“People want to feel nested and cozy in their homes and there’s nothing better than a Victorian look to convey warmth,” said Lynn Skynear, proprietor of Skynear and Company, a home-furnishing shop housed in an 1890 red brick, steepled Victorian house.
The Victorian look is heavily layered with pieces everywhere. Walls are painted and bordered or covered with wallpaper. A bay window maybe filled with a vignette of ceramic and copper pots overflowing with dried lavender. Floors are topped with thick carpets; fringed and tasseled drapes hang over windows; and, cashmere throws mix with cushions in silk and velvet on the couch.
“A lot of people think Victorian is over-the-top and gaudy,” said Donetta George, proprietor of The Brass Knob Architectural Antiques, “but it doesn’t have to be. It’s how you scale the pieces to the room and combine them that make it work. You want to be sure individual items blend and don’t overwhelm the eye.”
The famed Peacock Room in the Freer Gallery of Art, designed by James Abbott McNeill Whistler in 1876-77, is a prime example of Victorian style. There are a million things going on — gilt, oil painting and gold on leather and wood, a repetitive peacock motif and a collection of blue-and-white porcelain — yet a quiet intimacy prevails.
A Victorian look is also about the unexpected, said Skynear. “Go around the corner and you see a beautiful object from India; turn your head and you’re facing a hand-painted scroll from China.”
“A Victorian home does not have the decorator look with every nook and cranny carefully planned and edited,” she adds. “When you look around my home you’ll see collections of silver and a Peruvian artifact. There’s a rug my husband brought back from Turkey and a carved dining table we got at an antique store.”
Today people are buying used pieces and combining them with new things.
George’s inventory of stained glass, chandeliers and hardware is fully re-sale. “Many of our customers are buying for new homes because they want things with more character,” she said. The Victorian look they seek is decorative with lots of detailing on the wood and brass.
The concept of Victorian design emerged during Queen Victoria’s rein in the second half of the 19th century. The British Empire was at its peak and people traveled widely, purchasing things wherever they stopped. When they returned home, they filled rooms with an assortment of objects, art and furniture. As a result Victorian design encompasses many styles. It is the antithesis of the clean, spare contemporary look.
“Today I’m seeing movement away from austere white walls and sleek interiors,” Skynear said. “People are asking for carved pieces and more textiles because they want Victorian charm.”
“We’re selling older designs with a modern sensibility and we add touches to create warmth. Not a white couch but camel with an oriental rug on the floor and a Victorian mirror on the wall. It won’t be super slick and it won’t be too heavy. It’ll be a mix. Then the couple will go home and accept the old china from Aunt Hedy and polish Grandma’s silver. People are becoming green and there’s something very green about hand-me-downs.”
“Today is the perfect economic time to be Victorian,” said Skynear.
