The nineteenth century saw huge changes in design and technology that meant that a middle-class home looked very different by the time Queen Victoria died in 1901 to how it had at her accession in 1837.
This book looks at the social history of rooms in the Victorian home and at how, thanks to industrialised mass production, people were empowered to make choices about how to decorate their homes.
Numerous exterior and interior styles were available as Victorian architects and designers grappled towards a new decorative language by testing the best from the past. This meant that families could choose to live in an Italianate villa, a semi-detached Gothic or a Queen Anne terraced home. From the 1870s, the Arts and Crafts Movement rejected consumption for consumption’s sake and gave us a brand of interior design still relevant and appreciated today.
Contents:
Introduction
Part 1. Living in the Victorian Home
- Reception Rooms
- Private Rooms
- Below Stairs
Part 2. Styling the Victorian Home
- Inspired by the Past
- Foreign Influences
- Domestic and Artistic
Conclusion: Victorian Eclecticism
Places to Visit
Further Reading
Illustration Acknowledgements
Index
