English Style Interior Design Ideas and Photos of the best interiors for your inspiration

This is a complex concept that includes architecture, furniture arrangement, decorative elements, color scheme and much more. It is also worth considering that the English style itself is also divided into several sub-styles: country, Georgian, Rocco, Victorian, medieval and much more. All this is also taken into account in the construction of your interior in this style.

How the English interior style was created

This direction originates in the 18th and 19th centuries. Moreover, the style was not just born out of nothing, it was literally assembled in parts. For example, in its medieval beginning, the features of real Gothic are clearly traced.

Romanesque outlines are also visible, which even now can be seen in cultural monuments of the medieval period, especially in castle buildings.

Then, when the English kings and elite got tired of all of the above, Roman and Greek notes in the interior decoration began to occur in the style. At this time, the Gregorian era was emerging, most of which is now visible in British interiors and England as a whole. Its traces also remain today, and are predominant, in comparison with Gothic techniques.

After the arrival of Queen Victoria, the Victorian period begins, and he also left a significant mark on English interiors, which even today is visible to the naked eye, especially in large halls.

By and large, it is the Gregorian and Victorian styles that can be considered the progenitors of the full-format English style of interiors.

Features of the interior in English style

An ideal home for an ideal life – that’s how you can characterize the housing of the British. This means that everything that surrounds the owner of the house and his guests should be solid, high-quality, but at the same time practical to use and comfortable.

The British understand it this way:

• Choose armchairs, poufs and sofas, rounded shape. Plain or with a simple pattern: a cage, a strip, Turkish cucumbers – paisley, flowers.
• The interior should be rich in wood of different breeds. Most often oak, walnut or mahogany. The decor should be rich, but not pretentious.
• And the main thing in the house is a real fireplace.

For which interiors the English style is suitable

The English interior will suit everyone who likes the warmth and comfort of their home.

The interior of the room in the English style will allow you to escape from the hustle and bustle, which is so unusual for the British. Suitable for those who love symmetry and order, as well as connoisseurs of quality – expensive materials and furniture.

Comfortable rocking chair. The fire of a burning hearth. Quiet running of the clock hands. English style is reliable, durable and calm. This is a choice for people who appreciate traditions.

Basic principles of English interior style

If we talk about the Victorian style, then it is based on natural expensive wood. Tapestries, antique decor elements, high beds and large built-in wardrobes. The room is furnished and decorated tightly. There is almost no free space left.

The color scheme is dominated by terracotta shades and bright colors.

Gregorian English style suggests an abundance of intricate carvings and stucco, a large grandfather clock, paintings in gilded frames, a fireplace in the living room – this is the heart of the house.

The arrangement of the decor and furniture are symmetrical and proportional to the layout. The shades of the palette are light. White is often used.

Large wooden windows with vertical elevation. The British do not specifically change wood for plastic, remaining true to tradition. There is no chaos in the room environment. The furniture and decor are thought out to the smallest detail.

The English style in the interior is primarily comfort. Therefore, upholstered furniture is often placed opposite, for the convenience of conducting conversations. And bright accents are added to the design. They cheer up the hosts and guests when there is a rainy gray sky outside the windows.

Features of the interior layout in English style

In the past, the British lived in rooms with a small area, which are easier to warm up in cold winter. That is why the English interior today easily fits into the design of both a country house and a city apartment.

For the bedroom, the British usually choose a blind wooden door without stained glass windows. And the door separating the living room from the kitchen may well be transparent. Designers recommend replacing it with an arch – for ease of movement.

What exactly characterizes the English interior style

As in any other, there are elements in English design that unmistakably make it clear that this is the English style, for example, the Gregorian English interior has the following features:

• Antiquity in decor and architecture. This is just a reference to Greek and Roman motifs. This category includes columns, moldings, arches. As well as pilasters, curbs and all the accompanying decor.

If it’s hard to imagine, you can see what Roman and Greek temples looked like earlier. This is exactly how English design is cut out, especially in large interiors. You can often find a simple technique – columns-racks in fireplace structures in living rooms or oval mounted portraits.

• Symmetry. This technique is often found in furniture and hanging decor. In kitchens, chairs are arranged symmetrically at a large table. Or in living rooms, when two absolutely identical sofas for guests stand symmetrically on the sides of one tea table.

Symmetry can be traced everywhere in English interiors. Sometimes even the doors to one room are located symmetrically to each other.

• Simple geometry and straight lines. Another feature of English design. They are especially clearly visible in decorative frames and monochrome murals on the walls. Most often, such decor is rectangular or square type.

