture, wallpapers, and decorative pieces, as well as the atmosphere of the compositions as a whole—needed, according to Childs, to bring the “post-war austerity and neglect." Thus, the result is an imposing decoration suited to the monarchy, but with a tone of sobriety that differs from the Regency period, for example.
The Last Love Letter: Modern and Refined
For those looking for more up-to-date inspirations, the film The Last Love Letter, released by Netflix in 2021, may be the ideal production, especially because of its more modern look, compared to other works set in England. The film tells two parallel stories: in the present time, a young journalist discovers a series of love letters. They were written between a married woman and her lover in 1960s London. The reporter then searches for more letters and eventually finds her own love.
As it takes place in two different eras, the movie features scenarios of different styles, ranging from vintage to modern, with a touch of romanticism in the look that makes the two timelines not disconnected, but rather converse with each other in a cohesive way. The use of wallpapers with different patterns, warm colors, and sober furniture are some of the decor elements that are present throughout the film. In the scenes that take place in the 2000s, the style of industrial decoration, with bricks and exposed structures, combines coziness and sobriety, combining with the old look of the 1960s.
The decoration of the English films and TV can inspire lovers of different tastes, with references ranging from the opulence of more classical periods to the sobriety of modern England, which combines with the cloudy and rainy view of the city.
