How to Bring the Regency Period into your Home

9 July 2026

Lasting from 1795 to 1837, the Regency years revolved loosely around the regent, Prince George, but really marked a time of great change in British society and culture. Interior-wise, the Regency period had a whole swirl of influences on the home. There was a love of antiquity; think Neoclassicism. The revival of different eras, such as Gothick and Egyptomania. New technologies. The distinctions of class. And the reach of so many other global cultures via the East India Company.

It was also, for the first time, an era of choice. Publications like Ackermann's Repository of the Arts meant people could browse interior inspiration in a way they never had before. Similarly, Thomas Hope’s book, Household Furniture & Interior Decoration (1807), became a major source for designers and introduced the term “interior decoration” into the English language.

Regencycore, then, isn't a singular look.

Think of how differently filmmakers have responded to the question of what a Regency interior looks like. Autumn de Wilde’s Emma (2020) gave us something delicate and almost confectionery: pale pinks, sage greens, meticulous symmetry. Simon Langton’s BBC Pride & Prejudice (1995) felt altogether more grounded and periodically precise. Neither is wrong. Both are creative responses to the time period.

That same interpretive spirit runs through Sanderson’s archive, which holds over 75,000 items: logbooks, fragments, and fully preserved pieces of wallpaper and textile from the nineteenth century.

Here are five ways to bring Regencycore into your home.

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1. Think laterally, not literally

Perfectly replicating the past can feel overwhelming and a little stiff. It’s often more rewarding to take cues from unexpected places: an embroidery motif on a pair of Regency gloves, the endpapers of a book from the period, or a colour combination in a portrait. Use these as a starting point rather than a blueprint. Trelliage, Fairdown, and Aubrey are all rooted in archive documents but are not facsimiles. Similarly, Giles Deacon’s stripe — the Regency Aperigon fabric — is inspired by the infamous stripes of the age, but features a witty sawtooth detailing. Give yourself the same freedom.

Image of striped chair in front of cupid's beau Sanderson brown and floral wallpaper

2. Embrace the eclecticism

The Regency period was many things at once: Neoclassical columns alongside Chinese lacquerwork, Egyptian motifs next to draped silk tented rooms inspired by Napoleon’s campaign furniture. Chinoiserie had a long and distinguished run, with hand-painted Chinese wallpapers among the most coveted wall treatments of the era. The period also saw the arrival of printed wallpaper for the first time, making decorative walls accessible to a far wider audience. A Regency room was never monolithic. It was a collection of enthusiasms, and you can treat yours the same way.

At Sanderson, we have a range of archive chinoiserie papers, including Chinoiserie Hall and Andhara, as well as surface-printed wallpaper like Rye, King’s Rose Chintz, Delphinium & Lilac, and Silver Lime — all archive designs that capture the spirit of the period.

3. Look up

The Regency period decorated its ceilings. Robert Adam understood that a ceiling was not a blank surface but a canvas, and plasterwork, colour, and pattern were all deployed overhead. If you're thinking about embracing Regencycore in your home, consider what’s above you as much as what’s around you: a painted finish, a decorative cornice, or even a wallpaper treatment can change a room entirely.

Image of chairs covered in striped colourful fabric in front of striped wallpaper wall

4. Get the colour right

From historic textiles to hand-blocked wallpapers, our designers can get up close to these works to truly understand their tactility, weaves, and craftsmanship. By studying original brushstrokes and historic colourways, they can thoughtfully reconstruct, recolour, and reinterpretation history — or simply let their creativity flow.

image of chair in corner of national trust property

5. Go and see it in person

There is no substitute for standing in a Regency room. Bath is the obvious starting point, Lacock Village in Wiltshire, Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, and many National Trust properties offer interiors worth studying closely: the scale of the furniture, the layering of pattern, the quality of light through tall windows. Many of the locations used in period drama adaptations are open to visitors. Go, look carefully, and see what inspirations stay with you!