
How did Victorians decorate their homes?
- Colors and patterns The colors and patterns of this interior design style were distinctive. ...
- Windows Windows are covered with heavy drapes, held back with tasseled tiebacks, and often combined with decorative pelmets and floor-length lace panels.
- Furniture Furniture ranges from the highly ornate to the more bulky and solid, preferably in dark woods. ...
What are the different styles of decor in the Victorian era?
During the Victorian era, as it can be expected, several styles of décor went in and out of popularity. The Victorian era is more or less divided into three types early Victorian (Georgian simplicity ), Mid Victorian (known for heavier masculine looks ), and late Victorian ( feminine influence on interior décor).
Do you have Victorian Christmas decorations?
If you live in a Victorian house it is the perfect backdrop for some Victorian Christmas decorations. So many of the Christmas traditions that we know and love today were born in the Victorian era – everything, in fact, from the Christmas tree to our penchant for dressing the home in deep greens and rich reds.
What is Victorian style interior design?
The Victorian era – the period between 1837 and 1901 – was a time of massive industrial development and this was reflected in people’s homes and interior design styles have many new elements to reflect that decorative development. Factories started to mass-produce items that previously only the wealthy could afford.
What was the interior design style of the Edwardians?
The Edwardians loved a light interior design style, a delicate look of lace, and used it for everything from window panels to tablecloths, as well as to trim bed linen and covers, cushions, and lampshades.
What is the tone of a Victorian house?
What is the tradition of a Victorian Christmas tree?
What is the smell of Victorian potpourri?
How did Victorians display their cards?
Did Victorian homes have a nativity scene?
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What is Victorian decorating style?
Victorian-era decorating was the polar opposite of today's modern styles. It was a time of heavy, ornate furnishings, oversized everything, and a penchant for knickknacks. The resulting style is romantic, complex, warm, and dramatic, dripping with opulence and excess; basically, enough to make any minimalist shudder.
What did Victorians decorate with?
Victorians decorated their fresh-cut evergreen trees with beads, tinsel, paper ornaments and jeweled baubles. Despite the Victorians' affection for live greenery, artificial Christmas trees were also a common element of holiday decor.
What was the most popular style of design during the Victorian era?
Gothic RevivalGothic Revival was at its zenith from 1845 to 1890, and it was one of the most popular styles of the Victorian era.
What are 3 characteristics of Victorian design?
Key ElementsTwo to three stories. Victorian homes are usually large and imposing.Wood or stone exterior. ... Complicated, asymmetrical shape. ... Decorative trim. ... Textured wall surfaces. ... Steep, multi-faceted roof or Mansard roof. ... One-story porch. ... Towers.More items...
What did Victorians put on their walls?
Walls were typically covered with the rich, dark paint colors of the era or covered by tapestries or wallpaper with bold floral, leaf, or vine motifs. Walls were sometimes painted to look like marble or wood-grained finishings.
Did Victorians paint their walls?
Walls and ceilings The choice of paint color on the walls in Victorian homes was said to be based on the use of the room. Hallways that were in the entry hall and the stair halls were painted a somber gray so as not to compete with the surrounding rooms. Most people marbleized the walls or the woodwork.
What was inside a Victorian house?
There would be heavy curtains, flowery wallpaper, carpets and rugs, ornaments, well made furniture, paintings and plants. The rooms were heated by open coal fires and lighting was provided by candles and oil or gas lamps.
What rooms did Victorian houses have?
What rooms did Victorian houses have?The top floor would typically house the servants quarters and the children's rooms with a nursery.The second floor would include the master bedroom and the second bathroom.More items...
What is Victorian style furniture?
Victorian furniture is characterized by ornate carvings, dark woods, and heavy luxurious fabrics. Victorian furniture is traditionally made from mahogany, rosewood, or walnut, sometimes painted or gilded. Intricate carvings of natural images such as flowers, leaves, curling vines, ribbons, and bows adorned the pieces.
What were key features of a Victorian home?
Defining features of a Victorian homeSteep, gabled roofs.Round angles.Towers, turrets and dormers.Shapeley windows, especially bay windows.Stained glass.Decorative woodwork.Bright colors.
What are Victorian colors?
The traditional Victorian colour palette was dark and consisted of dark, rich and deep shades of maroon, red, burgundy, chestnut, dark green, brown and blues.
