Room Decorating with Sophisticated Glamour

INTRODUCTION

The Sophisticated Glamour style room is reminiscent of old Hollywood Glamour from the 1940s to 1960s. Old Hollywood conjures images of a time when actresses were photographed only in formal dresses and dripping with diamonds. It's an opulent style filled with ornately carved wood and rich fabrics, but with the right application of elements the sophisticated look takes on a friendly and livable approach. The key to achieving a livable approach is balancing the extensive opulent elements with organic shaped and neutral colored details. Once again we see the important role balance plays in a well designed room.

Within the Sophisticated Glamour style room, chic components and opulence take focus with a few neutral elements fulfilling important roles in the background. The style is about rich elements composed in dramatic ways, creating a formal yet fun decor. This is a dramatic, attention grabbing design scheme, making it ideal for living rooms, and even inspirational in home offices. It's not entirely ideal for kitchens as the rich fabrics will certainly interfere with the space's functionality. It also tends to be very feminine, an unfitting style for a multi-gender shared family room.

In this article you'll learn:

Top color choices for achieving a Sophisticated Glamour style

Textures and fabrics most aligned with the decorating theme

Finishing touches to consider utilizing

Style lesson in decorating with wooden molding

Developing a Masculine Sophisticated Glamour style

COLORS

Aim for a memorable color palette. For extra drama opt for rich dominant tones like deep blue and regal violet. Mid-range tones, like a Tiffany's blue, are a bit less dramatic and more ladylike, but just as glamorous and work nicely in the design.

A sharp contrast is necessary so pair the dominant tone with a subordinate bright white, or other sharp contrasting color. This contrast is further emphasized through the use of thick stripes in the dominant and subordinate colors. Consider adding such stripes to curtains for on the walls. Accent the look with silvers or golds for extra opulence: shiny tends to be more luxurious while brushed metal takes on an artisanal feel.

A fitting color scheme to consider makes black the dominant color with white as a subordinate, and either silver or gold accents. The look can be dramatized even further with an appropriately colored wallpaper hung just below the wainscoting. It's evident from just the color palette that Sophisticated Glamour is made for dramatic details and bold color choices.

TEXTURES AND FABRICS

Sophisticated Glamour thrives off rich fabrics such as satin and velvet. Satin is ideal for curtains, while velvet works great as an upholstery fabric. Velvet also contrasts well with the wood edging also recommend within the style, specifically for the furniture pieces.

Feel free to add sheer curtains to the windows for privacy and an additional sense of luxury. Keep them white to avoid taking too much focus from the main components of the room, the furniture, which introduces a wooden element. Aim to keep wood present only in the furniture.

The main textures for this style include shiny glass, sleek metal, and glossy enamelware. Each of these elements add to a clean, rich aesthetic with glass acting as a balancing material, metal increasing the glamour, and glossy enamelware helping keep the style from becoming too opulent.

FURNITURE STYLES

The right styled furniture is key to achieving a put together Sophisticated Glamour room. The ideal design is elegantly lined with carved art deco style details. Art deco tends to be very geometric, consisting of mostly angular lines. Unlike the scrolled carvings of Aristocratic style, art deco tends to create repeating square and rectangular patterns. The carved details increase the sophistication of the style, which is why adding molding to basic shelving is also a good idea to round out the design.

Prime Sophisticated Glamour style pieces are Chippendale, tufted slipper chairs, and delicately curved chaise lounges. Covering the furniture with velvet glamorizes the pieces. Feel free to paint the wood portions of the furniture to fit into the decor scheme. Oftentimes the subordinate bright white works well, but a well done surprising element can be fun, such as a chair or two detailed in gold.

FINISHING TOUCHES

It's no surprise that the finishing touches should exhibit a level of luxury and glamour. With so much opulence in the design, it's easy to travel down a route of too much richness. Avoid gaudiness by keeping the finishing touches to a minimum and balancing the extremely opulent with more neutral elements, such as a crystal chandelier over a table featuring a centerpiece of organically formed white enamel vases. The crystal chandelier is quite frankly the definition of opulence while the arrangement of organic vases right below helps humble the luxury.

