Granny style is high comfort, homey and homemade.
The furniture on-hand and the proportions of a room are not the final determinant of decorating style. Personal taste trumps externals, whether you are furnishing a converted barn or a city condo. But when the character of the room intersects with your personality, the furniture you select just seems to fit better. So pull out your powdered wig, your knitting needles or your vintage Tony Bennet albums, measure the room and start looking at paint chips. Does this Spark an idea?
Early 1960s Style
The 1960s weren't all psychedelic black light paint, Indian bedspreads and peace signs. They started out with rather plain and unpretentious mid-century modern, a post-war sensibility that traded overstuffed for understated. A living room in a suburban tract house would have a single layer of ceiling-to-floor drapes, made of a light color and material. Danish modern furniture mixed freely with squared, solid color upholstered sectionals and round or amoeba-shaped tables. Wood veneer floors were covered by bright tribal rugs or hidden under flat pile wall-to-wall carpet. Shelves were open, directly mounted on the wall and a few cosmopolitan touches personalized the space. A side table could be topped by a brass Indian tray. A large wicker storage trunk performed double duty as seating with a velvet cushion. A Japanese paper lantern was a clean, contemporary touch to light up a corner. Souvenirs from travels served as art and conversation pieces. Haunt secondhand stores and online sellers for mid-century pieces to restore your suburban ranch.
French Court Style
A high-ceiling dining room with a parquet floor turns into a glimpse of Versailles grandeur when it is furnished in Louis XV and Louis XVI style. At least one enormous gilded pier glass is mandatory and two would be better. Paneled walls with painted molding and inset, embroidered fabric or hand-colored wallpaper are the right scale for the high ceilings in this room. Heavy damask drapes pulled back from the windows frame daylight in gleaming pastel blue, rose or watery green. The fireplace surround and mantel are ornate, painted white or gilded. Over the mantel, a large oil painting or another pier glass in a heavy frame is illuminated by candelabra. The furniture is period reproduction with upholstered seats and backs. Groupings of four chairs around small round tables are more intimate than a long dining table. The mood of the room is light but rich and royal, and the actual light at night comes from a dimmable crystal chandelier.
Granny Style
For your country cottage, city bungalow, attic hideaway or tiny urban studio, a granny bedroom turns a diminutive space into a comfortable cocoon. Paint the trim white, wallpaper with something old fashioned and flowery and upholster the headboard in a 1940s flower and stripe. Repurpose a lace tablecloth as a bedcover over white linens, and top it off with Grandma's handcrocheted afghan. Hang a white paper lantern glued all over with fabric flowers over a dressing table with a gathered skirt. Stereo speakers big enough to be end tables get lace-covered front panels and tops protected by lacy doilies under pots of African violets. An old glass-front cabinet holds dried flowers, linens, extra blankets and favorite books, and a big squishy wing chair with a couple of small, down pillows has its own footstool covered with an embroidered sampler. The room is a throwback to a simpler time, but it is also the height of green chic with its blend of heirlooms and recycled finds.
Tags: paper lantern, pier glass