Many wealthy people, when choosing the appropriate style for their home, one way or another, consider Victorian. Some consider it a more modern and perfect version of the classic English Baroque, others see in it ample opportunities for the embodiment of any ideas inherent in French styles. But what exactly is this style, and why is it so in demand today? House in victorian style must be built from the foundation to the roof. It is very important that it be unified for the external and internal design, since the interior of this style is based on external elements that should organically complement each other. Victorian houses are not even a specific style, but rather an era and its fashion. Between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, many architects built houses in this style. It was shaped by new inventions and a general atmosphere influenced by the active industrialization of cities and countries. Of course, each country and each architect had some of their own distinctive features, which gradually formed into some stable dogmas. Traditional house in the Victorian style, a photo of which is on our website, is one of the trends that was popular in one country or another. You can compare various options and choose the one you like best. Our professional designers They will develop a project for you that will fully correspond to the chosen direction, or will combine the features of several of them.

Features of styles

Most often, when thinking about Victorian house the image of the neo-Gothic movement emerges. This style is characterized by a large number of arches, high windows and other medieval details that take a person several centuries back. This uses a large amount wooden material decorated with lace or other ornaments, which is already unusual for Gothic, and is a new element. Italian architects and designers, on the contrary, decided not to stick to the classics, and such a house in the Victorian style, the design of which we can offer, is a very popular trend in the USA. It is characterized by a low roof, wide and massive cornices, and decorative elements. Such a house is most often chosen by more modern people who like the new and extraordinary. If you prefer attics, we can offer houses with square roofs, which in their appearance inherit the French buildings of the Napoleonic era. This is an extraordinary approach that will allow you to get not just an attic, but an almost full additional floor under the roof. If you want to bring a touch of folk art into your home, then such a project will cost you less. There are no more clever elements here, and overall it is quite simple, but still sophisticated and unusual. The one-sided style is often used when building houses. In this case, almost all the attention goes to one side of the facade. A Victorian house of this nature looks very substantial thanks to the large number of windows and cornices at different levels. And for those who like special and complex projects, we offer the Royal Victorian style, which uses many architectural and decorative elements, towers, protruding columns, combined with common area, etc. This style often uses a wide variety of borrowings from other styles, and if you wish, you can get a unique combination of your favorite styles and some of your own features.

Victorian style house. Sounds royal, don't you think? Yes, but this is not a palace. Although from the outside the house looks high-status and reliable. And the Victorian era fell on the age of industrialization, in the second half of the 19th century. And the name of the direction in architecture and interior design was given by Queen Victoria, who ruled during this period.

Victorian houses were owned by the famous and wealthy bourgeoisie. But it was precisely thanks to industrialization and mass production that such houses became available to ordinary people. And even though it was an imitation of the bourgeois, that is, the real Victorian style, and the size of the houses was compact, the conventions were respected.

Outwardly even frame houses in this style they looked beautiful and expensive. This, of course, warmed the souls of ordinary people, and the bourgeoisie reproachfully called such dwellings “counterfeits.”

If you watched the series “All the Women Are Witches” about three witch sisters, then you remember their family nest. This is an example of the style that we will tell you about now.

Architectural features of a Victorian house

Victorian house design must take into account some features that are common to such buildings.

These features are:

• Juicy, but not harsh colors for finishing the facade and roof.
• Roof tiles.
• Various materials for facade finishing from brick and plaster to siding.
• The roof itself is broken and multi-stage.
• There is a large variety of varied decor on the façade.
• Narrow windows with and without shutters, dormer windows on the roof, serving more as decoration than as an opening to the world.
• Large windows, including panoramic ones.
• Porch and obligatory terrace at the entrance.
• Columns supporting the roof of the terrace.
• Balconies with columns, ledges with a window, turrets under a gabled roof.

One gets the feeling that there was a house and new rooms were gradually added to it, which eventually formed such a complex volume.

If you are planning a compact house, the complex volume can be sacrificed. But there must definitely be a terrace with columns, windows of different sizes and different shapes. And having chosen juicy, but bright hues, you can visually increase the size of the house.

The task of the owner of a Victorian house was to stand out, show his taste, demonstrate education (not everyone can dream up a project), and wealth. Since people with the same idea of ​​the project and plan do not theoretically exist, it is very problematic to meet two houses that are identical in appearance and architecture. The interiors may be somewhat similar - remember about the mass production of household items?

