|
More is never enough in a Victorian room.Victorian style decor is not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you are drawn to it, the bedroom is a perfect place to create a lavish retreat. The Victorian movement was named after England's Queen Victoria and the influence of this movement was felt into the 1920s. The Victorian era is defined as a period of excess. In full flower, this style was quite dark, cluttered, and embellished. Scale was large in every aspect--big rooms, coffered ceilings, ornate moldings, highly carved and darkly stained furniture and woodwork, dense wallpaper patterns, heavy ornamentation of all kinds, ornately stained glass, oversized fringes and tassels, potted ferns, and knickknacks. Paintings with very romantic themes, photographs, mirrors, prints, and drawings, all with heavily embellished frames, were packed floor to ceiling, rather than placed at regular intervals along the walls. Less was certainly not more, and no surface was left bare of objects. Even Tiffany lamps were festooned with glass beads. Windows were elegantly dressed in layers of draperies, scarves, sconces, and shears. Wallpapers were bold in color and pattern. Combinations of wainscoting, chair rails, walls and ceiling borders were popular. Ceilings were commonly papered as well. While the floors and woodwork in the main area of the house most often had natural finishes with elaborate inlays, the upstairs walls, floors, and woodwork were painted. Rich, somber paint colors include dark green, terra-cotta, and dark brown. Bolder salmon and lilac are used as accents. Darkly painted ceilings made the heavily furnished Victorian rooms seem even more cloistered. Modern Victorian style distills the lavishness and scale to fit more comfortably in today’s homes. Large vintage pieces, carefully selected, can be used sparingly for accent and effect. Paint, wallpaper, and fabric, when selectively used, can become elegant reminders of a time when excess was everything. Here are more themes you might be interested in: |
