Art Nouveau style is a perfect one to imprint upon the house of more modest proportions, especially if it was constructed around the turn of the century. With few architectural features to worry about, a flavor of the style can be achieved by simply assembling artifacts of the period and placing them judiciously against a fairly bland but well-lit back-ground.
Should your room be embellished with classical or even Victorian features, these are best obliterated by removal or by painting in the same color as their background so that they visually disappear. A dado rail might be left in a hallway, but elsewhere this could be repositioned at eye level or replaced with a plate rack at the same height.
A fireplace can be very evocative of the style and could form the centerpiece of an Art Nouveau room. Look for models made of cast iron, wood, brickwork or copper with the tell-tale stylized floral and geometric designs depicted on ceramic tiles, in metal relief or formed from colored glass mosaic. Trawl architectural salvage companies for a suitable example.
Strip away your fitted carpet and hope to reveal a timber floor. Whether planks or parquet, this, simply waxed and covered with oriental rugs, will summon up the right feel for the period. A painted stencil border would also be in keeping.
Since the style is only around a hundred years old, numerous examples of Art Nouveau furniture survive and can even be bought from so-called ‘junk’ shops for little cost. Many modem furniture makers have rediscovered the look and are interpreting it anew. These items, though not for the purist, will look fine in a room of the period.
If your budget will run to it, insert stained, leaded glass panes of Nouveau designs-in windows (and doors) where there was previously a plain sheet.
Curtains, if any, should be relatively insignificant. Made of a plain fabric or from a typical Nouveau design material, these are best hung from either a wooden pole or a track with a flat, simply shaped pelmet in front. You might also think of painting designs on a plain silk or canvas material.
Fortunately, although few original examples remain and those that do tend to be expensive, lighting of the period is currently considered fashionable and so reproduction models are widely available.
Give plain lampshades the Nouveau treatment by painting on designs typical of the period.
To give your bathroom or kitchen a feel of the period, install Art Nouveau-style ceramic tiles or paint suitable designs on your existing plain ones using ceramic paints.
Accessories are the greatest fun to collect and to position to great effect under good lighting in your room. Remember that you need many fewer than in a typical Victorian interior. Masterpieces are priceless, but humbler artifacts can be found at fairs and auctions for a fraction of the cost. Look out for mirrors, picture frames, lamps, figurines and items made from beaten metalwork.