Netflix’s latest show Bridgerton centring on the competitive world of Regency era London during the debutante season, has been impossible to ignore – proving an instant hit with audiences when it was released at Christmas and became the perfect medium for lockdown escapism.
Based on Julia Quinn’s novels and directed by Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal) it is set in 1800s London but designed for today’s millennial and Gen Z audiences. The script is bold and sets are an updated take on Regency with refined palettes of blue, white and champagne with extravagant plasterwork details, dramatic chequered ballroom floors and an abundance of contemporary floral styling.
British production designer Will Hughes-Jones used Stanley Kubrick’s 1975 period drama Barry Lyndon and Sophia Coppola’s 2006 version of Marie Antoinette as inspiration for the grand salons, ballrooms and styling.
The exterior of the estate belonging to the central family ‘The Bridgertons’ was filmed at a red-brick Georgian mansion in Greenwich known as Ranger’s House and the interiors are designed to replicate iconic Wedgwood china. The Bridgerton symbol is a bee, whilst the neighbouring family the Featheringtons employ a butterfly motif – these details are subtly woven into the decor.
Daydreaming our way into such delightful surroundings is hard to resist… let me take you through how to get the look for your own home and some inspiring accounts to follow to continue your regency love affair…
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THINGS TO BUY
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Floral Lampshades £140 each Projektityyny
Hand-painted Candlesticks £32, Isla Simpson / Recipe Cards £18, Romeo and Jules / Green Mirabelle Scalloped Bedding from £23.30 Cologne and Cotton / Floral Transfer Wine Glass £4.99, Zara Home
Hand painted Seashell $325, Riley Sheehey
Boticelli Armchair £505, Perch and Parrow / Tulips of Belgravia £145, Ottoline / Palazzo Scented Candle £155, Liberty / Gold Floral Wall Hanging £80, Rockett St George
Hencroft Blue Primula Wallpaper £94 per roll, Little Green Paint Co
Sporty Stripes in Green £158, Ottoline / Rinka Soup Cup, €50 Love Ecru / Marie Antoinette Bust €110, Cire Trudon / Meadowsweet Teaspoons £28, Anthropologie
Arts & Crafts Pioneer Blue print, €38 PSTRS Studio
Abeeko Smoke Decanter £39.95, Nkuku / Jasper Blue Scrolling Fern silhouette wallpaper, price on request Soane / Polished Brass Hand Door Knocker £34.19, Black Country Metal Works / Stellar Monogram Trinket Dish £10, Anthropologie
Cameo Powder Pink Wallpaper £120, Woodchip and Magnolia
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10 ACCOUNTS TO FOLLOW
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1. Get The Gusto
The Instagram account of Florida based antiques store Get The Gusto is an eclectic array of 17th and 18th century antiques objects and artworks, old and new, gathered and re-invented from around the globe.
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2. Inigo House
A sister site to the The Modern House – Inigo House is the inspiring feed of a new estate agency for historic homes focusing on Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian houses in Britain.
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3. Polly Fern
Suffolk based ceramist Polly Fern’s feed is a visual treat of traditionally inspired ceramics hand-painted with historical and folkloric illustrations.
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4. Lassco
Renowned London salvage warehouse Lassco is a treasure trove of grand reclaimed architectural antiques and curiosities.
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5. Aprils Bakery
The account of independent London bakery April’s Baker features gloriously fancy Regency inspired cakes piped in an array of pastel buttercream and adorned with pristine glacé cherries.
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6. Isla Simpson
London based illustrator Isla Simpson creates wonderfully chintzy stationery and home accessories with a nostalgic English aesthetic.
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7. Twigg Studios
Cookbook writer and photographer Aimee Twigger’s atmospheric food imagery will have you racing to the scullery! Her work couples evocative rustic styling and elaborate vintage bakes.
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8. Riley Sheehey
Specialising in vintage watercolour illustration Riley Sheehey experiments with mixed medium, painting with acrylics on a variety of surfaces – seashells, suitcases, clothing, purses and even bottles of champagne.
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9. The Merchant’s Table
The Merchant’s table in Suffolk is a double fronted Georgian shop within a 16th Century merchant’s house. The shop sells exquisite hand-crafted objects for the home by independent British makers and artists like these hand-painted oyster shells.
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10. Geoffery Preston Sculpture
Mermaids on the walls of the Goring Hotel in London and a flying Unicorn for Annabels in Mayfair are a few of the mesmerising plasterwork creations from this small sculpture-work studio in Devon.