What did Victorian homes look like?
The main structures were fairly simple, rectangular-shaped houses with low sloping or sometimes flat roofs that protrude quite far out from the exterior walls. The windows are tall and skinny, often rounded at the top, and there is trim, trim, and more trim.
What did Victorians use for makeup?
Instead of using lead-based paints popular in Georgian times, some Victorian women would nibble on wafers made of deadly arsenic to achieve bright eyes and a translucent complexion. They would also use drops of belladonna in their eyes to dilate their pupils and make their eyes look bigger.
What did Victorians have in their houses?
There would be heavy curtains, flowery wallpaper, carpets and rugs, ornaments, well made furniture, paintings and plants. The rooms were heated by open coal fires and lighting was provided by candles and oil or gas lamps.
What are the decorating items?
Style Your HomeFigurines.Table Accents.Votives & Candle Holders.Home Fragrance.Mirrors.Wall Art.Photo Frames.Paintings.More items...
What materials did the Victorians wear?
Fibres used were all natural ones such as cotton, wool and silk. Making the very tight bodices and sleeves of women's dresses required far more skill than the straight-seamed skirt.
Victorian Christmas Traditions | English Heritage
Decorating Christmas Trees. Decorating trees at Christmas was a festive activity popularised by Prince Albert. Inspired by his heritage, trees in the royal household were adorned with lit candles and trinkets and the interiors filled with evergreen decorations.. But Victoria and Albert weren't the first royals to put up what we know today as a Christmas tree.
How did the Victorians decorate?
In a Refined Society, Victorian Style Victorian style was mirrored in a flurry of activity intended to convey rank, richness, and romance. Rich furniture, patterned wallpapers, colorful tiles, pictorial tapestries, huge houseplants, and chintz dinnerware were used to embellish Victorian interiors.
What traditions did the Victorians have at Christmas?
Christmas Traditions in Victorian Times TREES FOR CHRISTMAS. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, is credited with popularizing the Christmas tree custom in England. MINCE COFFIN PIES CARDS FOR CHRISTMAS. A CAROL FOR THE HOLIDAYS.
How did Christmas look like in the 1800s?
By the mid-nineteenth century, the American Christmas tradition encompassed many of the same rituals and celebrations as it does today, such as tree decoration, gift-giving, Santa Claus, greeting cards, stockings by the fire, church activities, and days of eating and fun for the whole family.
How did the Victorians wrap gifts?
Gift wrapping in the Victorian era was opulent, with lace, ribbon, and lavishly adorned paper. Gift wrapping as we know it now was created entirely by coincidence. Joyce and Rollie Hall, two brothers from Kansas City, owned a stationery store in 1917.
How were presents wrapped before tape?
Wrapping gifts wasn’t as simple back then as it is now. Because adhesive tape wasn’t produced until 1930, early gift wrappers had to rely on string and sealing wax to keep wrapped parcels intact. Wrapping paper has changed through time into the colorful kinds we see at shops during the holiday season.
How did people wrap gifts in the 1800s?
Wrapping presents was predominantly an upper-class habit until the twentieth century, with beautifully adorned paper, lace, and ribbons. Tissue paper, mostly colored red, green, or white, was the most common form of giving around the turn of the century.
What was Christmas like for Victorian children?
The Victorians placed a high value on family. Most Victorian Christmas rituals (such as present giving, having a Christmas supper, and decorating the Christmas tree) were shared by all family members.
How to make a Victorian inspired room modern?
Tone down your accent pieces to make your Victorian-inspired space appear a bit more current, Alessandra Wood, VP of style at Modsy suggests. "While Victorians famously loved bric-a-brac and a maximalist vibe, you can make your home feel more modern by editing your decorative pieces," she says. "No need to show your entire collection of thimbles in your living room, rather choose a few of your favorite accents and curate them on surfaces."
What is Victorian style?
Victorian style is opulent, ornamental, and highly decorative. Present in the United Kingdom in the mid- to late-1800s, it was meant to signify the status and wealth of the household.
How to decorate an old house?
It seems that there are two directions people take when decorating an old house: 1 Recreating a period-correct decor. The more authentic the better. 2 Some people though desire a more modern look. This normally means knocking down walls to create an open plan, painting all the wood trim and wood doors and wood mantels white, and punching a lot of can lights into the ceiling. The house will then be furnished with nary an antique.