In fact, these are just decorative frames. But without rounded corners. In this plan, straight lines are visible everywhere. The British even try to hang mirrors so that their lower edge is straight and parallel to any other furniture in the room.

• Wood carving with complex drawings. In the English interior, wood is found everywhere, and there will definitely be carvings on it. Even the backs of the chairs are always finished in such a way that they amaze the eye with their shape. Complex carving is just a unique feature for the English style.

• Stucco. This includes pilasters. If in ordinary apartments you can find only the headpieces of the crossbars under the ceiling and in the arches, then in English interiors stucco pilasters predominate. As they are sometimes called – column headbands. To understand what it looks like, just look at the temple columns in Greece or Rome. Stucco curbs under the ceiling are also used.

• A huge floor-type clock. Just the kind that ring loudly every hour. It is also a unique feature of the English interior. That’s just the pleasure is expensive and requires care. Since wood requires special operating conditions. An interesting fact is that most Englishmen who have such watches in their house do not wind them up, but use them simply as a decor in the interior.

• Picture frames in gilt. Usually they are also carved, but almost always finished in gold color. This is a direct reference to elitism and bohemianism. And although in Gothic, from where the English style partially originated, black and dark frames are used, in a purely English interior they are golden and most often wide.
• Fireplace in the living room. As it was written above, it is in almost every house, and almost always its design implies decorative miniature stucco decorations. Where there is a fireplace, there is always a central room. Guests are seated next to him for a conversation, there is always a table, sofas or armchairs. This just shows well the role of such a room as a living room.

• Wide windows with lifting frames. Even in films, you can see that in Europe, windows are most often opened by shifting up.

In England, the same structures are used, but the windows in the rooms are significantly larger. Thus, they achieve greater natural illumination. By the way, the windows in the English interior are most often arched, that is, the upper beam is made in the form of an arc.

• Painting on cabinets. In the bedrooms of the English interior, cabinets are most often put wooden, and with beautiful paintings. This is again a reference to Gothic, since it also uses such a technique. In most cases, the painting is stylized in the old style.

And the Victorian English style can be determined by the following features and techniques in the interior:

• Different combinations of decor from different styles. A combination of Gothic and rocco is often found. It is this factor that sometimes confuses inexperienced designers who are confused between the Gregorian version and the Victorian one.

• In the Victorian version of the English interior, the lines are smoother. They are not always straight, as in Gregorian, and their curves are more like undulating shapes. At the same time, they are intertwined into more complex plots, which is generally absent in the Gregorian style.

• In the Victorian version, the color palette is richer. In addition, a brown-red color, also called terracotta, is often used. This technique is used mainly in living rooms and bedrooms. But if the house is large, then you can also find terracotta color in the decoration or furniture in the kitchens.

• Full use of free space. If in the Gregorian version you can often find a living room where there is only a fireplace, a table and two armchairs, and the rest of the place is empty, then in the Victorian English interior space is used as usefully as possible.

Even in small corners, homeowners try to fit a table, a chair, or if there is very little space, they will put at least a vase there. There would be a place, but there will be something to put there.

• Fabrics. They abound in this version of the assortment. And even in the same room. Carpets, fabric wallpaper, fabric canvases on the walls, bed linen, blankets. There is also satin, silk, cotton, and sometimes there are more modern materials with imitation of natural analogues.

• A tree of expensive breeds. The leader is the stained oak, from which chairs, tables and beds are mostly made. Bubinga and bokota are less common. In most cases, the wood is selected in a dark shade or impregnated with stain compounds. An interesting fact is that they do this to simulate a stained oak.

• Striped or checkered wallpaper. Models with plant drawings and patterns are selected. Wallpaper in a Scottish cage is also relevant, but this technique is more used directly in the interiors of Wales.

• The geometry of the tile. Mosaic panels are found in geometric tile laying in Victorian English interiors, only in complete symmetry.

• Tapestries. Moreover, tapestries often contain plots from the history of England and Britain. It is worth noting that only natural fabrics prevail here, and the palette is chosen not too bright. The sizes are different, but most often they cover the entire wall of a small area.

• Vegetation. There is a lot of it in the Victorian English interior. As mentioned above, where there is at least a free corner, fans of this style strive to put a vase, pot or planters with plants.

• Antiques. Antique vases, dressers and cabinets, dishes and candlesticks.

• Wardrobes. They are mainly of the built-in type and made of wood. The wood is soaked with stains and acquires a dark shade. Thus, an imitation of an expensive breed of red or stained oak is created.

