Styles Of Architecture Victorian Architecture

Date Published:

26/06/2008

What Are The Classic Victorian Features?

Victorian houses tended to have good-sized rooms with plenty of intricate detailing, at least in the main reception rooms and bedrooms. Imposing fireplaces matched what would be seen now as imposing colour schemes colour schemes – rich dark shades that provided a backdrop for the vast amount of furniture and knick knacks that were squeezed into a classic Victorian home.

The Exterior

Victorian properties – built with brick or stone – usually had a lime mortar, and if rendered, a lime render. Similarly the interior plaster was often a lime plaster. For those with Victorian homes, unless this lime has been replaced at some point, it’s important to continue with it and avoid advanced products. This is not only for matching purposes, but to maintain the ‘breathe-ability’ it offers.

Welsh slates were typically used in the building of roofs on Victorian houses. For restoration projects, imported slates (currently available from across the globe) may be able to match just as well as the traditional slates, as well as being much more cost effective than the original type.

Exterior woodwork tended to be painted the same deep shades – such as dark green and purple – as the interior woodwork. Does that work today? It’s a personal choice, but if you’re looking to sell your home in the near future, the best option is to choose colours that will make it blend with the rest of the street – anything that stands out, unless it’s exemplary, tends to be difficult to shift.

Windows & Doors

Victorian homes usually had sash windows throughout and it’s a great idea to keep the original windows and glass, or – if in need of repair – restore them to their original condition. Victorian rolled glass was full of imperfections and produces a beautiful interplay of light as it passes through.

Plate glass came into production in 1832, just five years before Victoria took the throne. Thus the small pane windows of the Georgian period were soon replaced by four and six-pane vertical sliding sash windows. Window shutters were common and doors would be made of four panels.

Colour Schemes

Colour Schemes Dark colours, such as ruby reds and forest greens are popular. The Victorian colour palette was quite restricted because chemical processes were still developing – purple came in by the middle of the century. Victorian folk loved paint effects, including faux marbling, stencilling, and stippling surfaces, borders and wood – many of which are easy to create today.

Walls

Dado rails were extremely fashionable, particularly in dining rooms where they protected the plastering on the walls from chair backs. Ceiling mouldings were still extremely popular, including large roses and detailed cornices.

was a fundamental element in the decoration of a Victorian room. The number and variety of produced to serve the market was huge, ranging from sophisticated designs hand crafted on to rag paper, to basic mass-produced patterns run off onto cheaper wood pulp paper. Many good reproductions of Victorian are available in stores today.

Floorboards were often pine, and would have been stained a dark colour to imitate expensive woods. The halls and kitchens of homes were covered in extensively patterned tiles and, although many original floors still survive to this day, there are some great reproduction tiles on the market also.

Authentic Victorian staircases are hard to come by, so it’s wise to repair rather than to replace wherever possible. Detailed twisted balustrades carved from a single piece of wood were typical early in the era, although simpler designs soon evolved.

Fireplaces

Fireplaces would be the centrepiece of any room, and were ornate and grandiose, made from cast iron and marble, although wood was used, too.