# Help me design a palace



## Stormcat (Jan 20, 2016)

My story takes place in an empire, so the emperor needs a palace! I like to plot out things visually so I can follow them later and describe them in my writing. I like Spanish baroque architecture for the outside, but I'm a little lost on what to put on the inside. I know we'll need a throne room and a grand balcony so speeches can be delivered to the people. I'd also like to include a conservatory for a little wedding scene at the very end of the book.

I've been up and down Pinterest looking for ideas, but they are disorganized and cluttered. Any styles or places I should keep an eye out for to get ideas?

EDIT: the buildings from the chicago and Paris worlds fairs have given me even more ideas for my fictional palace, but sadly, only for the exterior. Perhaps they are more geared towards giving the city where the palace is located in some regal flavor.


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## Stormcat (Jan 22, 2016)

This is the "Palace of Water" from the 1900 Paris Exposition Universalle, the same event which revealed the Eiffel tower unto the world. I'd like to use this design for the front of my palace. I've found lots of inspiration from the old buildings of the event, but only for the exterior. I'd like help with the interior.


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## Ariel (Jan 22, 2016)

Look up photos of the inside of Buckingham Palace.  Queen Victoria was the first monarch to live there.


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## Stormcat (Jan 22, 2016)

amsawtell said:


> Look up photos of the inside of Buckingham Palace.  Queen Victoria was the first monarch to live there.




But everyone uses Buckingham palace! I want my palace to be more unique.


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## Bishop (Jan 22, 2016)

Stormcat said:


> But everyone uses Buckingham palace! I want my palace to be more unique.



Then make your own! There's no need for an architectural study with blueprints and historical analysis. No need to think up every nook and cranny--just think about what areas will be needed for your story's scenes and use them when needed.


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## Stormcat (Jan 22, 2016)

Bishop said:


> Then make your own! There's no need for an architectural study with blueprints and historical analysis. No need to think up every nook and cranny--just think about what areas will be needed for your story's scenes and use them when needed.



But i find it easier to "set a stage". I like to visually map where a character is standing/going in a scene. I draw maps of my scenes and use game pieces to figure out where everyone is going. Even the parts that won't be seen I still need because it's essential to the mapping.


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## Bishop (Jan 22, 2016)

Stormcat said:


> But i find it easier to "set a stage". I like to visually map where a character is standing/going in a scene. I draw maps of my scenes and use game pieces to figure out where everyone is going. Even the parts that won't be seen I still need because it's essential to the mapping.



Dang. How do you have time to write once all this is done?


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## Blade (Jan 22, 2016)

Bishop said:


> Then make your own! There's no need for an architectural study with blueprints and historical analysis. No need to think up every nook and cranny--just think about what areas will be needed for your story's scenes and use them when needed.



:thumbl: Sounds good to me. I have no idea how many palaces there might be in the world but there must be considerable variation as to size, layout, furnishing or whatever. You can take the liberty of customizing something purely to meet your own personal needs.:eagerness: The extent to which the various rooms or features are descibed is entirely in your hands.


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## Stormcat (Jan 22, 2016)

Bishop said:


> Dang. How do you have time to write once all this is done?



Easy, crippling social anxiety leaves me with no friends and no desire to leave the house.


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## Stormcat (Jan 22, 2016)

Blade said:


> :thumbl: Sounds good to me. I have no idea how many palaces there might be in the world but there must be considerable variation as to size, layout, furnishing or whatever. You can take the liberty of customizing something purely to meet your own personal needs.:eagerness: The extent to which the various rooms or features are descibed is entirely in your hands.



But I need inspiration first! show me some other palace interiors, or exteriors so I can get some ideas.


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## Blade (Jan 22, 2016)

Here is a decent one. Big courtyard would be good for skateboarding or roller skating, built in wading pool and lots of space to set up games like badminton or croquet. The square is circled by all sorts of interesting building that could be utilized for almost anything.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace#/media/File:Courtyard_at_Beiteddine_Palace_-_2009.jpg


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## Ariel (Jan 22, 2016)

Check out the Versailles hall of mirrors.  If you want a library there's the Trinity College Library in Dublin Ireland.


