Downton Abbey Colors And Period Style

PBS’s hit Downton Abbey seems to be the talk of the town these days. The fabulous colors and textures this 19-Century period drama has reintroduced into home design have become a welcome change to the modern color palette.

According to Architectural Digest, Downton Abbey’s set can be described as a “Gothic Revival” introducing such colors as deep blood reds, gilded yellows, soft pastels and burnished browns. If you are interested in incorporating some of these color elements into your home here are some design-provoking photos and ideas you may want to use. I suggest starting by picking up these color tones in a more subtle area of your home- unless you really want to add drama in your living or dining room.

The Main Drawing Room presents with stunning aqua wallpaper and warm gilding in rich hues, offset by the cream ceiling that creeps ever slightly down the walls. This blue-yellow combination can create huge drama in a room and are punched up when the deep wood tones scattered about.

Downton Abbey Color Scheme

KM4827 Sonoma Sky, KM4409 Cupid, KM4688 Summer Sandcastle

Sybil’s Room is a dream of style and femininity. Rose-colored wallpaper is cleverly married with ivory and putty in a wonderful pattern. Nestled between the greens and deeper reds in her curtains. This room really does offer a nod to the shabby-chic that we use so often in our homes today

Downton Abbey Colors

KM4410 Calico Rose, HLS4254 Maybeck Muslin, HLS4299 Trumpet Teal, HLS4302 Poodle Skirt Peach.

Talk about rich. Visit high style elegance in Cora’s Room. Deep wood tones, a stunning coffered, white ceiling against the striking cornflower blue walls sets the stage for romance and a nod to modern hues. Notice how they painted Cora’s bedroom door to match her walls, this is a wonderful idea to incorporate in home design creating a seamless look to your room.

Downton Abbey Drawing Room

HLS4241 Jitterbug, HLS4225 Buckingham Palace, HLS4254 Maybeck Muslin

As kitchens were more practical in nature, rather than the hub of the home – Downton Abbey’s Kitchen design is muted in grays, browns and warm ivory. The warm wood tones in the beautiful farm tables ground the room and are often used in home design today.

Downton Abbey Color Palette

KMW65 Rapier Silver, KM5826 Volcanic Rock, KM5773 Raw Sugar

The Library on Downton Abbey is a sight to behold. Rich reds, pops of blue and green and the amazing browns in the coffered tile ceiling are grounding, deep and just drama-filled for this book-filled oasis. Consider this stunning treatment on a ceiling or adding a wonderful red velvet sofa to your living room to really bring on the drama.

Downton Abbey Colors

HLS4269 Oxford Brick, HLS4231 Drive-in Cherry, HLS4272 Frontier Shingle

Although most of us do not live in a castle like they do on Downton Abbey, we can still create warmth and richness while having fun introducing full textures and vibrant color into our homes.

All paint colors from Kelly-Moore Paints, All content images courtesy of PBS, Feature image credit Shutterstock

Read Time: 3 min
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Kate Smith
Kate Smith is an optimistic, expressive, artist, designer, writer and color fanatic. With her warm and witty style, Kate teaches you to clearly see, understand and be inspired by color. Then she guides you step-by-step to develop your own unique color sense-ability and achieve results you never dreamed possible.
  • Wesley @ Total Wallcovering says:

    Great article Kate. I did a post about this several months ago but yours is 5x more detailed 🙂 I love the damask designs the interior decorators of Downton Abby use. The red damask used in Mary’s room is particularly stunning. Most people may not realize it but the detailed accent walls are one of the main reasons why the show is so visually appealing.

    Wesley Barras
    Total Wallcovering

    • Kate Smith says:

      Thanks for the nice compliment. I agree with you assessment about the color and details. It really keeps you visually engaged with the show.

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