Interior decoration

A Victorian house plan has many rooms flowing into one another. We present several of them.

The dimensions indicated on the plan can be varied at your discretion, but there should be enough space in the house for everyone.

• From the entrance you immediately find yourself in a spacious, bright hall with a high ceiling or living room.
• There are no corridors or minimal ones. But there may be walk-through rooms.
• There are bay windows in the living room and other rooms (they look like ledges from the outside).
• A lot of technical premises and corners, such as the boiler room, pantry, built-in wardrobes, laundry rooms.
• There may be several bathrooms, but they are all small in area.
• The hall, living room, dining room and kitchen are amazing in size, which cannot be said about the guest and bedroom rooms.
• There is a fireplace in the living room - in houses whose owners could afford it.
• The walls may not form a right angle, but go at an angle of 45 degrees.

A modern adaptation of the style can also fit a garage into the project.

Victorian house status

Since the main task of the residents of such a house was to demonstrate their status (at least externally), the lifestyle had to correspond to this intention.

• The interior decoration of the house is rich and luxurious, so that there is something to show to guests.
• And the guests were often and in large numbers. After all, parties were held frequently in the Victorian era. That's the explanation for the spacious living and dining rooms. And in a spacious kitchen it’s easier to prepare dinner for a horde of hungry guests.
• Lunch is an indispensable component of such receptions. The guests, full of delicious dishes, were clearly in a positive mood to evaluate both the hosts and the atmosphere.
• The discrepancy between small latrines, bedrooms and spacious living rooms and dining rooms forced people to decorate everything they could - from the facades of the house to the wall above the fireplace (to hide the empty space). The echo was literally drowned in all this splendor.

Those who like free space, who prefer not to clutter their home with unnecessary, non-functional things, will not like the Victorian style. Although…

Victorian style variations

Real Victorian houses have been preserved in their original form only in England, where the style originated. In other countries it has undergone changes. New projects were created, the details of which were borrowed from other directions.

We present photos of Victorian-style houses in various versions.

Neo-Gothic Victorian style. These are medieval windows, arches above them, brick and wood. There were small turrets along the top of the walls. They even vaguely resemble medieval middle-class castles.

Folk style. Simple people could not afford the luxury of the bourgeoisie. Therefore, they did not build frame houses rather than brick ones, and then transformed them with siding and finishing materials.

But externally the house had the same characteristics as classic houses in Victorian style.

Victorian style from Italian architects. Such houses quickly spread to North America. They are distinguished from English ones by low roofs, brackets supporting the roofs, and wide eaves.

Pebble style. Such houses do not look luxurious, although they contain features of the Victorian style. But go inside. On the outside there is laconicism and rigor. Inside is the interior of wealthy people.

Victorian style in the interior appeared in Great Britain early XIX century. It combined the most striking historical and exotic styles. Mass production made it accessible to large quantity of people.

History of the origin and spread of the style

The era of Queen Victoria was a golden age for Great Britain.

The development of industry and numerous colonies made it one of the richest powers in the world. The bourgeoisie prospered and wanted to get closer to the aristocratic circle. The Puritan austere style of Queen Anne's era is a thing of the past.

Early Victorian interior design

Historical and exotic styles came into fashion.

Neo-Gothic, neo-baroque and neo-rococo demonstrated the wealth and refined taste of the owner of the house. Moorish, Indian and Chinese hinted that this man had seen the world and brought back strange things from there.

Mechanical machines made things available that were previously the preserve of the aristocracy. Papier-mâché carvings in the Baroque style and tin stucco in the Rococo style appeared in the houses. At first glance, it was difficult to distinguish ceramic sets from porcelain ones.

Middle period Victorian interior design

In the 50s, the British began to get tired of mass imitations and fakes.

The first interior design companies appeared. One of them belonged to William Morris.

His goal was to find a balance between high art and everyday life. He established hand-made production of furniture, stained glass and items in the medieval style.

Fabrics, wallpapers and tiles based on Morris' designs became especially popular.

In his ornaments, he tried to combine Gothic with naturalism and believed that nature was the best source of inspiration. On the first wallpaper Morris depicted rose bushes from your garden.

In the Whitewick Manor mansion, curtains and fireplace trim according to the designer's sketches have been preserved.

