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Interior Accomplished in Neoclassical Style

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Determining the strong and weak sides of neoclassicism is often difficult. The neoclassical style in the interior is rather timeless, while being a sign of prosperity, exquisite tone, respectability and impeccable taste. The style harmoniously combines modern trends and techniques of the Renaissance.

Most often, boredom of widespread and obsolete things as well as thirst for something new and unusual, dictate a cardinal change in the tastes of both artists and architects, as well as ordinary people. Therefore, not just styles replace each other, but the whole concepts. At one time in England, the reserved Georgian style was replaced by a magnificent Victorian style, while in the rest of Europe, on the contrary, the pretentious Rococo gave way to strict, mathematically calculated lines. This led to a revival of antique principles in interior design. Predictably, this trend has given rise to a fresh look at classical images. This process resulted in a neoclassical style.

The new style is much more democratic than its origins. In general, this style consists of antique canons, which excessive massiveness and grandeur were removed from, and modern ideas. Therefore, neoclassicism can in no way be called blind copying of antique samples, but it retains the basic and most significant principles, the main of which is the golden ratio. The interior is a harmonious composition, not overloaded with decor and small details. These are strict, unburdened, lines and forms. At the same time, the entire interior should look unified, and not fragmented. It is worth considering that the implementation of a neoclassical interior requires significant financial costs and does not accept savings - because then both appearance and quality will suffer.

Neoclassical style is very demanding of space and lighting, so it is more suitable for a private house than for an apartment (excluding spacious apartments). The huge advantages are high ceilings. However, if you have the desire and possibility, you can create this style in an ordinary city apartment. After viewing the photos of finished projects, you can select the appropriate options.

Neoclassical Color Scheme

Color solutions in the neoclassical style are similar to the antique ones - as a rule, these are various natural shades: white (from milk to snow), sand, ocher, golden brown, gray ... These shades usually make up the general mood of the interior. The role of unobtrusive accents is played by darker, sometimes even bright, eye-catching colors. In general, the color scheme can be called conservative - there is no exuberant variety of colors or defiant prints. The palette is ideally almost monochrome and consists of soft muted shades.

Tips for Choosing Neoclassical Furniture

You will need high quality and concise furniture in order to design rooms in this style. Forged and carved elements and curved armrests should be abandoned, only natural wood, high-quality dense materials and smooth surfaces. Several antique items are allowed, but they should harmoniously fit into the design and not draw attention to themselves. Armchairs, soft chairs with armrests, and ottomans to much lesser extent, most often represent the upholstered furniture characteristic of this style. However, ottomans will not ideally suitable for this style.

Decor Elements and Accessories

In neoclassicism, refined and justified elements of decor are certainly encouraged, because the style is partly shaped by exotic influences. During its formation, Egyptian campaigns took place, so the interest in this rich and unusual culture could not but be reflected in the interior. It happens that the decor is made in a pronounced Egyptian theme - in particular, it can be textile ornaments, images of African landscapes and pyramids, or a combination of azure and gold colors.

A rather popular neoclassical decoration is the fireplace. It does not matter whether it is real or electric - the essence is in a frame made according to classical canons. A mirror in a refined frame - for example, wooden and covered with gilding - will fit in well with the project. The mirror can also perform an additional function of visual expansion of space. Instead of paintings, the walls are decorated with fragmentary ornaments or just a large TV panel. Plants fit perfectly into any interior - in this case, flowering plants with large white or red inflorescences are ideal.

Distinctive Features of Neoclassical Style 

The neoclassical design of houses and apartments actively uses modern materials and technologies, practices the organic incorporation of household and multimedia appliances into a classic stylized frame.

Lightning

One of the indispensable items in the neoclassical interior is a large central chandelier. Here you can give free rein to imagination. It can be a complex multi-tiered structure, hung with crystal “drops”, metal chains and inserts, and even rhinestones. The chandelier seems to be playing for the laconic design of the rest of the room and looks almost the most important detail of the interior. However, overdoing is also not worth it. A good option is a strict chandelier, which has strict forms. With a lack of light from the chandelier, additional lamps, such as floor lamps or table lamps, will help. Symmetry is appreciated, although this is not a prerequisite. Lampshades will look great in a milky white shade with an exquisite golden pattern, and coasters should ideally be made of natural stone or wood, so they look noble.

    Ceiling

Wooden (or wood imitating) ceiling slabs will look the best in the neoclassical interior. You can color them white. Multilevel ceilings perfectly create the desired atmosphere. Moreover, the steps should be connected at angles, as opposed to having a rounded shape. This will help to achieve the rigor and laconicism necessary for neoclassicism and visually expand the room.

    Walls

You can use many options for materials to decorate the walls. Both coloring and Venetian plaster and even ordinary wallpapers are suitable. Textile decoration and tapestries look excellent and atmospheric. You can let your imagination run wild in a spacious room - for example, raise the wooden panels by 1/3, paste over the background with plain fabric wallpaper and add tapestries with a vertical pattern. Another good solution is a niche in one of the walls where you can place a fireplace or a plasma TV panel. It is possible to use the latest available decoration materials. There are such interesting options as glass panels, hand-painted or metallic tiles that reflect light. Moreover, new items can be harmoniously combined with classic tricks.

    Floor

It is believed that the ideal flooring in this style is plank parquet or laminate, but it can also be a wide natural board, parquet, polished stone or ceramic tile. The floor should look luxurious and respectable, so you need to use natural wood or high-quality imitation. Carpet and linoleum are not suitable, but a plain carpet is allowed, this will give the room dynamism and modernity. If it is necessary to use floor skirting boards, they must be high (at least fifteen centimeters) and have an antique profile.