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Victorian Style Decorating Ideas

Aastha Dogra
Searching for some interesting and unique Victorian style decorating ideas? Read this information for some useful tips to decorate your house in this style.
The Victorian era refers to the time when Queen Victoria reigned over England. During the 1837 to 1901, England was gaining a lot wealth and prosperity owing to industrialization.
People in this era were classy, sophisticated, and elegant. They were extremely fashion-conscious, and loved to display their wealth through their clothes, houses, and lifestyle. Victorian style home decorating is a reflection of all the richness and a high standard society living.

Colors

When painting the interior walls, Victorians preferred using traditional colors, such as red, emerald, dark brown, and amber. These colors were much in vogue during that time, as they helped to provide the home, a dramatic effect that most people liked in that era.
The color schemes used for the main rooms such as living, bedroom, library, etc., are all formed by using pastel shades, such as light purple, pink, light green, light blue, and peach. These can be combined with darker shades of the same color for added effect.

Woodwork

All the wooden things have to be painted in darker shades such as purple brown and hunter's green. From the period 1880 to 1890, the wooden windows, doors, and stairs were painted in white color, to provide the houses, an airy and relaxed feel.
Hence, another idea is to paint such wooden things in your house in white, and enhance its impact by using some artificial lighting near them.

Furniture

The chairs and couches should be overstuffed, to get a plump and comfortable look. The rooms should be full of small lamp tables, side-boards, and display cabinets, as they were quite popular, and were found in plenty in all houses during that era.

Flooring

Use dark color flooring made out of wood. On the floor, throw a variety of rugs, on which varied designs of flowers and birds are woven. Rugs with peacocks were extremely famous during the Victorian era, as this colorful bird was considered a symbol of beauty.

Accessories

Victorian homes are known for their excessive use of accessories. Some of the popularly used ones, which you can include in your home are antique items, Victorian era prints, dried flowers, seashells and pebbles, porcelain dogs, and painted plates. Victorian style houses are incomplete without the beautiful brass lighting fixtures.

Materials/Fabric

Use materials like silk, lace, brocade, and velvet for curtains. The curtains of the Victorian era were heavy and covered from ceiling to the floor. You can do the same, and match the color of the curtains with the walls, to make the room appear bigger than it is.
Also, decorate your house with a plethora of embroidery laden pillows and rugs that are placed at a number of places, to provide a true Victorian look.
These ideas are not easy to implement, as you need a substantial budget to get the right look. Also, Victorian style decoration is meant only for larger homes, and smaller houses may look cluttered with heavy fabric and accessories. Only if both these things are in place, you should consider this style of home decoration.