Decorating Styles 101: Preppy Home

Filed under: Color, Your Home, Design, etc, News & Trends

Not just for college dorms rooms, prep style is here to stay.

"Looking, acting and ultimately being Prep is not restricted to an elite minority lucky enough to attend prestigious private schools, just because an ancestor or two happened to arrive on the Mayflower." - The Official Preppy Handbook

In the three decades since The Official Preppy Handbook was published a lot has changed, but the hallmarks of prep style are as appealing today as they were in 1980. In fact, the preppy look is undergoing a bit of a revival, and one of the original authors of the Preppy Handbook has just released a new tome, True Prep: It's A Whole New Old World. With the boarding school aesthetic back in vogue, ShelterPop decided to examine decorating in a preppy style.


Being preppy is more than just a sartorial statement, it's a way of life. However, you don't have to join the country club to co-opt a preppy vibe for your home. Prep decor is based on classic, timeless pieces - think Chesterfield sofas and club chairs. It's also about a specific set of cultural references that relate to the proverbial "old boy network."

Preppy style often relies on inherited family heirlooms and other vintage or antique furnishings -- the best preppy interiors evolve over time. However, you can create a prep space from scratch. Case in point: Interior designer Jack Levy created prep-tastic rooms for the American Fashion: Designers At The Aldyn show house last year. The rooms (above and below) featured plaid, a staple of preppy decor.




Both rooms by Levy employ a red, pine green and royal blue palette -- three colors that are crisp and classic preppy staples. You'll also note a stack of vintage trucks in lieu of a coffee table. Wall-mounted antlers would be at home in many preppy homes, while the brass light fixtures in the hall and behind the sofa are pitch perfect examples of preppy style.

Get the look for your own home with these Andover-worthy pieces:


While a true prep would have inherited a treasure trove of WASP-y furnishings, you can fake the look with other people's hand-me-downs or store-bought replicas of family heirlooms. A leather Chesterfield style sofa and a worn kilim rug set the stage for a collection of needlepoint pillows -- all of which you can buy new or scour eBay and Craigslist for.

Kensington Leather Sofas, $3180 to $9995, Restoration Hardware
Talitha Needlepoint Pillow, $165, Jonathan Adler
Vintage Found Kilim Rugs, $799.00 - $3,299.00, Pottery Barn

The preppy life is all about lifestyle, so accessorize. Mimic the preppy life with a well-appointed bar (you can decant cheap bourbon into a fancy decanter and no one will be the wiser). Challenge friends to a bridge tournament with these Tiffany & Co. playing cards (a steal at only $30), and stock up on your collection of vintage board games.

Leather-and-Crystal Decanter, $395, Ralph Lauren
Tiffany playing cards, $30, Tiffany & Co.
Gin Rummy Glasses, $100, Kate Spade


They might just seem like everyday accessories to you but objects like a Hudson's Bay blanket and an L. L. Bean tote immediately give your pad preppy credit. So let your The New Yorkers pile up on the coffee table and leave your Wellies by the back door with your tennis rackets and skis, the true signs of prep.

Hudson's Bay Multi Wool 6 Point Queen, $349, Woolrich
Hunter Original, $125, Zappos.com
Boat and Tote Bags, $18 to $31, L.L. Bean
One-year subscription, $40, The New Yorker
Vintage sports memorabilia, eBay.com


Read on for more of ShelterPop's Decorating Styles 101 series:
- Decorating Styles 101: The New Industrial Design
- Decorating Styles 101: A Comfy and Casual Home

 

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