The Formation of the Empire Style

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Empire style began to develop in France at the court of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The Empire style was formed under the influence of the classical luxury that the French were so fond of, with the addition of Egyptian and Roman motifs. It used heavy classical patterns and complex geometric shapes in wall decor and textiles, while maintaining sophistication alongside soft draped fabrics.

Bright colors prevailed in the interiors introduced when French nobles returned from military campaigns in Egypt. The Egyptian tombs they saw during their campaigns inspired them. Therefore, popular Egyptian ornaments and the rich colors so beloved in this historical region began to be used. Deep blues, rich greens, red ochre, and acid yellow became popular for interior design. Therefore, walls, furniture, and decor, decorated in these colors, became commonplace in France. Although softer colors were still used, lilac was one of the most popular. Egyptian motifs, lions, hieroglyphs, palm trees, winged griffins, cobras, and sphinxes also prevailed.

Napoleon's military influence led to formality in the arrangement of furniture, which was softened by the abundant use of drapery, both on windows and walls. The influence of Rome also began to be felt. Classical Roman motifs were popular: laurel wreaths, urns, and geometric patterns were intended to decorate the entire room.

Empire Style Wallpaper

Of course, all this artistic wealth was also used to decorate walls. At that time, walls were still decorated with fabrics, but wallpaper was also becoming widely available. Walls, when decorated, were usually either hand-painted by artists with motifs in the Pompeian, Roman, or Egyptian style, or decorated with fabric, or papered.

The design of Empire style wallpaper became more sophisticated and complex. But despite the complexity of the images and variety, wallpaper remained an affordable alternative for people with a more modest budget. In the first decade of the nineteenth century, wallpapers depicted symbols, themes, or landscapes of idealized worlds, myths, and legends, printed with luxurious details and colors. Empire style wallpapers could also have small repeating patterns, stripes, borders, architectural details, or be imitations of textiles and draperies.

Flocked paper, that is, flocked wallpaper, was also a pleasant and cheaper alternative to fabric. Therefore, wallpaper with a flock coating is also associated with the luxurious Empire style.

Empire Style Wallpaper Design

The characteristic colors for Empire style wallpapers are both bright saturated colors, such as golden yellow, deep red, as well as delicate pastel shades, such as blue, delicate lilac, and soft green.

The Empire style may not be as popular in today's minimalist interiors, but some of its elements are still used in neoclassical interiors. The design of modern Empire style wallpapers has retained its original appearance, only the manufacturing technology has changed. As before, wallpapers with imitation drapery of luxurious fabrics, with twisted curls and flowers, with complex geometric patterns, and with a flock coating are used.

Now designers advise using such heavy elements in a dosed manner, combining them with other styles, so that as a result, the interior turns out to be interesting and modern. So today we can still see beautifully decorated interiors using Empire style wallpaper.