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The origin of this trend took place in the Middle Ages, when England and other European countries ruled on all continents. The colonialists, who brought their language and customs with them, also instilled in the peoples their usual comfort. In the process of adaptation to tropical conditions, the design changed. The result of this integration was an unusual and interesting style.

Modern colonial style

Original and extraordinary, ethnic and steeped in tradition, based on solid carved wooden and wicker furniture combined with exotic decorative motifs, the colonial style in the interior is the result of the interpenetration of very different cultures. The synthesis of European traditions and practicality and oriental luxury and exoticism can make a colonial-style house a subject of admiration even for a sophisticated public.

The main features of the style are:

• scope in everything — high ceilings, wide windows, large spacious rooms;
• proximity to nature — natural wooden furniture and decoration, hand-made carpets and mats in oriental style, an abundance of natural light;
• the use of colorful colors and shades — brown, burgundy, muted orange and yellow, red, green, black and white;
• the presence of ethnic accessories — bronze figurines, velvet pillows embroidered with patterns, floor lamps and lampshades made of thick linen and silk, carved panels of dark wood;
• «animal» motifs — paws of a lion instead of traditional legs of furniture, backs of chairs decorated with elephants and other talismans and amulets that have a sacred meaning in the East;
• living vegetation — palm trees, ferns, bamboo, exotic flowers in large outdoor flowerpots.

Living room in colonial style

Being the main and most spacious room of the house, the hall successfully accommodates all of the above design features. As a result, the colonial style in the interior of the living room is fully revealed. Calmness and confidence, which such an interior breathes, is conducive to communication, sets in a friendly mood and reveals the character of the owner of the house. Guests also have the opportunity to view unique souvenirs from distant exotic countries, unusual handmade items.

To embody the colonial style in the interior of the hall, it is preferable to use calm pastel colors, and to dilute the atmosphere, you can supplement it with textiles rich in color — curtains and carpets. A similar pattern looks very advantageous on all textile surfaces, including furniture upholstery. Such a unity of motives will help to hold the composition together.

Colonial style in the interior of the bedroom

If you are an adventurous and conqueror of different distant lands, a colonial-style bedroom will definitely suit you. Be sure to wide and chic bed will make rest and night’s sleep incredibly comfortable. Wood, as the main material, suits the bedroom in the best way, being environmentally friendly and completely safe. You are free to choose pastel colors or authentic combinations of white and blue, red and gold to decorate the bedroom. The main thing is that you feel comfortable in such an environment.

In addition to a massive wooden bed, other similar furniture must be present in the bedroom: a large three-leaf wardrobe, a chest of drawers with many drawers, a chest, a carved dressing table. Light natural textiles, a comfortable seating area with an armchair or a sofa, high ceilings and a lot of light will make the bedroom interior romantic and pleasant.

Colonial Kitchen

The main features of such a kitchen are simplicity, conciseness and functionality. In the open space of a large room, you can place a chic kitchen set with an island in the middle, and hang kitchen utensils above it. If possible, it is advisable to equip the room with a large brick oven, or at least its imitation. Such a detail will become the main highlight of the room.

The colonial interior in the kitchen is created using light shades of brown in combination with beige and yellow. The addition is dark wood and natural stone. Such an interior looks noble, soothing, very homely. He does not accept bright accents, everything here should be sustained in a calm and harmonious way. The floor is made of practical stone or tiles, the furniture facades are exclusively wooden, the table and chairs are massive and also wooden.

Entrance hall in colonial style

As in other rooms, the colonial style in the interior of the hallway is characterized by calm pastel colors, the presence of furniture made of wood, rattan, bamboo, the presence of many exotic accessories such as decorative panels on the wall, African masks on the chest of drawers, chests and wicker baskets as storage places. The role of flooring is often played by porcelain tiles. To shade light walls, you can make the floor darker.

What distinguishes the American colonial style in the interior is a relatively small amount of accessories and decor, a minimum of furniture and simplicity of decoration. As for color, natural colors are also welcome here, various shades of soil — brown, beige, green. On the wall in the hallway, you can place a large mirror, or it can be a large mirrored closet door.

Cabinet in colonial style

Embodying the English colonial style in your workplace, you can safely use the heraldic symbols of Great Britain as one of the main maritime powers of the colonial era. Symbols can be placed above the chair on a snow-white wall — such an office will resemble the workplace of an important English official. A similar use of the symbols of India and other powers will look no less pompous.