Utilize the aforementioned material elements to create fitting finishing touches. Some great finishing touches include:

- Black and white portraits of old Hollywood actresses and actors. Frame them in either the subordinate color, accent color, or a mirrored frame. The mirrored frame is a nod to the art decor style that heavily influences the design scheme.

- Chandeliers can add sparkle or whimsy, depending on the material. Aim for light, bright, with a glamorous feel.

- Faux fur covered stools make for glamorous seating.

- Silver or gold vases and bowls work well to hold trinkets and fresh flowers. Keep in mind a vase of fresh flowers can look both elegant, and help anchor the style back to realism.

- Fresh flowers work threefold within the Sophisticated Glamour room: to please visually in beauty, balance the opulent details with a natural glamour, and provide scent, a key to appeasing more senses in the design.

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- Ornately framed, oversized mirrors work well to open up smaller rooms and add a luxurious feel, thanks to their size.

- Consider an arrangement of framed personal photos on a table in true mid-century style.

As always, keep the finishing touches balanced and pertaining to the styles's main themes and recommended textures. Balance the luxury with organic shapes and down to earth details like flowers, and allow underlying themes to make the element decisions.

STYLE LESSON- DECORATING WITH WOODEN MOLDING

Wood molding in the form of wainscoting, cornices, and attached to furniture is an easy and inexpensive way to add interest and a formal element to any room. Molding works especially well within a Sophisticated Glamour room for its ability to create blocks of color and patterns, resulting in dramatic additions.

There are three main areas to attach wood molding in a room. First, at chair height, or wainscoting, the wood molding works to add additional wall interest. Second, at the top of walls, where the wall meets the ceiling, cornices add interest in low utilized areas. Third, attached to furniture the molding helps elevate a basic piece of furniture into something substantial.

When attaching the molding, it's best to use paneling nails, a level, and plenty of pencil marks to ensure accurate sizing and levelness. It's often easier to paint the molding prior to wall attachment. You can always touch up any holes from the nails with wood putty and a touch up paint application.

Decide prior to application what kind of look and emphasis the room's style will benefit from. Stick to either cornices or wainscoting as both will quickly lead to molding overload.

A few considerations when working with wood moldings include:

- White wainscoting and white trim aligned in a square attached on top of a rich toned wall adds dramatic contrast. The look also works to delineate colors above and below the chair line, such as a rich blue on top, and all white below; or dramatic wallpapered walls below and an easy tone above.

- Another option with wainscoting is painting the molding to match the full wall, allowing the molding to add a floating textural element. This technique doesn't add enough drama to work in a Sophisticated Glamour room, but can work within other styles.

- Detailed cornices change emphasis based on the molding's color in comparison to both the ceiling and walls. Make cornices stand out in bright white against a yellow wall and light blue ceiling.

- Adding molding to furniture is a great way to change the look of a piece. Adding molding on top of furniture helps create a built-in illusion. Work carefully and consider using wood glue to avoid splitting thinner pieces of wood.

Wood molding can significantly change the appearance of a room simply by adding additional details, drama, and textual or color interest. Some design styles such as Aristocratic Romance and Sophisticated Glamour really come together with the addition of the molding.

SURPRISING FIT- MASCULINE SOPHISTICATED GLAMOUR

Thus far Sophisticated Glamour has proven itself to be quite feminine in application due to the gentle nature of its elements. Fitting the style with a masculine theme may seem counterintuitive, but it is actually not too difficult.

In order to seamlessly translate a style between gender themes, one must first comprehend that certain colors and elements are easily associated with a particular gender and can be swapped for the equal and opposite element. Once an element can be described in terms of what it adds to a design, it's easy to identify its opposite. Typically the changes are within the realms of color and fabric choices, and follow a guideline of lighter, airier for feminine with strength and heaviness for masculine.

Here are the recommended changes for a Masculine version of Sophisticated Glamour, ideal for a man's home office:

- Keep the basic idea of the color palette in terms of a strong dominant color, but alter the ideal contrasting tone from white, which is quite airy and fresh, to either black or deep brown, both of which exhibit a certain strength. Black might darken the room too much, in which case the deep brown should be used. Also consider a deep brownish-red, as in the tone of a rich mahogany wood.

- For fabrics, trade satin and velvet for buttery soft, yet sturdy leather and suede.

