Why don’t you consider the Tudor interior design style if you’re looking for an interior design vibe that’s more like a manor home in the English countryside? An old-world fairy tale style, yet this never goes out of style with its stately facade, gabled roof, and bay window seating.
This post is all about the Tudor interior design and how you can pull off such traditional design and update it to modern times. You will know the different elements that make up this design and tips on decorating your living space to have a modern Tudor-style house interior design style.
History of Tudor Interior Design
Tudor interior design is inspired by the designs and layouts seen during the reign of the Tudors in England between the 15th and 16th centuries. It is based on the architectural design that was a combination of Gothic and Rennaisance design elements. Otherwise known as Perpendicular gothic, the Tudor-style home has exposed wooden beams and a monochromatic colored facade.
In the early 20th century, the many designers revived Tudor home interior design. The most interesting feature that was carried through to the 20th century was the the wooden beam. However, rather than becoming a structural element in its architectural design, it became more aesthetic. The exteriors can be whimsical at times, but the Tudor interior design remains the same: updated and modern.
The interior features of the Tudor home often have wood panels, exposed beams, and decorated ceilings. The interiors of your home don’t need to match the exterior of your Tudor home. This is your element of surprise. You can have a minimalistic design yet still follow the general sensibilities of a traditional Tudor interior design. How is Tudor revival changing the dynamics of modern living?
Being an interior designer, I have much to talk about it.
Let’s talk about the elements of tudor interior design.
Design Elements of Tudor Interior Design
On the outside, it is easy to spot a Tudor home with its steep gabled roods, elaborate chimneys, and ornate doorways. But what makes Tudor interior design stand out from other design aesthetics? Here are the elements that make up the Tudor interiors.
Large Chimneys and Fireplaces
Large fireplaces are staples of Tudor interior design. You can find them in the great halls or as the kitchen’s focal point. This makes sense because, during the Tudor era, the fireplace was the source of heat for cooking and the home. These design elements are often made of bricks and designed ornately.
Dark Wood
It would not be a Tudor home if there weren’t some degree of the woodwork in the design. Often you’d find stucco matched with dark wood design elements, be it cabinetry or exposed wooden beams.
Window Treatments
One of the distinguishable elements of the Tudor house interior design is the lattice pattern design on the windows. Window frames are wooden and often grouped side-by-side to allow better airflow and ventilation, often in groups of three or four panes. Chestnut and oak are common materials for frames. Craftsmen add wax as the finish.
Another design feature for the windows common for classic Tudor homes is the Oriel windows. These are floating windows, often placed in the second storey of the home. They protrude from the wall but do not reach the ground if placed on the first storey of the home. This kind of bay window allows more design space inside the home.
Exposed Beams and Walls
Beams in the interior are exposed, often made of a darker finish than the walls. Materials for the walls are often oak but you can also find stucco and lime-washed plaster.
Paneling was always present to make a statement. These consist of squares and rectangles. Dark wood is the most common material. These panels could cover the entire wall or just two-thirds of it.
Linen-fold paneling was a notable design element during those times. This kind of design imitates the way the people folded the cloth. Other inspirations for the paneling came from nature or geometrical patterns.
Floors
In addition, floors of Tudor homes were often covered with oriental rugs and carpets. Grander homes would use more extravagant materials, often with floral motifs. The floors are made of wood, brick, and stone. Tudor mansions use marble for their flooring. When wood was used, it was often made of oak and often wide-planked.
Off-Center Doors
Tudor homes often have a large front door that is off-centered. These doors, which are often made of oakwood, may have fine details. To make it showier, Tudor front doors have decorative borders and arches.
Tapestries
One of the design elements you can add to a Tudor home is tapestries. Originally used for insulation, tapestries are now the Tudor house interior design staples. Wealthier families had these elements made of silk and metallic threads in the past. The size and number of tapestries in the home also depend on the homeowner’s wealth. The themes of these tapestries include the countryside, pastoral scenes, and hunting scenes.
Furniture
Tudor-style furniture can be massive. It has a foreboding presence. Perhaps the use of oak wood would be the reason for that. The aged look is the more preferred aesthetic when furniture is concerned. Chairs often have heavy and ornate legs, typically with lots of carvings.
You could also find built-in cabinetry in a traditional Tudor home. Bed is often huge and canopied. These also have heavy headboards full of carved elements. Doors could have wrought iron studs and latches.
The tables were sturdy with a lot of carved ornamentation. Dining chairs were high-backed, and sideboards were always present to showcase collected chinaware.
Tudor Style Interior Design Ideas
How does one convert their homes into the Tudor style house? There’s no need for you to spend thousands of dollars just to create a modern Tudor interior design home. These tips below are relatively low-cost, and the great thing is that you don’t have to remodel your home significantly. Are you ready to design your home this way?
Start with your ceiling. This design element will set the tone of your Tudor interior. Retrofit a faux box-beam ceiling. The coffered ceiling box-like look is created by a crossbeam framework that ultimately adds dimension to the ceiling and, simultaneously hides design flaws. When you add box beam ceilings, make sure that these are in a darker shade tone to give you that authentic look.
Start with your ceiling. This design element will set the tone of your Tudor interior. Retrofit a faux box-beam ceiling. The coffered ceiling box-like look is created by a crossbeam framework that ultimately adds dimension to the ceiling and, simultaneously hides design flaws. When you add box beam ceilings, make sure that these are in a darker shade tone to give you that authentic look.
Add bay windows or Oriel windows. These windows give you a wider perspective of the view and let more sunshine come in. Also, bay windows provide a more rounded look to the entire home, making it more Tudor. To add more authenticity to your Tudor home interiors, add some stained glass windows to it. These materials perfectly complement the box-beam ceiling of your home.
Create a focal point to the living room by adding some large tapestry to one side of the room. You can also redesign one wall to act as an accent wall by adding patterned wood panels to that side of the wall.
The Modern Tudor Home
A more modern Tudor interior design style would include less dark wood used in the walls and furniture. You can lighten the walls, reduce the clutter and highlight the natural grain of the flooring. You can add dimension to this by adding sheepskin floor rugs.
Tudor homes tend to be dark and drab. To avoid such an effect, contrast the dark wood paneling with warmer earth tones such as yellow, amber, and gold. Other accent colors you can use include blue and green.
Period homes like Tudor houses often have dark wood and stone flooring. As beautiful as these are beautiful, they can have a cold aura.
The Modern Tudor Home Decor
People add some carpets made of rich materials; however, these can make the room outdated. You can instead do away with the carpets and paint the walls in a warmer shade of milky cream, soft blue, or golden yellow, so the entire room opens up and brightens. At the same time, you maintain the air of Tudor style through the bare flooring.
Change your draperies. While it might not be cost-effective to change the stained glass windows, you can always remove your heavy drapery and exchange it with a much lighter material. But make sure that the latter matches your new walls in brighter, neutral colors.
If you’ve collected some ornate wooden furniture or accessories, it’s time to use them, but the key here is to use them sparingly. You don’t want your home to look like a cookie-cutter Tudor house; its personality and originality should remain. That said, choose the ones you like and retain them to have more modern Tudor interior design elements. Mix these elements with light-colored tufted sofas and complete the look by adding black and white accents.
The Tudor home would be its perfect place if you have a family coat of arms to display. Accessories made of pewter are also great add-ons to the design. Look for candlesticks and bowls made of this material.
To End
Tudor interior design has a warm feeling to it, almost magical. You may have been transported to a whimsical fairytale place with its distinctive facade and wood-laden interiors. Do you think Tudor interior design is the right style for you? Share with us your thoughts on this in the comments section.