• High beds made of wood. For the most part, these are custom-made designs. The only disadvantage of such furniture is its price, since wood itself is getting more expensive on the market every year.

The color scheme of the English style in the interior

Returning to the story, we can note both a darker interior design and a lighter one. But the main palette of the British today contains restrained shades of beige, brown, burgundy and terracotta. Cream and bronze, blue and gray colors are also acceptable.

For accents, choose brighter tones – purple, sunny, pink or blue. All “woody” shades are also relevant.

Comparison of Gregorian and Victorian English interior styles

If we compare the Gregorian and Victorian styles, then the first one will be simpler and easier from the point of view of interior design. There is not so much space filled in it, there is a lot of space, the lightness of the decor and all the lines, simple geometry can be traced. It is worth noting that in terms of budget, the Gregorian English style is more profitable, since it is not necessary to furnish every corner with decor and every little thing, just in order to use as much space as possible.

The Victorian style is more loaded. And although many designers believe that there is not a lot of decor in it, this style is not always suitable for rooms of a small area. It will seem too loaded.

Natural fabrics are used in this regard, except for blankets and bed linen due to their high cost. It is also noteworthy that elements of the Gregorian style are always traced in the Victorian style.

The Victorian type of English interior can be described in three words – expensive, rich, solid.

Classic English interior style from Britain

The classics of the English style are seen in more detail in certain components.

Special attention should be paid to:

• Furniture.
• Technique.
• Materials.
• Fabrics.
• Finishing of walls and floors.
• And other things.

It is worth considering each group in more detail.

Materials for interior decoration in English style

Everything is simple here: furniture, decor and everything else should be natural. No plastic, as in modern styles. In terms of decoration, wood, stone, stucco prevail. Wooden furniture, decor is allowed with the presence of synthetics in fabrics, but only as a last resort, when a natural analogue cannot be found or purchased.

If there is a service, and indeed any other tableware, then it definitely should be porcelain. No Chinese glass or crystal. Another interesting life hack for fans of this style is that all the things that are used in a room of this style may even be time–worn.

For example, carpets, tapestries, blankets. But they should be exactly battered, and not forged in the antique. This technique will help to save significantly.

What technique is needed for the design of the English interior

No, you don’t have to buy vintage appliances. This aspect of the English style implies that all modern-style equipment must be hidden in the interior.

A good example is a computer when only the monitor is visible. It is built into the room set. Moreover, the furniture headset is made of wood, as it was written in the section just above. Kettles, microwaves, toasters, all this is removed from the eyes behind the doors of kitchen furniture.

As for living rooms, you can’t hide huge TVs today, but you can disguise them with decor. It is difficult to do this, but you can always contact the designers. Many people use a technique in which the TV is placed in a separate closing niche in the living room. But, from the point of view of ergonomics, it is not always convenient.

Furniture equipment of interiors in English style

Furniture in the English classical style is always made of wood. Moreover, the wood should be of expensive breeds – oak, teak, walnut. And there should really be a lot of furniture. Of the most popular types: beds, ottomans, chairs, tables, armchairs, cabinets, cupboards, consoles and much more.

Furniture in general should fill the room so that visually there is no large empty space. It is worth choosing furniture with carvings and weaves. It is possible both with simple patterns and with more intricate ones. The latter option is the most acceptable. This is especially true of chairs and beds.

In the living room, coffee and coffee tables are often installed in front of the sofa.

The cupboards have doors with glass inserts. The service and decor elements are removed there. And in the closed cabinets – other household items.

Fireplace for comfort in an English interior

Probably the most important attribute of the English style. In private homes, it is quite simple to equip it. But if the house is small, then you can make a corner fireplace that does not take up much space. One of the popular life hacks is an imitation of a real fireplace. The case is built like a real fireplace, and a modern electronic with an imitation of a flame and smoldering firewood is placed inside it.

By the way, such a life hack is very useful for those who live in apartments. There is no way to put a fireplace in them, but this option will be quite appropriate. And it looks beautiful, and does not require particularly large investments. But this is appropriate if the apartment is large. In medium and small residential areas, it is better to abandon the fireplace altogether.

Fabrics for the arrangement of the English interior

As it was written above, natural fabrics are needed. It is possible in a rare case to purchase with an admixture of synthetic varieties, but most of the fabric composition should be natural. If you completely replace this or that fabric with synthetics, it will stand out sharply against the background of the entire interior, especially with an unnatural shine.

Dense textured fabrics are chosen for curtains. Traditional coloring is welcome – all the same Paisley, stripes, flowers and squares. Mandatory design of curtains are lambrequins, pickups and neat drapery.

