Hollywood Regency Design Style

When we think of Hollywood, we immediately think of famous celebrities, expensive cars, haute couture clothing and plenty of sparkling jewelry. We conjure visions of glittering stars strutting the red carpet in gorgeous gowns and immaculate hairstyles set off by flashing diamonds and perfect white teeth. In other words, the ultimate visions of glamour, fame and wealth. Then there is the Regency era – a celebrated time of royalty, the upper classes, and their shamelessly elegant lifestyles. There is nothing like European nobility rubbing shoulders with the American rich and famous to inspire admiration by the fashion conscious and socially motivated.

Bringing Hollywood Glam Into Home Design

The Hollywood Regency design style captures the same sense of exclusiveness and opulence of these two worlds, but it refers to a building’s interior decor and the property’s landscape architecture. The style first emerged back in the 1930s when Hollywood began stamping its mark on the American psyche, and film actors were becoming worshipped celebrities. This was Hollywood’s Golden Era, a time when the powerful film studios invested in Hollywood Regency décor as part of their strategy to elevate their actors to glittering star status.

Origins Of Hollywood Regency Interior Design

The signature elements of the Hollywood Regency design style are bold colors and contrasts, with the lavish use of metal and glass decorative accents. Hollywood regency is a busier and more eclectic version of Art Deco design style. Essentially, the origins and intentions of the style can be summarized:

·      Born in Hollywood’s Golden age in the 1930s

·      Ambitious film studios glorified the star power of their actors

·      Ornamental opulence at its best

·      Over-the-top, unapologetic glam

·      Sumptuous, lush and luxurious

·      Glitzy extravagance

During this decade, the living spaces of important and wealthy people became more opulent and ornamental, with interior designers cultivating a new, theatrical and flashy style that proclaimed the owner’s importance and status. Influential designers in the field who inspired the framework of the style had names like William Haines and Dorothy Draper.

What are the Central Elements of Hollywood Regency Décor?

This is an opulent style, drenched in the best of everything an interior designer could desire to celebrate their famous, wealthy clientele. Nothing was too much, too glitzy or too decorative. The designer was given license to create a statement that was avant-garde and out there, no costs spared. Gardens, landscapes and interiors become luxe retreats that mirrored the glam lifestyles of their rich and famous inhabitants.

The dramatic Hollywood Regency design style incorporated the most luxurious elements of the Victorian Regency period, with elegant furniture and sumptuous furnishings in bold palettes.  Signature traits of the style included elements like:

·       Richly layered patterns and textures

·       Bold colors and contrasts

·      Lavishly patterned textiles

·       Metallic accents

·       Gold and glitz elements

·       Crystal chandeliers

·       Pop Art

·       Curving staircases

·       Columns and ornate plinths

·       Bright colored glossy furniture

·       Marble and glass

·       Velvet pillows

·       Mirrors and fringed lamps

·       Palm fronds and feathers

This grab-bag of excesses appears to be an eclectic mish-mash of gaudy clichés. Yet, careful design and lashings of creativity managed to bring the whole together into a balanced, luxe vibe which, while it screamed wealth, came to represent the approximation of good taste. Soon, even the less well-heeled wanted to mimic the style, toned down with gaudy replicas and sometimes questionable taste reflecting their lesser budgets. Everyone wanted to feel like a film star, with their own diluted version of glam and glitter.

Hollywood Regency Décor is Making a Modern Comeback

This is a style that will never lose its intrigue. There is a strong renewal of interest in the Hollywood Regency era today, with the over-the-top glam look from the 1930smaking a concerted comeback. Admittedly the style has evolved but the central theme of glitz and glamour still prevails. Emerging from the excesses of its former heyday, Hollywood Regency décor is now firmly in the reach of the less celebrated homeowner, with look-alikes and more affordable versions of the signature style elements in the interior designer’s toolbox.

Toning down the original excesses of the rich and famous, and providing a less ostentatious version of the style, designers can incorporate the most popular characteristics of the Hollywood Regency interior décor in the modern home and landscape design. The focus is all in the details.

With the use of lovely modern textiles and effects like glam lighting and selected collector pieces, even the budget-minded can now capture the style. The liberal use of glossy lacquer, bamboo and animal prints teamed with silk lampshades and velvet drapes create a flashy, luxe appearance. To add that grand Hollywood Regency feel, the homeowner can dress up thrift pieces with brass accents and smother the floors with deep, plush carpets in bold colors. Then add a sense of scale to the design with classic, timeless furniture and heavily textured soft furnishings that recall the best of the Hollywood Golden Era.

While vintage Hollywood design furniture and collector’s pieces might prove a little pricey for the discerning homeowner, opting for the bold colors of the era –turquoise, golds and purples – teamed with brass accents, and smaller pieces like elegant side tables and decorative lamps, will still imitate the desired ambiance. It’s all about balance and harmony, with vintage touches countered by glam modern elements to bring your classic interiors into the twenty-first century.

The fascination of the ordinary homeowner with wealth and fame will ensure that the Hollywood Regency influence in interior design and landscaping will continue to endure and evolve. In these modern times, the vibe has become more a reflection of the homeowner’s personality and their interpretation of the signature design elements. This evolution gives the interior designer wider scope to craft interiors still opulent in appearance but less glaringly eclectic and fussy. While even the modern Hollywood Regency design could never be considered understated, the latest trends thankfully dilute the ostentatious excesses of the style and ease it back to something more elegant and subtle.

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