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How to Make this Old-Fashioned Room Relevant in Your Own Space
The parlor room is a design feature that dates back to an earlier era of entertaining and refined living. While open floor plans have dominated home design in recent decades, there has been a revival of interest in the charming allure of the traditional parlor room. With the rise of vintage, repurposing, and sustainability movements, many homeowners are embracing the old-fashioned parlor to add character and a connection to the past to their modern dwellings.
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The Origins and History of the Parlor Room
To thoughtfully refresh your parlor room, it helps to understand its historical place. The parlor room has its origins in 19th-century upper-class homes. It was designed as a formal space to entertain guests and host social gatherings like tea parties, bridal showers, or conversational salons.
The Victorian era saw parlors evolve into even more elaborate spaces to signal the homeowners’ wealth, status, and refinement. They were adorned with luxury furnishings like tufted fainting couches, ornate carpets, and grand pianos. The parlor acted as a receptive stage for the family to put their best face forward.
By the early 20th century, parlors became more relaxed and multifunctional, often being repurposed as living rooms. Today, while rarely seen, parlors have slowly started making a comeback by blending classical eloquence with contemporary versatility. The key is honoring traditional charm while giving it modern appeal.
Intentional Design Choices for Your Parlor Room That Will Create a Cohesive Aesthetic
A parlor room deserves an intentional, coordinated design scheme. Each element should work in harmony to create a refined mood. Follow these guidelines for designing a cohesive parlor aesthetic:
Establish a Formal Color Palette
The colors you choose for your parlor’s walls, furnishings, and décor establish the overall ambiance and style of the room. Look to deep, dramatic hues like burgundy, emerald, navy, and claret to reflect a traditional parlor room’s sophistication and slightly mysterious air. These darker tones evoke vintage aristocratic spaces filled with rich wood tones, oriental rugs, and leather-bound books. Or, for a lighter, more feminine mood, incorporate champagne, dove gray, powder blue, or soft rose.
Select an Ornate Architectural Focus Point
Identify an ornate focal point like an elaborate fireplace mantel, built-in bookcase, or large window to build the room around. This unique architectural feature will anchor the space. It is also advised to position your seating area facing it. As Manhattan-based designer Richard Keith Langham suggests, use seating pieces that can be moved easily to suit the parlor room’s social function. “Victorian-era parlors were almost cluttered with a myriad of furniture, but there was always enough seating for everyone.” Don’t be afraid to mix ottomans, accent chairs, and chaises.
Incorporate Symmetry and Repetition
The parlor room traditionally relied on symmetrical furnishing arrangements and repeating design motifs. Consider flanking your focal point, whether a fireplace mantel or an ornate sofa, with a pair of matching side chairs and end tables. Also, try introducing repetition through your choice of window treatments, selecting the same drapes, swags, or shutters for each window. Repeat cohesive color palettes in your furnishings and accents, using different shades of blue throughout. Repetitioning colors, fabrics, materials, and patterns helps create a polished, sophisticated environment.
Allow Walls to Recede
The ornate furnishings, fireplace mantel, and captivating works of art should shine as the stars of your parlor’s interior. Keep the walls themselves subtle, almost receding into the background through neutral hues and tactile textures. Keep walls neutral and subtle to prevent them from competing with ornate furnishings and art. Muted paint colors like eggshell, ivory, or soft chalk white allow bolder décor elements to pop while still exuding refinement. Then, consider applying grasscloth wallpaper in natural fibers like jute or sisal for added depth and dimension. The organic patterns and raw texture provide visual interest without being distracting.
Strategic Furniture Selections for the Modern-Day Parlor Room
The furnishings you choose for your parlor set the tone and functionality for this special space. While you want to nod to traditional décor, your selections should reflect how you truly live today. The key is finding the right blend of vintage inspiration and contemporary comfort. The furniture and furnishings should balance refinement and modern comfort. These tips will guide you in selecting pieces that bridge classical parlor charm with contemporary versatility:
Seek Out Hybrid Furniture Styles
Look for furniture that blends traditional silhouettes with modern updates, like a classic tufted sofa in a contemporary blush pink velvet. Or try an antique fainting couch reupholstered in a fresh print. This fusion creates a unique aesthetic.
Choose Plush yet Supportive Seating
Prioritize comfort and ergonomics while retaining ornate style. Look for sofas and lounge chairs with cushy padded frames mixed with carved wooden details. Quality craftsmanship ensures durability and long-term enjoyment.
Incorporate Multifunctional Tables
Opt for small ornamental tables like side tables, accent tables, and console tables that can serve multiple purposes. These provide traditional charm while remaining adaptable to modern needs.