The British welcome carpets with an oriental print. The older – the more authentic the interior looks. But a carpet in the style of “shabby chic” will also look organically, making the design more romantic, or “patchwork” – giving the premises modernity.

Organization of lighting in the interior in the English style

To give the interior the spirit of Old England, it is worth choosing devices with soft and warm light. Living rooms usually have one large chandelier and several spotlights – sconces, candlesticks with real candles, floor lamps.

The classic version is considered a chandelier “basket”. It has a lot of glass elements and few bronze ones.

A palette of colors for finishing in English interiors

The finish is dominated by matte tones. The color is terracotta, beige, cream with hints of red. That is, the whole palette should be warm tones. At the same time, you should not pay too much attention only to red. Since such a room will turn out to be too dark and not particularly pleasant visually. It is necessary to combine colors.

Wall decoration

There are no design problems here, as the market is full of materials suitable for the English classic interior style. The walls are decorated with wallpaper. Models with vegetation and ornaments are required, of which there is a large assortment today. The main thing is that they do not stand out too much in color.

It is best to make a choice in favor of matte colors. Striped wallpaper and a Scottish cage are also suitable. Simple geometry will not distract attention to the wall covering, but on the contrary, it will complement the overall interior. Moreover, they are cheaper than ornamental models, which allows you to save your budget on the implementation of interior design.

Floor finishing

Unlike other interior design options, the English style assumes only natural materials in the entire interior design. And floors are no exception. In the bedroom or living room, parquet is usually laid with an English “Christmas tree” – when the dies are joined zigzag, and not exactly, as in the French version.

Everything is just as simple here. Floors in 99% are finished exclusively with wood. Moreover, it is laid with a herringbone, as in the old interiors of British houses. The tree itself can be anything, it is not necessary to use the most expensive breeds. But it is worth considering that the same oak has a high wear resistance, but some pine will not last very long.

Many people believe that the floor can be finished with parquet, but in fact such a technique will only spoil the interior, as it will stand out sharply against the background of the overall design picture. Moreover, polymer materials cannot be used, they will immediately be noticeable in the classic English decoration of the room.

Natural stone tiles can be used in the bathroom and hallway. From the point of view of design and practicality, such an option would be appropriate, especially since it was also used at the time of the origin of the style, since stone was almost the main finishing material, along with wood.

Ceilings finishing

They should be high. In the most common case, they are simply whitewashed or painted white or beige. It is important that the ceiling color is in harmony with the wallpaper on the walls. If this is not achieved, the planes will stand out strongly, which will distract attention from the overall interior.

Whitewashing is a more low budget option and it is perfect for English–style interiors, especially with shabby pieces of furniture and fabrics. The painted ceiling gives a strong shine, so you need to choose a matte paint.

Windows and doors

An interesting feature of English-style windows: they do not open wide open, but up and are fixed with a special lock. This format allows you to save space, especially on small areas. Fresh flowers or decorative ornaments are placed on the windowsill.

Windows, as well as entrance doors, are made of natural wood. Often the doors are decorated with small stained glass inserts. This is also a historical feature of the English style. After all, a few centuries ago, plastic was out of the question, and glass cost a lot of money.

Staircase in the interior in English style

If there is a staircase in an apartment or house, it must necessarily be in harmony with the shade and texture of floors, doors and wall panels. The staircase is made of wood and decorated with carvings.

The color scheme is chosen light and warm. The perfect combination is the contrast of the shade of the steps and railings. For example, beige and dark brown.

Accessories and decor in the English interior

Candlesticks, lampshades with ruffles and drawings, tapestries on the walls, photographs and small things on the shelves, vases with fresh flowers, all these are decorative touches of the English style without which it is unthinkable. It should be borne in mind that not one little thing should not look cheap. Whether it’s a sconce in the bedroom or a porcelain figurine in the cupboard. Therefore, all the accessories of the room are carefully selected by the British.

The English style of the interior does not go out of fashion. It is solid and reveals all the beauty of the UK in terms of design. Given today’s trend towards everything new, such an interior will definitely interest guests. At the same time, it requires imagination from the owner of the premises in terms of furnishing an apartment or house.

In general, the classic style of English apartments and houses is a great chance to create a truly authentic England in the house. In most cases, this design is used in private homes, but it is also appropriate in spacious apartments. It is important to observe all the conditions so that they comprehensively recreate the style. If there is no experience in designing a design, it is much more reasonable to turn to a professional interior designer.