When was the Cross House built?
The Cross House was built in 1894. I have no interior images (insert big sigh) so have no idea what the original decor was like, save the few pitiful fragments of wallpapers. The decor might have been elegant and beautifully styled, and it might have been, well, ugly. No era is immune to bad taste.
What wallpaper did Bo recommend?
In his comment, Bo urged, strongly, against my stencil selection, and recommended a stencil version of the 1894 damask wallpaper. He even offered to underwrite the cost of the stencil.
What does it mean to knock down walls?
This normally means knocking down walls to create an open plan, painting all the wood trim and wood doors and wood mantels white, and punching a lot of can lights into the ceiling. The house will then be furnished with nary an antique. The first direction is something I have no desire to do.
How long can you paint stencils over?
But when it comes to your stencil, who cares if you it’s a mistake? It’s only paint and you can do it over in 10 years.
What are the characteristics of Victorian interior design style?
Living and dining rooms were an intelligent mix of furniture, fabrics, and objects centered by a pretty fireplace, giving the room an authentic air. The bedrooms had strongly patterned wallpaper, which was a hallmark of the Victorian interior design style. Curtains were long and generous, matching the bed linen and bedside tables would have been covered in patterned cloths and chintz over-cloths. Bathrooms featured hand-painted Victorian tiles, ball-and-claw bathtubs, and brass fittings, while kitchens were modern and traditional, often with stained glass windows, chequered floor tiles, and fireplaces.
What did the Edwardians use for their interiors?
The Edwardians loved a light interior design style, a delicate look of lace, and used it for everything from window panels to tablecloths, as well as to trim bed linen and covers, cushions, and lampshades. Bedrooms and bathrooms lent themselves to a more self-indulgent approach, inviting pleasure-lovers to relax in tranquil comfort, as opposed to downstairs rooms, which called for heavier and darker fabrics for practicality and due to a lack of modern cleaning methods.
What is Edwardian interior design style?
Younger Victorians – the Edwardians – started to favor simpler, interior design styles, a lighter look for their homes. Paler woods such as oak, walnut, birch, or sycamore were popular. Paintwork, too, was lighter – cream or white, green, pink or pale yellow.
What are the most important elements of the Edwardian interior design style?
Furniture featured curving lines and rounded fronts. Unique details include slim, high verticals on chairs and bed heads; ho llows hand-holes on drawers instead of metal handles; and plenty of decorative carving on wood.
What inspired wallpaper and fabric designs?
Wallpaper and fabric designs were inspired by the country and the garden. Roses rambled everywhere, while stylized elongated tulips and irises echoed the lines of furniture.
What was the influence of the Orient?
The Orient was a strong influence too – this was the height of the British Empire – and traditional interior design styles from the East are used in rugs laid on polished boards or over carpeting.
What was the Victorian era?
The Victorian era – the period between 1837 and 1901 – was a time of massive industrial development and this was reflected in people’s homes and interior design styles have many new elements to reflect that decorative development.
What is the tone of a Victorian house?
The tone for the home would be set by the decoration of the front door and every home, from Victorian terraced homes to Victorian mansions would display a festive wreath presented with more holly and ribbons of red or red and green tartan.
What is the tradition of a Victorian Christmas tree?
Following the royal household’s lead, It quickly became a Victorian Christmas tradition and the height of fashion to set up a large tree and decorate it with lighted candles, sweet treats, fruit, nuts and cakes hung from the branches by ribbon.
What is the smell of Victorian potpourri?
It smells warm and spicy and a little like Christmas pudding, yummy!
How did Victorians display their cards?
Victorians would often display the cards they had received by hanging them from ribbon pinned to picture rails.
Did Victorian homes have a nativity scene?
No Victorian Christmas home was complete without a Nativity scene set out beneath the branches of the tree or on a prominent window sill.

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Globalisation and Victorian Style
Victorian Style Movements
Victorian Wall Decoration
- Wall decoration was an important element of Victorian interior design. Wallpaper was a popular addition to many Victorian homes, and typically included elaborate patterns featuring floral, vine, and leaf elements. Painting walls was also a popular choice, with many Victorian homeowners using faux woodgrain or even marble designs. Wall art was also ...
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Modern Victorian Design – Wall Art
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