9 Ways to Complement the Character of Your Victorian Living Room
Enhance your home’s period charm without going OTT for original features with these elegant ideas
Pay tribute to your home’s heritage – without creating a Victorian-style stage set – by carefully highlighting a few key components in the living space. Adopt a flexible attitude to adapting your room scheme to suit your tastes and requirements, taking inspiration from different eras.
Make the most of original features, but don’t slavishly maintain elements you dislike: most Victorian properties have had so many revisions over the years that it’s difficult to know what’s authentic anyway. The picture rail that’s ruining the line of your bespoke shelving could have been added in the 1980s. Have fun and enjoy the process of nudging your Victorian home gently up to date.
Make the most of original features, but don’t slavishly maintain elements you dislike: most Victorian properties have had so many revisions over the years that it’s difficult to know what’s authentic anyway. The picture rail that’s ruining the line of your bespoke shelving could have been added in the 1980s. Have fun and enjoy the process of nudging your Victorian home gently up to date.
Dress to impress
Victorian houses usually have large, attractive windows, which can be costly to dress. However, as a key part of a period home’s appeal, quality window treatments are a worthwhile investment.
Shutters, curtains and Roman blinds can all make effective additions. Bespoke designs will easily overcome the difficulties posed by bay windows or extra-high ceilings to create privacy and add style.
Discover the architectural details that make a Victorian home
Victorian houses usually have large, attractive windows, which can be costly to dress. However, as a key part of a period home’s appeal, quality window treatments are a worthwhile investment.
Shutters, curtains and Roman blinds can all make effective additions. Bespoke designs will easily overcome the difficulties posed by bay windows or extra-high ceilings to create privacy and add style.
Discover the architectural details that make a Victorian home
Find your fire
If you have a magnificent mantelpiece, be sure to show it some love. Artwork can change the whole feel of a scheme, bringing warmth and colour that will play off the rest of your room.
Accessorise the hearth, too, with a log basket, glass lanterns or some foliage in a vase. Layer pieces of different shapes and sizes to build interest at floor and fireplace level.
If you have a magnificent mantelpiece, be sure to show it some love. Artwork can change the whole feel of a scheme, bringing warmth and colour that will play off the rest of your room.
Accessorise the hearth, too, with a log basket, glass lanterns or some foliage in a vase. Layer pieces of different shapes and sizes to build interest at floor and fireplace level.
Add in architectural elements
Large, well-proportioned rooms mean you can go to town with bold design details. Here, Crittall screens have been used to ‘zone’ the different areas in an open-plan living space.
Shelving has also been built into one side of the room, creating extra storage and a cosy reading nook.
Large, well-proportioned rooms mean you can go to town with bold design details. Here, Crittall screens have been used to ‘zone’ the different areas in an open-plan living space.
Shelving has also been built into one side of the room, creating extra storage and a cosy reading nook.
Pay attention to upholstery
Details such as rolled arms, wing backs and turned wooden legs will give your seating a subtle Victorian vibe. Aim to include one or two of these characteristics across all of your upholstered pieces, without going overboard.
This living space achieves a brilliant balance: vintage safari chairs, a buttoned ottoman and an elegant, plain sofa make for an inviting ensemble.
Details such as rolled arms, wing backs and turned wooden legs will give your seating a subtle Victorian vibe. Aim to include one or two of these characteristics across all of your upholstered pieces, without going overboard.
This living space achieves a brilliant balance: vintage safari chairs, a buttoned ottoman and an elegant, plain sofa make for an inviting ensemble.
Accent alcoves
Highlight Victorian fireplace alcoves with carefully chosen symmetrical cupboards and oversized lamps. If your living room has shallow fireside recesses, keep your cabinets a tonal colour that’s similar to the walls to prevent them from becoming too prominent.
Highlight Victorian fireplace alcoves with carefully chosen symmetrical cupboards and oversized lamps. If your living room has shallow fireside recesses, keep your cabinets a tonal colour that’s similar to the walls to prevent them from becoming too prominent.
Succumb to strong colour
A high ceiling, elaborate cornicing and deep skirting boards form the perfect backdrop against which to experiment with strong colour. Investigate deep, saturated hues of blue, grey and green to imbue your living space with a cocoon-like quality.
For extra impact, consider switching woodwork from white to a matching dark shade, as here. The unifying effect will give your room a completely different look and feel.
A high ceiling, elaborate cornicing and deep skirting boards form the perfect backdrop against which to experiment with strong colour. Investigate deep, saturated hues of blue, grey and green to imbue your living space with a cocoon-like quality.
For extra impact, consider switching woodwork from white to a matching dark shade, as here. The unifying effect will give your room a completely different look and feel.
Finesse the finishing touches
Once you’ve decorated your living room, it’s time to employ a bit of styling magic. The devil’s in the detail when it comes to finishing touches: stack piles of coffee table books, bring in fresh flowers, fold throws over the arms of sofas and group together ornaments in pleasing mini vignettes.
These small steps will enhance the character of the space and give your home an appealing, lived-in look.
Do you live in a Victorian home? What have you preserved and what have you updated in it? Share your experiences and photos in the Comments below.
Once you’ve decorated your living room, it’s time to employ a bit of styling magic. The devil’s in the detail when it comes to finishing touches: stack piles of coffee table books, bring in fresh flowers, fold throws over the arms of sofas and group together ornaments in pleasing mini vignettes.
These small steps will enhance the character of the space and give your home an appealing, lived-in look.
Do you live in a Victorian home? What have you preserved and what have you updated in it? Share your experiences and photos in the Comments below.
Don’t be afraid to alter (or remove) original features if they don’t work for you – after all, it’s a home, not a museum.
In this living room, the fireplace was stripped back and spray-painted. The original tiles were then replaced with appropriate alternatives in a colour more in keeping with the scheme.
Tour a small Victorian house that’s had a dramatic, space-boosting renovation