Late Victorian: Deconstructivism

Deconstructivism is a decomposition into elements: in a Victorian house, rooms were decorated in different styles. Imagine that your bedroom is neo-Rococo, your study is neo-Gothic, and your living room is colonial. Different styles were combined even in furniture. The classic back of the chair was complemented by baroque legs. The combination of different historical and exotic styles is the most striking feature Victorian era interior.

Characteristic features of the style

“Fear of empty space”: decorations, furniture and plants completely filled the rooms

Abundance of ornamentation on the walls, ceiling and upholstery

Paintings in massive carved frames and tapestries

Rich drapery: dense, dark curtains made of velvet and corduroy

Collections of ashtrays, photographs, porcelain figurines and busts

Color spectrum

Various types were popular in the Victorian era color palettes. In the early period, the interior was decorated in rich colors of precious stones. Rich burgundy, ruby, gold:

In the middle period, the interior became more restrained. Preference was given to more elegant flowers: from pale sand and beige to dark wood shades.

In the later period, bright colors came back into fashion. In this living room, an azure fireplace stands out against the background of sand-colored furniture.

Wall decoration

During the time of Queen Victoria, wall decoration was approached on a grand scale. Factory-made wallpaper was practical, inexpensive and beautiful solution. Preference was given bright colors, with patterns and ornaments. Contrasting paintings in massive wooden frames or tapestries.

At the end of the century, the English engineer Walton invented linkrust. This is wallpaper consisting of three layers:

• paper base;
• a thick solution of natural ingredients from which the pattern is molded;
• layer of paint

This wallpaper is used to decorate the interior of Buckingham Palace.

These wallpapers look truly luxurious and are still used today.

Floor decoration

In the era of Queen Victoria, the floor was covered with parquet.

Or tiles, if you wanted to embody the colonial exoticism of the East Indies in the mansion. Tiles were usually installed in hallways, bathrooms and kitchens.

Carpets of light colors with floral patterns were very popular.

Fireplace as an essential element of English decor

The heart of a Victorian home is the fireplace. Decorated natural stone and wood, decorated with carvings, matching the color of the furniture and wall upholstery.

And could stand out as unusual color scheme or catchy design. Such fireplaces attracted attention.

Wood is the main element in room decoration

The Victorian-style interior is filled with wood, always matte. Varnish was not used in the 19th century.

On top of the wallpaper, the British often placed wooden panels on a third or half of the wall. The panels were made from expensive types of wood and decorated with ornaments.

Victorian style lighting solutions

During the era of Queen Victoria, lampshades and table lamps came to England from France.

Reasons table lamps they were smelted from bronze, giving it the intended shape. Then they were painted by hand and inserts were made of semi-precious stones, colored glass and ceramics. It turned out to be a real work of art.

Luxurious lampshades were made by hand from silk, satin and velvet. They were decorated with embroidery, fringe and bugles.

Victorian style jewelry and accessories

Every Englishman considered it his duty to assemble a collection. Most often, more than one. Items from the collection were displayed on the mantelpiece and special shelving. These could be: boxes, snuff boxes, porcelain figurines or mantel clocks

Victorian style in a modern interior

If you decide to make your dreams of good old Victorian England come true in your apartment, do not forget a few important points:

• Dark colors in interior decoration require large windows and natural light
• Volumetric Victorian chandeliers and stucco imply high ceilings
• A large number of accessories look harmonious over a large area

Remember, the atmosphere is in the details: in large floor clocks, chests and ottomans, plants in floor pots, sculptures and vases. Choose any style that was popular in England in the 19th century and feel free to select accessories for it. Convenient, right?

If you doubt that you can handle it alone, there is always us,

Friday, 6 May 2016 10:21

Vitaliy R

Any architectural style reflects the character of that era. In which it was formed, as well as the prevailing customs and traditions. And one of the most interesting from this point of view is the Victorian style. Victorian is usually called a fairly long era in the history of art in England, associated with the years of the reign of Queen Victoria (1819-1901). This style arose in a bourgeois environment, and its main task was to emphasize the status of the owners of large luxurious mansions.

Thanks to industrialization, industrial production and the emergence railways, this style spread widely and gradually began to penetrate, as they say, into the people. The boom of its popularity occurred during the formation of the middle class, which sought to surround itself with all sorts of attributes of a rich life. Even today, in certain circles there is an opinion that the Victorian style is a style of fakes. And this is not surprising, since during its heyday victorian architecture very often used elements of mass production, rather than exclusive products, as was customary among the real bourgeoisie.

