We have designed The English Accent collection of hand crafted pieces using European techniques, such as the 18th century Venetian decoupage and 17th century English faux, and reverse (under glass), inlaid marble. Pieces range from wine coasters to the dining table on which they sit and waste paper baskets to lamps.
About Decoupage
Venetian furniture designers in the late 17th century were the most accomplished and fashionable in Europe. In particular, Venetian designers developed a style of painted furniture that was sought after aggressively by royalty and aristocrats who paid grand sums for their finest work.
This 'painted' style became so fashionable that, to meet rising demand for their work, the same artists made prints of their drawings and stuck them to the furniture and increased productivity. As the technique became more popular, designers used the original works of the most famous contemporary artists, Bellini among them, in their designs. The technique requires considerable skill, patience and attention to detail. Beyond the craftsmanship, decoupage is a design discipline and the most successful are designers with a broad and deep knowledge of the history or art.
The fashion was lost by the late 19th century, but more recently the interest in decoupage has returned, revitalized and refreshed. New, simpler designs are bringing the beauty and true optimism that this classic and historic technique can create. The English Accent Collection using stunning designs including Audubon Birds, butterflies, fox hunting, African animals, botanical plants, tropical fishes, Ottoman Empire, Tudor England and The English Room spotty dogŠ (see logo on this page). A limited number of each design is made and, because each piece is hand crafted, you can be sure that you will be buying a unique work of art.
Our most popular pieces are our 5" to 15" plate collection and decorative tins. We also make larger pieces using decoupage, including room screens with glass mirrored panels with reverse decoupage, chest of drawers and armoires.
Faux Marbling
Faux marbling is the painting of surfaces so as to imitate the appearance of polished marble. Faux stone painting was widely used in Pompeii, but it really took off in Europe during the Renaissance with two schools of faux marbling developing. The Italian school was loose and artistic; the French school was formal and realistic. It typically took an apprentice ten years or more to fully master the art of faux marbling. All The English Room faux artists have graduated from their apprenticeships from both the French and Italian schools and are skilled at using a variety of techniques to closely imitate real marbles.
Our artists have applied their faux marbling skills to The English Room collection to create beautiful faux marketry and inlay furniture, stunning room screens, waste paper baskets and table-top pieces.
Collecting Bespoke Pieces
All English room pieces can be personalized for a member of the family or to match a favorite room or piece of furniture. Most of all we like to work to commission to create individual pieces across The English Accent range. In the Great Washington DC metropolitan area, we can come to your house to consult on a piece of furniture and take it back to our studies for refurbishment and decoration. This can transform a room at the fraction of the cost of buying new furniture.