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## Kevin (Jan 22, 2016)

You've left out the most important room: the dungeon. What good is a palace if you don't have a usable subterranean space for storage and, uhm... entertainment? It's got to be workable, like a kitchen, floor drains etc. I suggest washable, too. I mean who wants that odor? Can you imagine, your throwing a ball, and some of the guests are like _*sniff, sniff*  *psst*- smells like musty-dungeon in here. And did you see that dress? Her dress is horrible, too. I know, don't say anything..._


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## Stormcat (Jan 22, 2016)

Kevin said:


> You've left out the most important room: the dungeon. What good is a palace if you don't have a usable subterranean space for storage and, uhm... entertainment? It's got to be workable, like a kitchen, floor drains etc. I suggest washable, too. I mean who wants that odor? Can you imagine, your throwing a ball, and some of the guests are like _*sniff, sniff*  *psst*- smells like musty-dungeon in here. And did you see that dress? Her dress is horrible, too. I know, don't say anything..._



Those only exist in castles

I'm building a palace

Palace =/= castle


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## Stormcat (Jan 22, 2016)

Blade said:


> Here is a decent one. Big courtyard would be good for *skateboarding or roller skating*, built in wading pool and lots of space to set up *games like badminton or croquet*. The square is circled by all sorts of interesting building that could be utilized for almost anything.
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace#/media/File:Courtyard_at_Beiteddine_Palace_-_2009.jpg



The emperor's agoraphobic and the story takes place in 1880.

I'm good on what the emperor will do, but it's the _WHERE_ he'll do it that concerns me.


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## Stormcat (Jan 22, 2016)

amsawtell said:


> Check out the Versailles hall of mirrors.  If you want a library there's the Trinity College Library in Dublin Ireland.



Once again, EVERYBODY does versailles. Do you think I haven't already done research on this? I'm looking for unique, little-known locations to get inspiration.


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## Ariel (Jan 22, 2016)

I'm going to disregard your rude comment.  Since you've done so much research I'm sure you're about ten steps ahead of everyone else.  Perhaps you could start by telling us what you have already discarded?


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## Stormcat (Jan 22, 2016)

amsawtell said:


> I'm going to disregard your rude comment.  Since you've done so much research I'm sure you're about ten steps ahead of everyone else.  Perhaps you could start by telling us what you have already discarded?



Yeah, sorry about that. I was having a really bad day.

Anyway, I've ruled out buckingham, Versailles, any disney-themed palace or inspiration for a disney castle, and castle dracula.


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## Allysan (Jan 22, 2016)

You could look into Biltmore Estates in Asheville, NC. It's nowhere near palace worthy, but there's an amazing wrap around staircase, and a huge basement with an in ground pool and bowling alley. The library is like something out of beauty and the beast.  You don't have to pull inspiration from palaces. Find mansions with cool features. Hell, you could use the grotto from the playboy mansion. In 1880, I'm sure someone could've figured out how to do it. Biltmore went up around then and they had an indoor pool and plenty of fountains.


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## Kevin (Jan 23, 2016)

Man... there is a lot of information. Looking for architectural   features I started at _Palaces of the world_ and was directed to Manor Houses. Not knowing what a Manor House was:

" A *manor house* is a large country house, which was historically the capital residence or messuage within a manor, the basic unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe, in which dwelled the lord of the manor. It formed the administrative centre of a manor and within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals with manorial tenants and great banquets. The term is today loosely applied to smaller country houses, frequently dating from the late medieval era, which formerly housed the gentry. They were often fortified, but this was frequently intended more for show than for defense. Manor houses existed in most European countries where feudalism existed, where they were sometimes known as castles, palaces, and so on..." - _wiki_


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## Ariel (Jan 23, 2016)

I'd like to approach this with another question.  How did the emperor come into power?  Did he inherit or did he seize power?  Either way a room for crests, shields, or portraits of ancestors could be very telling.  If he inherited power he could have had portraits of himself made larger than family portraits to display that of all of them HE is the greatest.  If he seized power he could have a made up sort of family tree or something to push forward the idea that he is legitimately the emperor and has connections to the previous family.

I would not reccomend taking entire rooms wholesale from any of the palaces that have been mentioned but I don't see why having elements mixed and matched--even from well known palaces like Buckingham and Versailles couldn't help.  Say there's a room with the paintings on the ceiling like in Versailles but the staircase in the back looks like the main staircase from Buckingham?

Further, the papal palace is a palace.  Vatican City is a sovereign country.

And a quick image search for "palace interiors" gives me an idea of what most palaces typically include.  Large, grand halls with pillars, very high ceilings, "color-themed" rooms (usually red, white, gold, some blue or green), painted ceiling panels or wall panels, large statues, lots of chandeliers, gigantic windows, and lots of rich fabric.  I know that the fabrics were usually velvets or silks.  Everything also looks to be gilt.

