decorating inspiration: valour and vanity

Posted byRaePosted inbooks, decoratingTags:, , , , , ,

Last week I finished Valour and Vanity by Mary Robinette Kowal. I completely enjoyed it, and you all should, too. In the book, Jane and Vincent face all kinds of trials after they lose all of their money and are stranded in Murano. After staying in a downright dreary small room for their apartment, they use glamour (super cool illusion-making magic) to make their hopefully temporary home look better than it seems.

You know I’m a big believer in decorating your home to lift your spirits.

Vincent turns their small, low-ceilinged room into a beautiful orangery with views of the countryside.

drawing from valour and vanity

Their bed stayed its same old wooden self, but they made the floor appear as if it were a gray stone. A fire warms the place up and allows them to cook dinner. Outside the glass walls, the landscape appears perhaps a bit more vivid than it would in real life–a relief from their claustrophobic dreariness. Ornate archways reach up to their vaulted ceiling.

I, for one, wouldn’t mind coming home to that one bit. If you wanted to use this style in your home, you could do something like this.

jane and vincent's room
Plenty of mirrors keep things airy and bright. Rustic wooden furniture would be charming, and architectural lamps would add beautiful lines reminiscent of archways. Don’t forget to add some fruit–Jane and Vincent had orange trees, after all.
Valour and Vanity (Kindle here) is the fourth of Mary Robinette Kowal’s Regency England histories that follow the couple Vincent and Jane, and their families.