How To Decorate Your House Like A Jane Austen Movie

Jane Austen lived and worked at the turn of the 19th century, yet over 200 years later, her novels about the love lives of the British landed gentry are still wildly popular. According to The Conversation, Austen's enduring popularity can be attributed to the realism of her characters. You might find yourself in headstrong Elizabeth Bennet, the lead of "Pride and Prejudice," or maybe in her soft-spoken sister Jane. Some readers identify the most with the meek and suggestible heroine who finally stands up to her family: Fanny Price from "Persuasion." Whatever your personality, whatever your struggles in life, readers often find there is something in Austen that speaks to them.

In addition to chronicling love, loss, and coming of age so beautifully, many readers find themselves drawn to Austen's novels because of the fairytale world of the Regency era. A world filled with lords and ladies, carriage rides, debutante balls, and even a secret rendezvous or two. It's a fun form of escapism to see how the rich lived in this period, if only for an afternoon. When we see these beloved stories translated onto the screen, it's normal to want to recreate a little bit of the movie magic at home. Here's how to bring the world of Jane Austen to life.

In the world of Jane Austen, being accomplished on the pianoforte is a symbol of high status for any young lady hoping to secure a match. According to Art and Artifact in Austen, Jane Austen owned a piano herself and would play it each morning to start her day. It seems as though Austen genuinely loved playing the piano and disagreed with her contemporaries' idea that women only learn how to play to attract a husband and then drop the artform altogether.

Purchasing a piano for use at home does not have to be an expensive venture. Typically, music stores tend to sell second-hand instruments. If you are lucky, you can also pick up a used piano on peer-to-peer sales sites like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. If you purchase a used piano, be aware that you might need to budget for getting it professionally tuned, as the sounds might be off from years of disuse.

Every Jane Austen fan needs a tea set at home, as each film adaption of the beloved author's works features at least one shot of the characters spilling hot tea about each other's lives while enjoying an herbal beverage. According to NPR, tea was so popular in Austen's day that it was served at the society balls that were so delicious to watch on screen. If a young gentleman caller offered to walk a young lady to the tea room, it was the same as a modern man offering to buy you a drink while out at a bar.

If you want a high tea set at home, you can purchase everything you need at your local grocery store, as most stores even have a section for the dishes needed, too. These would be things like a teapot, teacups, teaspoons, and of course, a cake stand for the delicious sandwiches and scones. If you really want to go all out on your tea table, sites like Etsy often have full Jane Austen tea sets available for purchase.

During the Regency era, most people called wallpaper paper hangings instead. However, using modern wallpaper can create a very classic look in the right context. According to historian David W. Wilkin, the idea of wallpaper started when richer families began stretching expensive fabrics like silk and velvet across their walls. The fabrics were not permanently attached, but looked nice and were an easy way to show off their wealth. By the 1770s, these hangings had become paper and were able to be stuck more permanently on the walls.

Around this time, many archeological digs were occurring in Greece and Italy, so the gentry favored themes from this time period. From here, wallpapering trends involved, embracing designs from China and Japan as trade with those regions grew. If you are interested in making your home look like a Jane Austen film, take heart in knowing that wallpaper is not outdated or old-fashioned, but a classic look that is always in style.

You can have plenty of knick knacks without creating clutter. You might notice that it doesn't matter if it's a quaint cottage or a grand estate, the homes in Jane Austen movies are never bare, but they don't need to be crowded with just stuff either. According to The Organized Mama, one of the best ways to ensure your decor doesn't become cluttered is to decorate with purpose. Before purchasing a new item for your home, think of what you already have on hand that might do the job.

This also applies to spur-of-the-moment purchases. Try to only purchase items you've long thought about and know will fit well into your space, rather than items you purchased spur of the moment. As you see here in "Sense and Sensibility," each figurine, bowl, and flower has a place and purpose within the drawing room.

Flowers always look great in your home and have plenty of health benefits, too. According to Get Green Be Well, the presence of flowers has been shown to slightly reduce overall depression, increase happiness, and strengthen the emotional connection between you and the person who gave them to you. Flowers tend to stand out from the other mundane clutter in our homes as a fresh spot of life and color.

Knowing how to choose the correct flowers for your home might seem overwhelming initially, as there are endless possibilities. However, the best way to get started is to select what is most visually appealing to you. Do you prefer the classic bold look of a red rose, or are you a fan of the sunshine that a bright yellow tulip brings into a space? If you still can't decide, take your cue from the room where you will display the flowers. What colors are already prominent? Start simple by trying to highlight those (via Serenata Flowers).

Most Jane Austen heroines have a writing desk at their disposal, so if you want your home to look like one of the movies, you'll probably need one, too. It's never too late to set up a desk or improve your penmanship to write love letters to any gentleman callers that might come your way.

According to Home Office Approved, having a desk in your bedroom has pros and cons. In the modern age, it can be tricky to have our working space in the same place we rest because it makes it even harder for us to switch off from work mode at the end of the day. However, if you have minimal shared space in the house, having a desk is better than just working from your bed, which only makes the problem worse. If you've got it in your mind that you might prefer to begin writing letters like an Austen leading lady, improving your handwriting only takes a little practice, as well as plenty of extra paper (via Lettering League).

If you want your home to have a dramatic flair that would make even Emma Woodhouse proud, you'll want to consider using drapery to set the scene. According to EKDuncan, curtains in the Regency era were used as lavish displays of wealth. They played a very important role in the overall feel of a room.

If you are trying to recreate this look at home without breaking the bank, consider hanging your curtains up as close to the ceiling as possible. Giving them more height immediately makes things look more elegant. In addition, you can add interest with small details, like ornamental curtain rods. Finally, while billowing curtains might seem romantic, those are a bit too Jane Eyre and not Jane Austen. You'll want your curtains to appear heavier and more stately. To do this, simply purchase curtain weights and pop them onto the bottom of each panel so that it hangs flat (via Joss & Main).