Antique style embodies the era of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece. The Greeks carefully thought out their dwellings, they were distinguished by harmony, simplicity and sophistication of forms, the absence of superfluous. Everything is balanced and symmetrical, all elements of the interior are proportional. The ancient Romans adopted the features of this design, adding accessories and decorations to it. This is how the antique style appeared in the interior, the modern features of which we will talk about in this article.
You need to start with the fact that antique design looks good only in a large spacious room with high ceilings and large windows. In small spaces, individual elements or accessories are allowed, but this style is not recommended to be fully implemented.
The main features of the antique style:
- Compliance with the rule of the golden section. All furnishings and furnishings are made in proportions close to the golden ratio.
- order system. In an antique interior, there is always a core, or rather columns. They can be both bearing and carried, and even decorative, painted. The latter option is inherent in modern designs.
- Harmony of colors and shapes.
- Absence of excess. All pieces of furniture and accessories have their own function, corresponding to the type of room.
- Massive interior elements.
- Great space.
Colors and materials
Dwellings in antiquity were equipped with natural materials: stone, bronze, wood, clay, ivory, gypsum, ceramics, marble, silk and cotton. They were mostly not painted, so the rooms were dominated by muted, calm color shades of white, beige, brown and black. Less common were such colors as blue, green, terracotta, olive. In modern antique-style interiors, they began to use gilding for decoration, but this is not entirely correct, since gold was not previously used in decoration.
In modern interiors, it is not necessary to use exclusively natural materials; such decoration of a house or apartment will be very expensive. It is allowed to replace them with analogues that will completely imitate the structure and color of the original. For example, columns were previously made of gypsum and marble, but now they can be easily replaced by plasterboard or polyurethane, covered with decorative plaster.
Ceiling finish
Antique architecture is distinguished by the decoration of the ceiling. These are coffered painted ceilings made of carved wooden beams. Ceiling sections are square or polygonal in shape.
Ceilings are decorated with marble or terracotta tiles, decorative plaster, stucco, bas-reliefs. One of the techniques for decorating ceiling sections is artistic painting.
A modern solution would be to use a two-level stretch or suspended ceiling framed with polyurethane stucco.
Some rooms of the ancient house did not have a ceiling at all, this can be realized by means of a stretch ceiling with photo printing in the form of a sky with clouds, and competent hidden lighting imitates the sun’s rays.
wall decoration
The walls in ancient Greece were made out of stone in its natural form. Natural stone was a sign of luxury, so it was not processed. If the walls were painted, they used muted colors. The main idea of wall decoration is that they should not distract attention from frescoes, wall paintings, carved furniture, tapestries and other decorations.
In a modern interior, it is more practical to finish antique walls with decorative plaster. This can be an option for natural stone, marble, Venetian plaster or textured plaster, painted in ivory, beige, white, cream, olive. Please note that the wall must be solid.
To give the wall “liveness” techniques such as
- frescoes depicting mythological themes, floral patterns, the life of the ancient Greeks;
- stucco, bas-reliefs, borders with patterned ornaments;
- columns and pilasters.
Columns are the main element of the antique style. They are located around the perimeter of the room. However, this technique is not always appropriate in a modern home. You can solve the problem and comply with the requirements of the style through pilasters – vertical ledges on the wall. They will preserve the spirit of antiquity and preserve the spaciousness of the room, being part of the wall decoration.
Floor finish
Clay and natural stone were used to finish the floor in Ancient Greece and Rome. In a modern interior, their replacement can be parquet made of precious wood, natural stone or marble or granite tiles.
The floor covering is laid out with a mosaic or in a checkerboard pattern with alternating colors. Used to combine colors such as white, black, brown, green and terracotta.
Carpets are not laid on the floor, so as not to hide the beauty of the marble mosaic, the texture of natural wood. However, if a monochromatic material was used as a floor covering, then to imitate a mosaic floor, it is allowed to put a carpet with a corresponding ornament, called a meander.
Furniture
A feature of antique style furniture is its simplicity, proportionality and convenience. This is due to the peculiarities of life, climate and clothing of that time. For the manufacture of noble wood or bronze is used.
The table has a round or rectangular shape, legs – one, less often three or four.
Much attention in the antique style is paid to seating furniture (various chairs, armchairs, benches, lodges), it prevails in quantity over other types of furniture. Armchairs are equipped with straight, high backs with a slight tilt back. Chairs with square seats, usually low.
One of the varieties of antique chairs are the so-called klismos. They have a low design, wide-spaced legs curved with a sickle and a rounded back. For the convenience of sitting, a special footrest is included with the klismos.
It is interesting that the ancient Greeks and Romans had a habit of eating lying down, for which a special “kline” bed was created, which is a cross between an enema, a bed and a sofa.
The execution of the legs of the furniture is varied. They can be straight, sickle-shaped or tapering towards the bottom. Have an X-shape or the shape of animal paws.
There are no cabinets in the interior of the antique style. Instead, wooden chests and chests of drawers are used.
Accessories, textiles, lighting
Taking into account that the main illumination of the ancient house came through the open atrium, and torches and a hearth acted as additional light sources, then the lamps in the modern interior are selected accordingly. For this, hidden lighting and lamps built into the ceiling and niches are suitable. Sconces in the form of torches and candelabra are hung on the walls. Classic bronze or crystal chandeliers are hung in the center of the room.
The antique-style interior is decorated with sculptures and ceramic vases of various sizes: from large floor vases to miniature decorative ones. Paintings and tapestries are hung on the walls.
Textiles are represented by chic linens made of linen, hemp, wool. They are used to decorate lodges, beds, windows, doorways. The ceiling or walls are also hung with fabrics to give them brightness.
Rooms
In the middle of the antique-style living room, there is always a large round or rectangular table on one leg, made in the form of a lion, eagle or mythical animal. The table is low, plays the role of both dining and coffee. Chairs, armchairs, sofas facing the center of the room are arranged around the room. Arrangement of seating furniture in the form of the letter P. The furnishings of the antique living room should indicate that this is a place where the reception of friends is combined with eating and relaxed atmosphere.
For ceremonial feasts, a dining room is used, where a high table with exquisite chairs with a high back with a patterned ornament is set.
The antique-style bedroom is given little importance. Furnishings are minimal. Near the wall or in the center of a large simple bed, the center of the flooring pattern clearly marks the location of the bed. There is a chest of drawers with things near the wall or bed.
The study is an important part of the antique-style house. All important papers, family archives are stored here, business meetings are held. The central element of the cabinet is a large chest, made of wood or metal and upholstered with large nails or metal plates. It is used to store valuables. Located on the right side of the wall. The table and chair is chosen by the owner at his discretion.
In the dwellings of Ancient Greece, baths were used for bathing (the so-called various types of baths). In a modern interior, it is impractical to erect such structures and a lot of space will be required. Instead, the bathroom is finished with colors, materials and ornaments typical of the antique style.
The antique kitchen was multifunctional, combining not only a place for cooking, but also adjacent to the premises used for washing, baking, storing and making wine, and so on. The modern antique style in the interior of the kitchen is represented by light wooden furniture, distinguished by the presence of columns and pilasters and trimmed with gold or bronze ornaments. Arched niches imitating window openings overlooking the sea are used in the design of the walls.
It is quite difficult to recreate an ancient dwelling, since it first of all requires large spaces, and many rooms have an open view (without a ceiling). Such a solution is not always practical, so now only wall decoration, furniture or antique-style decorations are used, which are distinguished by a specific ornament and the use of natural materials and natural colors.