Another question: what kind of a person is this emperor?  Is he a hunter?  A collector of art or even an "artist" himself?  Does he fancy himself an actor?  Is he a serious minded scientist or doctor? Many monarchs had fanciful hobbies where they would force their courtiers into praising their skills in some "common" job they picked up and chose to "play" with.  Some had actual skill--others didn't.  The palace can reflect his "profession" of choice.  An actor would have a theater, a painter or artist a studio, and a scientist a laboratory.  These rooms might be tucked away somewhere or they could have been shoe-horned into a place of prominence--it depends on the ego of the emperor.


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## Stormcat (Jan 24, 2016)

The emperor of my story is insane. He demands that everything is white, from the foods he eats to the people he governs. He inherited his position, but he's basically undone all the progressive actions his ancestors have taken. The palace is (initially) all white to fit with his delusions, but when the emperor is slain by an assassin, the servants of the palace reveal the missing paintings that were in the palace this whole time underneath tarps and plaster. Most marble statues and decorative plasterworks have been left in place, but anything that had even a spot of color on it is either destroyed or covered up.

After the fall of the mad emperor, the people reveal all their hidden colors and embrace them. In the palace, we find old stonework in semi-precious stones, brightly-colored rooms, and enough gold to make the saudi kings seem penniless. I've got the monochrome palace all set, what I'm looking for is the "rainbow" palace.


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## Ariel (Jan 24, 2016)

Then perhaps the "colorful" palace stems from a different time period than Victorian?  In that case certain colors wouldn't be common and therefore more expensive--deep shades especially, as most dyes before the Industrial Age were vegetable based and could only get so dark or bright.  Perhaps each color means something specific to the world this is based in?  Yellow is often associated with happiness in the western world but in some Asian countries (I think China) it was a color reserved for royalty.

I would also look into reasons why he's insane.  Is it the effects of breeding and mental illness?  Or, as is theorized in the case of King George III, has he been steadily poisoned by something in the environment like lead?  Since he insists on "whiteness" this character could have a religious mania that involves purity of his soul and he believes that being surrounded by the color and only ingesting the color would make him more holy or some such. There is also an avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder that most people grow out of.  I'm not sure that demonizing such individuals is a path I would take.

Further, the basic set-up of the palace would remain the same if things were just moved, altered, or hidden.  You don't need more furniture and scene dressings--you just need color.


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## Stormcat (Jan 24, 2016)

amsawtell said:


> Then perhaps the "colorful" palace stems from a different time period than Victorian?  In that case certain colors wouldn't be common and therefore more expensive--deep shades especially, as most dyes before the Industrial Age were vegetable based and could only get so dark or bright.  Perhaps each color means something specific to the world this is based in?  Yellow is often associated with happiness in the western world but in some Asian countries (I think China) it was a color reserved for royalty.
> 
> I would also look into reasons why he's insane.  Is it the effects of breeding and mental illness?  Or, as is theorized in the case of King George III, has he been steadily poisoned by something in the environment like lead?  Since he insists on "whiteness" this character could have a religious mania that involves purity of his soul and he believes that being surrounded by the color and only ingesting the color would make him more holy or some such. There is also an avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder that most people grow out of.  I'm not sure that demonizing such individuals is a path I would take.
> 
> Further, the basic set-up of the palace would remain the same if things were just moved, altered, or hidden.  You don't need more furniture and scene dressings--you just need color.



The emperor initially had OCD, but as a young man he sustained a traumatic brain injury which made his impulse control and emotional regulations non-exsistant. He also met some religious fanatics who are taking steady advantage of him. when he dies, the religious fanatics lose their power over the country, so the colors can be revealed again.

I haven't really given much thought to color symbolism other than White=purity. Rather than decorate each room in a particular color, I just want to see a multitude of colors.


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## Ariel (Jan 24, 2016)

If religious fanatics are taking advantage of him then perhaps the semi-precious stone covered stuff and the gold gilt and silver inlay were removed and donated to them?

Or did they turn his palace into their headquarters?

From what I've seen it seems like most palaces will have color-themed rooms.  Cream, white, dark woods, and gold or silver will accent every room but most rooms will be furnished and/or painted with one shade of a particular color.  Red was the most common in the pictures I saw but blue and green were fairly common too.

Oh, and I would reccomend watching BBC's Design Rules. It can be found on YouTube and it's a decorating guidelines show in six parts.  I think the last one in particular has some good points for writers and settings.


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## Stormcat (Jan 25, 2016)

amsawtell said:


> If religious fanatics are taking advantage of him then perhaps the semi-precious stone covered stuff and the gold gilt and silver inlay were removed and donated to them?
> 
> Or did they turn his palace into their headquarters?
> 
> ...



The palace has become their headquarters. Also, to keep up with the White=purity thing, the fanatics only want to be paid in silver.


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