- Textural accents can be a mix of glass, metal, and enamelware, however, opt for rugged bronzed metal or an artisanal brushed gold instead of the bright, shiny feminine options. Also, use dark toned enamelware to once again infuse a strength characteristic.

- The same ornately carved art deco furniture should be utilized, as well as added details of wooden molding around the room.

- For the finishing touches, utilize the masculine materials over the original feminine materials. Further enhance the masculine factor with dried reeds or grasses, taking the place of fresh flowers (reed diffusers work well to add a scent element here), and hang vintage movie posters instead of actresses, preferably posters for action-packed films.

Altering the gender of a style involves understanding what each element brings to the design scheme, then identifying another element that brings the same traits, but aligns more with the opposite gender. Of course this is highly subjective, but typically most materials can be directed towards a gender or deemed neutral, as was the case with the glass element which can be incorporated into both gender versions of Sophisticated Glamour style.

The goal of decorating with a gender in mind isn't to isolate a gender or make a statement, it's purely personal and intended to make the room more welcoming for the primary users, that's why in the above example we used a home office- a room typically used by a single person.

One of the main focuses of designing rooms is to achieve a welcoming, comfortable, and pleasing space to spend time in, further emphasizing the importance of the ability to combine decorating styles with ease, as to better appeal to the user.

SUMMARY

Reminiscent of old Hollywood Glamour, the Sophisticated Glamour style is an opulent style filled with ornately carved wood and rich fabrics, but applied in a manner where the sophisticated look takes on a friendly and livable approach. The result is a formal, yet fun look.

Choose a dramatic color palette with a sharp contrasting subordinate color such as bright white. Use silvers or golds as accent colors for extra glamour. Fabrics should be rich satin and velvet, and any wood details should be carved in art deco style. The main textures for this style include sleek and shiny glass, metal, and glossy enamelware. Each of these elements add to a clean, rich aesthetic.

Appropriately styled furniture is elegantly lined with carved art deco style details. Prime style pieces include Chippendale, tufted slipped chairs, and delicately curved chaise lounges. Round out the style with finishing touches that exhibit a level of luxury and glamour. Avoid gaudiness by keeping the finishing touches to a minimum, and balancing the extremely opulent with more neutral elements. Be sure to add some wood molding for additional interest.

Wood molding in the form of wainscoting, cornices, and attached to furniture is an easy and inexpensive way to add interest, and a formal element to any room. Molding works especially well within a Sophisticated Glamour room for its ability to create blocks of color and patterns which in turn help increase the dramatic notes within a room.

Switching gender themes of a style is relatively easy when components have opposites that exhibit similar traits, such as the rich, tough feminine velvet easily trading places with rich, tough masculine leather. Typically the changes are within realms of color and fabric choices, and follow a guideline of lighter, airier for feminine with strength and heaviness for masculine. Once an element can be described in terms of what it adds to a design, it's easy to identify its opposite. Decorate for genders to satisfy room users, it makes for better styled rooms.

The Sophisticated Glamour style room features chic components and opulence. The rich details easily stray towards a feminine look, but can be customized towards a masculine route. The result? A fun, formal decor that inspires creativity.

Key elements for achieving a Sophisticated Glamour style:

- Theme: Within the Sophisticated Glamour style room, chic elements and opulence take focus. It's about rich elements composed in dramatic ways, creating a formal yet fun room.

- Color: Aim for a memorable color palette. Pair the dominant tones with a sharp contrasting tone, such as bright white. Accent the look with silvers or golds for extra opulence.

- Textures and fabrics: Think rich fabrics like satin and velvet for a Sophisticated Glamour style room. Textures include wood (primarily in the furniture), glass, metal, and glossy enamelware

- Furniture style: The ideal design is elegantly lined with carved art deco style details which work to increase the sophistication of the room's style. Try to upholster seating in velvet fabric for richness.

- Objects to pull it together: Aim for minimal objects which encompass the idea of glamour and elegance. Using the aforementioned glass, shiny metal, and shiny enamelware bodes well for the overall look.

Words of caution:

- Avoid reaching a level of gaudiness with the style's many opulent details by balancing the luxury with organic shapes and simple materials like curved enamelware vases holding fresh flowers.

- Work carefully with wooden molding to avoid splitting thinner areas of the wood.