The Ballroom Room or Drawing Room

This is the Drawing Room of the Joseph Manigault House in Charleston, SC, built during the Regency era in 1803. In Charleston most of the drawing rooms were designed on the second level to avoid dust and dirt from the street, with window doors that lead to a balcony and lots of windows on each side to cool the room.

The photo to the left is of a Grecian couch of solid red from England between 1810-1815. It is Japanned in black and gold. Notice the wheels on the bottom to allow easy movement.

Above the room is an elegant chandelier. In front of the couch is the fireplace and a table and chairs with a silver tea set and covered sugar bowl. The Drum table is a circular top with walnut veneer with a painted and gilt tripod base, and a sandbox tree fruit foot. It is an 1810 piece from Italy.

Above the fireplace is a portrait, but on the opposite ends of the fireplace mantle is a pair of 1810 urns from France. Agate ware with dipped jasper ware medallions.

On the far side of the room are the window doors on each side of an elegant mirror and the piano, which is made of mahogany wood around 1790 from Philadelphia.

You can almost imagine someone sitting there playing music during an entertaining evening filled with guests and dancing. For you historical writers out there, I hope this room and furniture description will give you some ideas in how to layout a ballroom or a drawing room for your characters to entertain their guests.