Formal dining room in British colonial style – exotic toile, flowers and mahogany.
BRITISH COLONIAL style has become very popular in the last few years; mahogany furnishings, tropical prints, bamboo and rattan, and such design elements as monkeys, palm trees, ticking stripes, leather and wicker have invaded our homes. However, many consumers have no idea what British Colonial style is, or where it came from. Yet this style has an interesting story to tell.
At one time, about a hundred and fifty years ago, the saying was that “the sun never set on the British Empire.” Under Queen Victoria, the British colonized the world, from India to the West Indies and many places between. Stationed overseas for years, British citizens melded the traditional furnishings from home with the craftsmanship of the locals they governed. Local customs and weather also influenced elements of the style. The Victorians were inveterate collectors; they returned to England with many of the things they had acquired, bringing wicker and bamboo furnishings, Chinese porcelain and rugs to the great houses back home. Explorers and botanists, hired by the queen, collected samples and published prints of the exotic plants and animals they found. A collection that spanned the globe demonstrated the wealth and well-traveled sophistication of the returned expatriate.