Timothy Corrigan

Designer's Site

Corrigan's rooms are full of classical elements such as columns, busts, obelisks, and bas-reliefs. The tables and case goods are period pieces, for example Empire and Biedermeier. I notice right away that nothing is plain. I imagine each piece of furniture being crafted by a guy who said, "Yes, okay, sure, let's make a bookcase, but what shall we do for ornament?" And then he commenced to carve and gild.

From the many rooms in this large portfolio, you can draw lessons for achieving this look -- but I think the first lesson is that it shouldn't be attempted unless you have the budget. Those Empire-styled pieces from Bombay Company, may it rest in peace, won't get you here.

Still, there's a more practically-applied lesson here, too, and that's how to design a room that comes across as formal. My conclusion is that it requires choosing, at all times, items with ornament rather than items that are plain. Let the upholstery be silk, and trust the Scotchgard. Delicate ceramics, not stoneware. Ornate mirrors. Statuettes. Portraits in oil of 18th & 19th century folks. Furniture styles too old to be American. Nothing rustic, nothing country.

Anyway. Don't want to forget to say I love the pine paneling in the libraries and family rooms.

Also, there are multiple examples of a sofa and 4 to 6 chairs surrounding a large coffee table -- a seating arrangement I always like to see in really big living rooms. Back when I tried it for a while in my own home, I remember searching for guidance on how much space to leave between the chairs and table. This site was useful for that.

I recommend clicking the first thumbnail in each gallery, and then using the Next button to navigate. The thumbnails, though large, don't do the full pictures justice.