Wallpaper

The language of the arabesque is a universal one that is as decoratively relevant today as it was in 1780 or 100 AD. Only the brave and the rich can attempt recreating such schemes in paint or plaster.

Panels of arabesque wallpaper can be bought at some cost from Zuber, the most elite of wallpaper manufacturers. Interestingly David Skinner, in Celbridge, has reproduced a 1770s wallpaper found at Clongowes Wood that was inspired by Greek pottery. The original colour is a strong burnt sienna with black figure decoration which is quite powerful, but for a small space, like a cloakroom or lobby, is most intriguing.

Paints

The limpid, delicate neo-classical interior must be reproduced by using cool colours in subtle shades or contrasts, furnishings which have fine lines and sharp profiles and lots of mirror glass to increase the liquidity of light. (Using mirror glass set into the panels of shutters and doors adds enormously to the lightness of a room.

As always, ceilings and woodwork should be an off-white painted in flat emulsion for former and oil eggshell for the latter. For halls, try Colortrend Paints "5411W Saturn"; for livingrooms, F&B No 32 "Cooking Apple Green", or No 27 "Parma Grey"; for diningrooms, F&B No 83 "Chapel Green" or No 29 "Sugar Bag Light".

To achieve subtle tones, the dado can be painted the chosen colour in full strength, main walls in the chosen colour cut by one-quarter Ivory (BS 10.b.15) and if there is a frieze, the ground to the ornament can be the full strength of colour.

An American and an historical idea that smartens up the dullest room is to paint the floorboards with a faded checkerboard pattern. Firstly "bleach" the sanded floor with a whitened varnish; carefully mark out two-inch tiles and paint in a faded blue or green. After sealing with a matt varnish, this will give subtle background grandeur to a room.

Furnishings

Part of the metamorphosis towards a lighter, finer decorative style was the replacement of mahogany as the pre-eminent component of furniture in favour of satinwood. The work of Sheraton, Hepplewhite and in Dublin, William Moore, concentrated on creating pieces made of paler and paler woods with the finest inlaid ornament. Not surprisingly, this inlay also found inspiration in the arabesque tradition; the use of husks, urns, swags and medallions bear witness to this.

This furniture has always been popular and much copied in the 19th and 20th centuries and is therefore still widely available from the antique trade. However, the importance of colour meant that painted furniture also became a feature of neo-classical interiors.

Still overlooked in this country, it existed in most country house collections, both in drawingrooms and on the bedroom floors. These pieces offer some scope for the more modest budget; they can occasionally still be bought for a reasonable price, but more importantly, they can be copied. Modern reproduction furniture, unacceptable in its natural state, can be transformed by the application of gesso colours, some wax and a little distressing. Florence de Daumpier's The Best of Painted Furniture is an invaluable source of inspiration.