Of Sherlock, Steampunk, and Chaucer

This recent article in my local newspaper really got me thinking.  I don’t know much about the steampunk movement, but I’ve seen it used in films like the Sherlock Holmes series with Robert Downey, Jr.  Those movies are good, but the BBC series, Sherlock, is even better. (Try saying “Benedict Cumberbatch” three times fast!)

I fell in love with the apartment shared by Holmes and Watson in the modern British series, and you can see bits of it here and here.  That wallpaper is simply stunning, and though I’m not 100% certain it technically falls under the steampunk category, I’ve decided I should add a bit of edginess to my home.  A little bit of feminine steampunk, if you will.  And those curtains I’m pining over are perfect, don’t you think?

Then, this week, I was preparing to buy a new spring wreath from One Kings Lane, when what did I spy but an armillary sphere!

(My new armillary sphere, from One Kings Lane.)

Nothing screams steampunk like an armillary sphere, and it reminded me of my Chaucer class from graduate school.  The professor was really into astronomy, as was Geoffrey Chaucer, it turns out, so we spent a lot of time discussing the stars, alongside The Canterbury Tales and the tragic story of Troilus and Criseyde, who were star-crossed lovers.

There’s that quote by William Morris, about “hav[ing] nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful,” and I think this really exemplifies steampunk as a decorative style. Plus, just think of all the fun I’ll have gazing at the stars.