Exploring Victorian Interior Style: Key Features and Design Tips

The Victorians, as described by Kathryn McNerny (1981), are:

...romantics living in a curiously make-believe world. Ambitious enough to reject reality displeasing to them, inventive enough to bring forth and apply their own innovations.

McNerney was speaking of furniture, but this observation could also be applied to the whole of “interior” design that made the Victorian house a home. Inventive is the keyword. Although the Victorians often reached into the past for design, notably, American Empire (late 1830s) - the Revivals – Colonial, Gothic (1840 – 1860) and Rococo (1850 – 1870), Renaissance (1860 – 1880), Louis XVI, Jacobean and American Eastlake (1870 – 1890) they brough a new flair to the old classicism. The 1860s - 1880s saw the height of Victorian style, promoted in the United States at the Centennial Exposition of 1876, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and later at Columbian Exposition in Chicago (1892-93). Never was there so much on display to the American public. Somewhat irreverently, the Victorian era could be called the “age of stuff.” It was a new concept that the Victorians embraced whole-heartedly.

There was a certain elegant coziness that pervaded the Victorian home. The furniture selected, along with the wallcoverings, whether paint or wallpaper, window coverings, whether elaborate draperies or simpler curtains, rugs, carpets, bric-a-brac and artwork were selected to enhance and not detract from each other. There was a movement from the “cluttered” (but tasteful) display of overly carved and embellished furniture and abundant objects (collectibles and other bric-a-brac) during the first half of the era, to furniture with simpler lines and less clutter during the latter half.

More expensive furniture was made from black walnut, mahogany, rosewood, mahogany and cherry; less expensive from oak, dyed maple and chestnut. Mass-production in the mid-1800s brought prices down, although hand-crafted furniture could still be obtained. There were endless combinations of curved legs, ornamental feet, marble tops, burled wood veneers, inlays, turned spindles, decorative moldings, marble tops -- there was no limit to furniture makers inventiveness. In addition to individually produced pieces, manufacturers produced suites (matched sets) of parlor, dining room and bedroom furniture if you desired continuity in style. The use of oak for furniture was common in pre-Victorian America; however, until the late 1800s, its use was minor. Near the end of the 1800s, simpler furniture forms replaced ornate and heavily carved furniture, and oak, along with its lookalikes -- ash, chestnut, elm, and hickory, became common. Much of the cheaper, mass-produced furniture was often made of oak, but not always. 

If you would like a taste of the Victorian in one or more of your rooms (better yet, you own a grand old Victorian), you will be best served if you acquire one or two high-quality pieces, either hand-crafted or machine produced, rather than going for the “more is better look” using an abundance of poor-quality furniture. It may have been produced in the 1800s, but cheap always looks cheap. Chesterfield chairs and sofas in parlors and libraries adds a timeless and understated elegance. The Victorians could be a rather eclectic bunch, though, and as the era progressed, many Victorian homes displayed furniture representative of preceding periods amongst the new and matched suites were no longer de rigeur. A little bit of Gothic with a little bit of something else. It makes a statement.

The Victorians were grand collectors; the expansion of rail service into the scenic areas of the United States – Niagara Falls, the Adirondack and Catskill mountains of New York State, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the sea shore, among other places, gave rise to the idea of vacations. Victorian travelers brought home souvenirs from the places they visited. Resorts that the Victorian vacationers visited may have had their own “artists in residence,” many who were, or would become, well-known. What a great souvenir to take home! Plus, there were artist colonies springing up across the United States and visits there could provide parlors, dining rooms, and bedrooms with original, expertly executed paintings.

Parlors served as family “museums,” displaying not only family photos, paintings and other artwork, but their collected treasures: seashells, rock and fossil specimens, dried flowers, etc. from their vacations. Parlor mantles, along with carefully selected parlor tables, etageres and pedestals, are places where you, just as your Victorian predecessors did, display bric-a-brac, family photographs, collectibles and small paintings and statues. And don’t forget live plants. Ward cases (modern equivalents are large terrariums) were popular displays to showcase your “green thumb.” Plants in large urns were popular in Victorian parlors, too.

Victorian dining rooms contained furniture that was both “handsome and elegant,” regardless of the style of furniture (or type of wood). Although Renaissance Revival was common for dining rooms, the later Eastlake and Arts and Craft styles were no less impressive. A dining table and sideboard dominated the dining room. The sideboard was especially important as that is where the good china and silver would be displayed, along with other important pieces. It was not just for storing the table linens. There would be side tables and stands as well.

Another style, not mentioned above, is the “Cottage Style,” popular from the 1840s to the end of the 19th century. It was less formal and less expensive spool-turned furniture made from softwoods (e.g., birch, pine and poplar), and painted. Most often used in bedrooms, but exclusively. It had its greatest appeal with the working classes and the middle-classes with small homes; however, the wealthy who had summer homes often furnished them with Cottage-style furniture.

What about art? Art, especially in the form of original paintings, was important to the Victorians. They placed art in every room – romantic landscapes, floral and fruit still-lifes, genre, animals, and the “three dimensional” trompe ‘loeils. Paintings communicate something personal about the inhabitants of a house, although more subtle than furniture or bric-a-brac. Original 19th century paintings (whether oil, watercolor or pastel) provide certain mystique to any room. I stress original paintings, as I think that you will find that modern prints (in modern frames) and posters (don’t even consider them!) look tacky and cheap.

The Victorians took pride in displaying their good taste and style – it is incumbent upon you, living in a Victorian house, to do the same. There is something special about a painting that was created by an artist that lived during the time your house was originally built and furnished. I like to think that the essence of the artist remains in a painting via the application of colors that he or she used and in the style of the paint strokes used to create the scene. The spirit of the age is communicated through an original 19th-century painting. Modern lighting only enhances the art, replacing, in succession, candles, oil lamps, to gasoliers and old-style electric lamps and chandeliers. It can be appreciated so much better in your cozy Victorian rooms, regardless of the time of day. 

The Victorians surrounded themselves with things they loved, not simply “stuff” and they were inventive in using their “stuff” to decorate their homes to suite their style and needs. Let us follow “suite.”

References that you will find helpful in placing the Victorian era and its inhabitants into context, and helpful in identifying furniture styles, selecting period appropriate wall and floor coverings and window treatments are listed below.

-- Joan Hawk, Researcher and Co-Owner Bedford Fine Art Gallery, January 23, 2025; Use only with the permission of Bedford Fine Art Gallery.

 References:

1. Miller, Judith and Miller, Martin, 1993, Victorian Style, Mitchell Beazley, London.
2. McNerney, Kathryn, 1981, Victorian Furniture, Collector Books, Paducah, Kentucky.
3. Schlereth, Thomas, J., 1991, Victorian American: Transformations in Everyday Life, Harper Collins, New York.
4. Swedberg, Robert, W., and Swedber, Harriet, 1986 (revised), American Oak Furniture, Wallace-Homestead Book Company, Radnor, Pennsylvania.