Among the main features of the Victorian style are:

• active use of rich, rich colors and shades;
• a large number of carved facade decorations (mass-produced in factories);
• dormers and broken roofs, most often with sharp corners as an imitation of Gothic architecture;
• the presence of turrets, balconies and ledges;
• a large number of narrow windows of different shapes;
• the presence of a terrace in front of the entrance to the house with elaborate decor;
• complex volume of the house;
• using combinations of different colors and textures finishing materials(shingles, wood siding, brick of various textures).

Today, the Victorian architectural style is recognized as the most successful in decorating homes. And a clear confirmation of his pompous luxury are the huge castles that have survived to this day, which very often appear in American films.

Victorian style house design

Every home starts with a plan. And in every era there were plans unique features. The design of a Victorian house is also no exception to the rule, and among its main features are the following:

• use of bay windows;
• a large number of pantries and built-in wardrobes;
• spacious living rooms and kitchens combined with small bedrooms;
• mandatory presence of a large dining room;
• the presence of several fireplaces, which was mandatory at the dawn of the style;
• unusual and varied, often with partitions at a 45 degree angle;
• spacious hall.
• Minimum size bathrooms;
• the absence of corridors, which only sometimes replaced passage rooms;
• the obligatory presence of a terrace with columns, and often there were several terraces.

And most importantly, a house in a true Victorian style should have unique architecture. This is clearly confirmed today, since it is simply unrealistic to come across two identical Victorian era cottages.

Victorian architecture is a unique style. It combines several separate styles that were formed in England by the end of the 19th century. The name comes from the name british queen Victoria, who reigned at that time.

Initially, the fashion for Victorian houses appeared among the secular elite. Buildings in this style were devoid of excessive pretentiousness, which was relevant earlier. However, due to the fact that new construction technologies, Victorian houses turned out to be quite aesthetic and attractive. In particular, wood used in the design of facades and interiors has become more accessible.

Originating in England, Victorian architecture quickly spread throughout the world. This was mainly due to the fact that many British architects emigrated to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. In addition, at the end of the 19th century, new means of communication appeared between specialists located in different parts of the world. Architects could draw inspiration from foreign sources of information. As a result, the influence of the then alternative Victorian architecture grew.

The duration of the Victorian style's prevalence varies from country to country. In the USA it was popular from 1860 to 1900. San Francisco, for example, is well known for its Victorian architecture. In Australia, the Victorian era lasted from the forties of the 19th century. An example of classic Victorian architecture is the Royal Exhibition Center in Australia.

Victorian style is divided into the following substyles: Gothic Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Stick, Romanesque and Shingle.

Second Empire

This style was developed at a time when American cities began to expand rapidly. It reflected the new kind urban architecture, introduced by the appearance of fashionable Western European houses (primarily Parisian). Buildings in this style usually had residential attic and the curved shape of the roof. They are characterized by high dormer windows, bay windows, and double entrance doors.

Gothic Revival

This substyle combines early Victorian houses. They still show the influence of castle and church architecture, but they are much simpler and more accessible. Often buildings in this category have stereotypical Victorian features: the use of several colors in decoration, textured walls, steep roof slopes. In this case, facades are often designed using facade panels, which are not laid horizontally, as is usually the case, but vertically.

Queen Anne style

This style is the most recognizable of all the variety of Victorian styles. These homes were popular from the 1870s to the 1900s. The Queen Anne style is often characterized by expressive ornamentation, very high roofs, verandas with decorative gables, bay windows, and bold color schemes.

Thanks to the quality Construction Materials became more accessible to the working class, not the most wealthy people were able to build for themselves quite beautiful and comfortable houses. Victorian romanticism combined with the features of a classic English cottage and an American manor - this is Victorianism for the people. Such houses are usually built in rural areas. They combine functionalism, the successful use of inexpensive local materials, and aesthetics. Rural Victorian houses, compared to urban buildings of the same period, have a more restrained and austere appearance.

Italian Victorian style

Italian Victorian homes reflect the style of Old World country houses. They combine Victorian architecture with the Federal style. It is characterized by Roman pediments and arches. Italian style can be seen in the detailing of decorative elements. Special attention paid to decorating the porch, arched windows, decorative cornices. Most houses in this style have low slopes or flat roof with a central dome or square tower.