Add Custom Built-Ins for Visual Interest
Incorporate custom built-ins like window benches, bookshelves, and cabinetry for a refined, bespoke touch. Include ornate moldings, corbels, and elevated finish details in keeping with the room’s formality. Built-ins add function without clutter.
Infuse Personality Through Curated Accessories and Art
While the furniture forms the foundation, the accessories, art, and personal touches are what truly breathe life into your parlor. This is your opportunity to express your style, passions, and what makes your family unique. However, rather than just buying random décor, take time to carefully curate pieces that hold special significance. Purchase items secondhand and upcycle older items to fit your new aesthetic sustainably.
Display Cherished Memorabilia
Highlight family heirlooms like photographs or your grandmother’s antique vases to add legacy and meaning. The parlor’s ceremonial role in the past makes it fitting to honor mementos.
Include Inspiring Artwork
Select artwork and prints that move you, whether Victorian botanical engravings, Romantic-era oil paintings, or classical calligraphy prints. Gold-ornate frames complement traditional parlors and add dimension to the walls and your favorite works of art.
Add Floral Arrangements and Plants
Fresh floral arrangements in ornate vases bring life and vibrancy. Choose varieties with an elegant presence, like orchids, roses, lilies, and hydrangeas. Houseplants like ferns or ivy in hanging planters or on rich wooden plant stands enhance indoor nature.
Incorporate Candles and Ambient Lighting
Moving beyond functional overhead fixtures, layer in elements that appeal to the senses and enrich the emotive experience of your parlor. Cluster glittering candelabras for dramatic effect or dot single flameless tapers around the room to cast an intimate glow conducive to meaningful conversations.
Display Prized Possessions
A curio cabinet provides the perfect opportunity to exhibit cherished items, whether your vintage teacup collection or treasured seashells from childhood beach trips. The visual interest sparks conversation and gives a touch of your personality to the space.
Repurpose the Parlor for Modern-Day Use and Enjoyment
While parlors historically served formal social functions, a modern parlor room can take on a variety of uses. Think through how you want to enjoy the space and then incorporate design features to make your vision come to life.
Create an Elegant Home Library
The parlor’s refined ambiance is perfect for housing book collections. Add built-in shelves, bookcases, and comfortable reading nooks. Display favorite titles, photographs, and art. The parlor becomes a retreat for reading.
Design a Soothing Music Room
Incorporate a quality sound system, piano, or other instruments to transform your parlor into a dedicated music room. Use sound-absorbing furnishings and acoustical wall panels to optimize listening.
Craft a Well-Appointed Home Office
Many antique parlors included writing desks, making them ideal home office spaces. Add a stately executive desk, a wall of built-in file cabinets, task lighting, and office essentials. The ornate environment inspires productivity.
Host Elegant Gatherings
Set the parlor with fine tableware, fresh flowers, and candlelight to recreate its historically formal ambiance when entertaining. The dignified space sets the scene for elevated dinner parties and celebrations.
Care for the Space Properly to Preserve its Timeless Allure
Because parlor rooms feature antiques and fine furnishings, properly caring for the space ensures its long-lasting beauty. Make maintenance a habitual practice rather than a periodic chore. Integrate simple cleaning rituals into your regular routine. Follow these tips to help honor the heritage of your parlor while enjoying it in the present.
- Dust surfaces frequently and polish wood pieces to prevent buildup and dulling.
- Vacuum carpets and rugs regularly to limit tracked-in dirt.
- Wipe down upholstered furniture and linens with a gentle cleaner approved for the fabric.
- Wash windows and lighting fixtures periodically to keep the room sparkling.
- Use furniture coasters and floor mats to minimize stains and scratches.
- Condition leather at least annually to prevent cracking and drying.
- Evaluate loose joints, broken pieces, and wear yearly and repair or replace them as needed.
With routine care, your revived parlor room will maintain its dignified splendor for years of continued enjoyment. Follow this guide to thoughtfully integrate time-honored refinement into your modern home.
Give Your Parlor Vintage Appeal with Kaiyo
As you design your modernized parlor, browse Kaiyo’s vast collection of antique furniture to seamlessly blend old-world charm into your space. Kaiyo offers high-quality, gently used sofas, lighting, art, and more at affordable resale prices. With an expertly curated inventory, you can easily curate a sophisticated vintage look for your parlor without premium price tags.
Beyond great finds, you can feel good about sourcing pre-loved furniture through Kaiyo’s sustainable practices. Each Kaiyo purchase prevents furniture waste. To date, we have kept over 5 million pounds of furniture from landfills. Kaiyo also plants a tree for every order, aligning environmental sensibility with your stylish interior designs.
Revitalize your parlor conscientiously with Kaiyo’s impressive selection of antique, secondhand, and vintage furniture.
