Monday, February 27, 2012

Medieval Gothic

I can't recall who, but someone on the Facebook group suggested I could do some posts on Medieval Gothic decorating. Although I have a huge admiration for people who choose to decorate in extremely dedicated Gothic style, I personally prefer an eclectic blend of Victorian, Edwardian, Medieval, and entirely fantastical with just a few Gothic touches for my own home. But you can't argue with results, and these results are...well...WOW.

I'll start with a picture of a room that came up on the first page of Google results. I clicked on it to discover it's actually the old bachelor pad living room of a local friend of mine who is an incredible medieval reenactor. He would be the first person to remind me that the majority of the images in this post are not really Medieval...they is Victorian Medieval (this is my favorite response when people ask me what my favorite time period is)...a fictional time period created by the Victorians to romanticize the actual medieval period and make it seem far more enticing than it actually was. Think...Pre-Raphaelite art and Arts & Crafts decor by Morris & Co. Similarly, most "Gothic" interior decor is an amalgamation of time periods ranging from Medieval to Renaissance and Victorian, all with a Gothic, Ecclesiastical theme.


But oh, so pretty.
(Many thanks to Lisa for identifying this gorgeous bedroom from The Witchery in Scotland...I would LOVE to go there someday!)

A great way to instantly Gothic-Medieval up a room is to add icon-like art and frames. I've seen frames like these appear at my local Hobby Lobby stores once in a blue moon.


The previously mentioned Lyndhurst Castle is a great example of Gothic architecture.


I adore the below example, because while it is very very Gothic, the headboard appears to be growing vine. I wish I knew the story behind this!

Thanks to Mags for identifying this bed from Little Retreats....it is from a place called The Menagerie.





Of course you could always actually live in a castle too...like Neuschwanstein


If you are lucky enough to find beautiful Gothic stained glass windows, what a headboard they will make!


Thanks to Lisa for identifying this bed, made by Scottsdale Art Factory.

10 comments:

  1. See the work of William Burges:

    http://www.cardiffcastle.com/

    http://www.wales360.co.uk/castell_coch/

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  2. Definitely William Burges - he's one of my favourite eccentric, opium spoking Victorian geniuses!

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  3. Agreed on Burges. I'm planning to do a whole post on him eventually. :)

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  4. ooh! love! i can't do one style either, but i love these rooms!

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  5. Re: "Victorian Medieval" (perfect description), two books that discuss this (with LOTS of wonderful pictures) are: "Return To Camelot: Chivalry and the English Gentleman" by Mark Girouard and "The Return of King Arthur: The Legend Through Victorian Eyes" by Debra Mancoff. Both are sadly out of print but worth looking for. A good place to check is your local university library - mine has both titles on its shelves.

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  6. Two new books to add to my reading list, Mizmak! Thank you!!

    Merle, I can SO appreciate the people who do! But I love your style...it is all your own :)

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  9. I want to know any imformation especially where is it about the last photo what is red room. Can you tell?

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  10. Sorry to disappoint you, but I have no information on that photo.

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