Another variant of the office with the use of colonial style in its interior is a functional and laconic room, where nothing distracts from work, and massive teak furniture with exquisite decor, floral motifs embodied in paintings, a table in the form of a classic colonial office remind of the style. And for breaks in work and comfortable rest, be sure to take care of the presence of a soft sofa here.

Colonial style in the bathroom

Embodying the colonial style in the interior of a house or apartment, you can’t bypass such an important room as a bathroom. If it is combined, then there should not be clear boundaries between the toilet and the bathroom — this is a feature of the style. All transitions should be as smooth as possible. For a soft division of space, columns, a multi-level ceiling and floor, niches, translucent screens and partitions are used.

A colonial-style bathroom should be bright and spacious, filled with all the means for a civilized body care. This is a shower cabin, and a wide bathtub, and a washbasin, and a lot of shelves and cabinets for bathroom accessories, and mirrors, and high-quality lighting. In a word, everything that will help you fully take care of yourself.

Colonial style — design features

The interior in the colonial style in an apartment is more difficult to implement than in a house. However, it requires a lot of space. However, if you treat the process with understanding and without fanaticism, you can very accurately and concisely determine the direction of design even in a tiny «Khrushchev». Refusal of bulky ceiling beams, overly massive furniture and huge floor pots with palm trees to the ceiling will not diminish the color at all, if at the same time you correctly designate the style with the help of characteristic shades, ornaments, accessories, textiles and lighting.

Colonial style wallpaper

Often paint and plaster are used for wall decoration, but wallpaper can be used as an alternative. It is desirable that they have a frequent and shallow relief that would imitate bamboo shavings. Alternatively, wall paintings can be decorated with floral ornaments inherent in the style. If you are trying to embody the Spanish colonial style, the walls should «radiate» light and warmth, that is, the wallpaper should be of the appropriate shades, while some bright blotches are allowed on them.

Colonial style furniture

In the choice of banquettes, cabinets, beds, armchairs, chests of drawers and chairs in the colonial style, there are no restrictions on a specific appearance — all items can differ and, at times, even contrast with each other. For example, a colonial-style sofa with a vintage pattern on the upholstery can coexist with leather armchairs and an openwork wicker table. African stools can stand next to a Chinese tea table and a Chippindale-style sofa.

In the bedroom, instead of a closet, they often put a wooden chest with copper hinges, and a colonial-style mirror in a gilded frame is hung on the wall. For the manufacture of furniture, dark woods were originally used, which were mined in the jungle — wenge, mahogany. Rattan and bamboo were also often used. In modern times, these breeds are rare and very expensive, therefore their imitation is often used.

Curtains in colonial style

As for the design of windows, this issue was also directly related to the climate of the developed countries. The scorching sun, sudden storms and storms, a sharp change in temperature led to the decision to use wooden shutters. For beauty, textile curtains were used. They were sewn from expensive fabrics — silk, velvet, the finest linen. In our latitudes, there is no need for wooden shutters, but in order to imitate the style and in order for the colonial-style apartment to really be one, bamboo blinds, roller blinds, and Roman curtains are actively used.

Fireplace in colonial style

The presence of a fireplace is relevant for the combined kitchen-living room. In this case, its design is very characteristic — the colonial style will certainly involve various exotic attributes of local cultures: images of animals, plant motifs, screens, etc. The fireplace represents the wealth and financial stability of the owners. It can be surrounded by characteristic accessories — on the mantelpiece and next to it on the floor, various animal figures, masks, and living vegetation are installed. Its decoration is certainly stone or brick — even if the fireplace is actually a dummy.

Chandeliers in colonial style

With all the variety of light sources, a central ceiling chandelier must be present in the colonial interior. It should be massive, noticeable from all points of the room. Its base is often metal or wood. In addition to it, lamps, unusual sconces and floor lamps with a touch of antiquity and ethnicity will help emphasize the colonial style.

Paintings in the colonial style

The colonial-style interior in an apartment or house is filled to the brim with ethnic scenes. The paintings in this case are an expression of all those new features introduced by the country in which the colonies of migrants found themselves. In accordance with this, the motives and plots of the images differ. The only important thing is that they must match the rest of the interior composition.

The mixture of cultures and colors of different countries in a single ensemble led to the emergence of a new independent way of designing living space. The joint presence on the same territory of objects of the philosophical East, African exoticism and luxury of the European class makes the colonial style in the interior one of the most extraordinary and at the same time very common and in demand.