Period drama Downton Abbey may have won over the nation with its intriguing plots around the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants, but its settings are also winning hearts.

The lavish interiors of the ITV1 series (back on our screens from September 18) have prompted a revival in all things elaborate and vintage.

“The rooms in Downton are so fascinating to look at,” says Judith Miller, one of the experts on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow.

“They’re worthy of a show in themselves because they’re filled with treasures and authentic period details.

“Antiques and vintage pieces, which are already enjoying renewed popularity at the moment, have been given a further boost by the series.”

Our enthusiasm for vintage is, she believes, partly fuelled by a hankering for nostalgia and a desire to replicate the perceived order, obedience and security of past eras.

“The modern world is quite scary and people now want their homes to be nurturing spaces, where they feel cocooned, safe and comfortingly surrounded by the things they love,” she says.

While the drama’s themes of passion, tragedy and plotting fascinate fans, she believes that ‘stories’ associated with period pieces of furniture are similarly appealing.

“There’s an appreciation for furniture and possessions that have been handed down over the years and have a history. There’s a romance in that,” says Miller, also author of Miller’s Antiques Handbook & Price Guide 2012-2013, which gives examples of Edwardian pieces, ideal for Downton devotees who want to precisely evoke the style.

“Increasingly on the Antiques Roadshow we find people bringing along their items and no matter how high their value, they still want to keep them. They treasure them emotionally for their craftsmanship and links to their family history.”

It’s beyond most of our budgets to replicate those grand rooms in the great Downton Abbey. But reassuringly, Miller says it’s perfectly possible to capture the charm of the Edwardian era it portrays, by featuring just a few vintage pieces.

“This was such a diverse era for style because it reflected all sorts of influences, from Victorian and Art Nouveau, to Arts and Crafts or more delicate Sheraton-style pieces, with painted or marquetry effects. There really is something to appeal to everyone,” she says.

“There’s no need to slavishly follow a period look or specific era. In fact, mixing old pieces with new is more fashionable.

“I live in an Edwardian house and have Philippe Starck furniture mixing with antiques. Vintage pieces are wise buys as new designer furniture depreciates by around a fifth the moment you get it home, in much the same way a new car does.”

“Antiques will generally at least hold their value, if not appreciate. They’re also made to last and many pieces, unless they’re rare, are often very affordable if you source them at auctions, fairs or even car boot sales.”

So make the series come alive at home with on-screen style furniture and accessories to make even the Dowager Countess of Grantham, played by the redoubtable Dame Maggie Smith, feel proud.

Get the Downton Look

Upstairs Style

Lord and Lady Grantham, played by Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern, hold court in gracious drawings rooms at Downton, which still retain their elegance in this series, even though the home’s now involved in the war effort.

“Opulence using heavy fabrics, expert craftsmanship, intricate detailing and imported exotic pieces are characteristic of these homes,” says Marianne Richards, head of styling at HomeSense.

“Choose curtains and cushions in rich petrol blues, crimsons, burnt orange and bronze, preferably heavily embroidered or with a tapestry effect or damask, and perhaps some tassle fringing.

“Certain details are typical of that period, such as clawed feet on furniture, marquetry, parquet flooring and black and white tiled floors.”

• Recline in style on a velvet Yanna sofa, £1,190 from Sofa.com, upholstered in a chestnut brown fabric.
• Turn a bedroom into a luxurious sanctuary fit for a lady with a sumptuous ViSpring bed, the Magnificence with Viceroy divan and Eccleston headboard covered in Imperial Gold silk. Beds made to order, from £17,500.
• A gilded Cottesbrooke embellished mirror, £50.26, teamed with a gold and crystal Adelaide chandelier, £440, from The Chandelier & Mirror Company, could be just the touches for your own stately home.
• Telephones were a new luxury towards the end of the era. Capture communication style with a brass and wood Nostalgia Table Top Telephone, £45, from Past Times.
• Bathing was a leisurely affair in grand homes and it’s hard to beat the grandeur of a handmade Usk bateau bath, from £3,390, from Drummonds.
• Raise your status instantly with a cushion embroidered with a crown and the title ‘Her Ladyship’, £15, from Past Times.
• Little affordable details evoke the style of bygone eras. Porcelain Button Cupboard Knobs with a design replicating an antique clock with roman numerals are £5 each, available in store from John Lewis.
• :: Turn back time with a Pocket watch wall clock, £57, from Shabby Chic Originals.

Downstairs Style

Below stairs, where brooding disciplinarian butler Carson (Jim Carter) and housekeeper Mrs Hughes (Phyllis Logan) rule, there’s none of the finery of the rooms above. But with a kitchen where all the servants gather, it’s still full of atmosphere.

“Practical Arts & Crafts furniture, which started to be mass produced in this era so that style and quality was no longer limited to the upper and middle classes, is very collectible,” says Miller.

“A large rustic table with a collection of period chairs is in keeping with the eclectic look of today, where personality in interiors has completely banished sterile minimalism.”

• Evoke below stairs charm with the paint used for the kitchen walls of the Downton Abbey set. They’re painted in a mustard shade, Cat’s Paw No 240, by Farrow & Ball. Its Estate Emulsion finish is £29.50 for 2.5 litres.
• Serve soup in style with this Blue Italian Soup Tureen, £199.50, from Spode. Carson would approve!
• Afternoon teas were an unbreakable ritual, made special by heirloom china. A Royal Albert tea set, in pink and gold, £37.50, from Tesco, would set the scene.
• No butler – no problem! Get everything organised in Premier Vintage Home cream Spices Jar Set, £13.24, and their Utensils Jar With Tools, £8.49, from Amazon. They’re decorated with a grand country home illustration.
• Get the measure of the period with antique-style Librasco black weighing scales with weights, £40, from Artisanti.
• Oil-filled lamps provide the flickering light of yesteryear. Bottle of lamp oil, £8.25, from Baileys Home & Garden.
• Dress a shelf with a Tinker Eastern Zinc Finish Lidded Cannister, £23, from Artisanti.
• Quirky accessories, such as a doorstop made from a recycled wooden shoe last, used as originally as a mould to fashion shoes, £24, from Baileys Home & Garden, would add atmosphere.

• Period Places

Artisanti: www.artisanti.com

Baileys Home & Garden: 01989 561 931/www.baileyshome.com

The Chandelier & Mirror Company: 01322 437 112/www.chandeliersandmirrors.co.uk

Drummonds: 01483 237 202/www.drummonds-uk.com

Farrow & Ball: 01202 876 141/www.farrow-ball.com

HomeSense: www.homesense.com

John Lewis: www.johnlewis.com

Past Times: www.pasttimes.com

Shabby Chic Originals: 020 7384 3355/www.shabbychicoriginals.co.uk

Sofa.com: www.sofa.com

Spode: www.spode.co.uk

Tesco: www.tesco.com

ViSpring: 01752 366 311/www.vispring.co.uk

• Miller’s Antiques Handbook & Price Guide 2012-2013 by Judith Miller is published by Miller’s Publications, priced £30. Available now