Irish Georgian interiors are very similar to English Georgian, though they are widely regarded as being less pretentious than their English counterparts.

Irish Georgian houses are distinguished by their picturesque settings, inspiring Classicism, and extraordinary workmanship. Although the size of these buildings range from modest townhouses to large country retreats, the use of the interior space became more influential in their decoration, and is a common thread which links the decorative style amongst all types.

The greater emphasis placed on making the living areas more comfortable was now a more important consideration than rigid formality, and this naturally led towards less architecturally imposing features and more decorative functional elements. The Georgian style is mostly Italian Palladian influenced in its logical and orderly layout whilst exuding handsome restrained elegance and refinement.

The typical Irish Georgian town house was built in rows facing onto squares and major streets and were usually four or five stories high. The basements were occupied by kitchens, laundries, and service facilities. The ground floor was used for formal reception rooms and sometimes a dining room. The floor above contained formal entertaining rooms, and above that again were the bedrooms. The servant accommodation was located in the smallest rooms under the roof, accessed through back stairs separate from the formal areas of the house.

The exterior of these town houses was relatively plain with brick fronts, and large sash windows on the middle floors and smaller windows at the very top and bottom. The richness of trim and detail was varied to match the class of the occupants, but invariably had semicircular fan-lights and side-lights around a large front door accessed by steps from the street below. Although the size and location of Irish Georgian houses vary greatly, the style always remains consistently refined and tasteful without being heavy-handed in the architectural or decorative detail.

The Irish Georgian interior was furnished to provide as much comfort and luxury for the owners as they could afford. Soft furnishings were more available and affordable due to emerging technologies, and consequently more designs and variety of materials were being used. Carpets, especially Irish hand-woven, were becoming popular for their colours and often complex patterns, comfort, warmth, and long-lasting qualities. Although carpets, both hand-woven and machined were widely used, wooden flooring, especially locally available oak, was also a feature of the Irish Georgian house, and finished with wax or varnish often with Parquet blocks layed in various patterns.

Curtains in rich fabrics and trimmings also added an extra dimension of warmth and insulation over the large sash windows, reducing the need for wood panelling to provide insulation. Therefore, only the lower part of the wall was now panelled, while the upper walls were either painted or wallpapered or decorated with stucco work.

Wallpaper in this period was often designed by the architect to reflect the character of the building, with designers such as Robert Adam creating many patterns for the houses he was involved in renovating. They were hand-block printed and often featured large scale but restrained patterns of natural elements, although stripes became popular for more formal spaces around the time of the Regency.

Walls and ceilings were painted in a pigmented chalk and binder mixture known as distemper in natural calm colours. As in most periods of history people used their surroundings to display their wealth and status, and because pigment was relatively expensive, more intense colour displayed the affluence of the owner. Colour schemes were often more elegant and subtle and augmented with stencilling and gilding in early Georgian style, but became gradually more vibrant as style trends progressed towards the more brash showiness of the Victorian era.

Irish Georgian interiors are well known for their skillful level of workmanship, the plasterwork in particular with influential proponents of decorative plasterwork like Michael Stapleton, who in turn was heavily influenced by the work of Robert Adam.

According to the Irish Architectural Archive: “Michael Stapleton (1747-1801) was the most skilled stuccodor working in the neoclassical or ‘Adam’ style that dominated Dublin interior decoration in the final decades of the eighteenth century. Neoclassical compositions are characterized by strongly delineated geometrical forms such as circles, squares and octagons. These basic forms were then augmented with ornamental details such as urns, vases, anthemion and paterae, largely adapted from antique sources and executed in shallow relief.”

Plasterwork began to be used more heavily in Georgian interiors decoration as a result of the emerging process of mass production.

Furniture was as restrained or as ostentatious as the owners desired and could be selected from the many catalogs of cabinet makers such as Chippendale, Sheraton, or Hepplewhite, each having their own distinctive style. Mahogany tended to replace walnut, and the Queen Ann style ball and claw foot and curved cabriole style gradually became straighter and more tapered as the evolving Georgian style gradually shook off the lingering influences of Rococo.

The Irish Georgian style enjoyed a period of stability in the 18th century, and it was in this atmosphere of unity in ideas and purpose among architects and craftsmen that allowed the Georgian style to continue its refinements, until the sweeping changes of the industrial revolution forced a new direction.

Attributed to Philip Hussey

Useful Contacts

The Irish Architectural Archive was established in 1976 to collect and preserve material of every kind relating to the architecture of the entire island of Ireland, and make it available to the public.

Irish Architectural Archive, 45 Merrion Square, Dublin2

Telephone: (01) 663 3040.  Web: www.iarc.ie

The Irish Georgian Society maintains a register of practitioners with traditional building and conservation skills.The Society aims to encourage an interest in and to promote the conservation of distinguished examples of architecture and the allied arts of all periods in Ireland. The Register of Trades was established to ensure that those undertaking conservation work can identify craftspeople and professionals with good conservation expertise.

Irish Georgian Society, 74 Merrion Square, Dublin 2

Telephone: (01) 676 7053.  Web: www.igs.ie

The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland keeps a register of architects accredited in building conservation and will be able to provide a list of approved architects.

Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, 8 Merrion Square, Dublin 2

Telephone: (01) 676 1703.  Web: www.riai.ie

FROM: Hamlin,A.D.F.; History of Architecture ;   Pile, John; A History of Interior Design (2005)