EXCLUSIVE: 6 Design Ideas From Downton Abbey’s Set Decorator You’ll Want in Your Own Home

Fans of Downton Abbey have come to love the television series and subsequent films as much for the stunning scenery as for the intriguing storylines. Now, as Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale hits theaters Friday, Sept. 12, we’ve become captivated with the decorative details that set the scene (literally!) in the franchise's final feature.

We spoke with Emmy Award–winning set decorator Linda Wilson, who brings Downton’s “upstairs-downstairs” environments to life with historical accuracy, whether filmed on location at Highclere Castle in Hampshire or on stage sets in London. She reveals the design details that are cyclical (hello, color trends) plus a few behind-the-scenes tricks that just might inspire your own home—no manor required.

1. Cozy Can Be Glamorous

The iconic red room goes to show that cozy spaces can look luxe, too—a trend that we're seeing on the rise. For maximum comfort, opt for fabric-backed wallpaper in addition to a warm, enveloping color like crimson. “Paper-backed silk was very much done back then,” says Wilson of the period detail that looks as appropriate in Downton—set in a 17th-century stately home during the 1930s—as it would today. Cue interior designers like Rita Konig and Ashley Gilbreath who regularly line walls in fabric to create a soft, cocooning feel.

2. Folding Screens Are Multifunctional

Historically used to dress behind, folding screens do double duty on Downton’s film set. “We're always covering up the modern-day details,” says Wilson of Highclere Castle. “You can hide something behind a screen that can't be taken from the stately home, that needs to be hidden, like a television.”

It’s a trick that comes in handy for designers like Vicente Wolf in the real world as well. He’s been known to use low folding screens as camouflage for radiators, and all sizes as room dividers—a trick Wilson employs as well. “Screens are always a useful way of not seeing through into another room that maybe we're not dressing,” she notes. 

3. Freestanding Mirrors Capture Every Angle

Unlike the wall-mounted mirrors that are ubiquitous in homes today, freestanding mirrors—known as cheval mirrors—were a staple in aristocratic dressing rooms from the late 19th century through the turn of the 20th century, so it’s only natural to see them in Mary's room. They weren’t just for historical accuracy, though. “Mirrors are really important in our work because they're a great way of seeing the room and the character from different angles. Plus, you can angle it, so they're a very useful tool,” says Wilson.

While she looked for ornate cheval mirrors with a beveled edge or a gilt frame, there are contemporary interpretations that boast sleeker silhouettes for modern interiors. Consider one if you have a room with an awkward corner to fill or a dark space where you want to bounce light around—you can reposition it as the light changes throughout the day.

4. Lampshades Have a Greater Purpose

Listen to Wilson wax poetic on lampshades and you may never shop for lighting the same way again. “For us, the most interesting thing about a lampshade is the light coming through. Modern lampshades quite often are blocked, so that the light source goes up and down, whereas we always want it to be coming through silk and looking decorative. It’s just a very nice thing near somebody's head,” she says.

Next time you shop for lighting, imagine your home as a film set and how the lampshade will flatter anyone gathered around it, more than just how it complements the furniture. In Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, Wilson went even further, opting for fringed varieties with scallop silhouettes to set a glamorous tone. “It's an easy way of making a statement that you’re in a stately home,” she says.

5. Vintage Kitchenware Is Always in Style

We were shocked to learn that the massive oven in Downton’s kitchen is actually made of painted MDF wood, and the tiled backsplash is a removable panel that can be filmed through. (Cue tight shots of Mrs. Patmore stirring a sauce). But the accessories—copper and cast iron pots, ceramic mixing bowls, tinware baking dishes—are as real as they come, sourced from a mix of prop houses, vintage markets, and antique stores. 

“Sometimes you just see something—there’s a beautiful big copper pan with a lid and a tap on the front. We started positioning that on the stove, because it was such a beautiful piece and in really good condition,” says Wilson. "Those sorts of things are easy for us to get from antiques markets.” With countless companies making reproductions of vintage-inspired kitchenware today, it’s a reminder that you can often find the real thing—often at a bargain—by scouring vintage markets.

6. Color Drenching Isn’t New—It Just Came Back!

The enveloping color of Mr. and Mrs. Carson’s office illustrates how design trends ebb and flow with each generation reinterpreting the last. Where contemporary designers like Frances Merrill are swathing a room in a single bold hue, or tones of a single hue, the Carsons' office is equally drenched in a more muted tone. “When you're upstairs, that's very much the patterned wallpaper and the richness and the silks. But downstairs, the colors that we use for all of the servants—their bedrooms or their offices or below stairs—are a bit drabber, a bit more ordinary, and a bit more plain,” says Wilson.

It should come as no surprise that, along with color drenching, these muddy hues are also trending once again. “Nowadays we all paint our rooms that color because it's such a peaceful plain,” she says, adding that Downton's production team favors Farrow & Ball paints in particular. “We're pretty much addicted to their palette: London Stone, Dead Salmon, Pigeon. All of these colors appear in Downton,” says Wilson.