Everything you need to know about the Victorian House

Summary
Victorian Houses or the charm of yesteryear

As you may know, Steampunk draws heavily on the Victorian era through the aesthetics of clothing and accessories such as hats and pocket watches. The architecture of upper-class Victorian homes is strikingly beautiful and stylish. Form takes precedence over function when it comes to these ornately decorated homes. When you imagine a Victorian home, you may think of a colorful dollhouse or an imposing haunted or abandoned house.

Key points

🔍 Victorian Era : 1837-1901, reign of Queen Victoria.

🏛️ Main styles : Italianate, Queen Anne, Gothic Revival, Stick, Second Empire, Folk Victorian.

🌿 Common features : Verticality, detailed ornamentation, mix of materials and colors.

🏠 Italianate : Low-pitched roof, large windows, glass dome or tower, large porch.

👑 Queen Anne : Asymmetrical, multiple levels, steep roofs, wooden porches, octagonal towers.

🕍 Gothic Revival : Popularity for houses and churches, rural style with medieval moldings and symbols.

🌲 Stick : Precursor of the Shingle, half-timbered frame, open verandas.

🏢 Second Empire : Mansard roof, dormers, molded cornices, pavilions.

🏡 Folk Victorian : Simpler, symmetrical style, porch and gable roof.

🪑 Interior design : Intricate woodwork, colorful stained glass, wallpapers rich in patterns and textures.

🌍 International diffusion : Style spread in the British colonies, present in cities like New York, San Francisco, Melbourne.

read on to find out more

What is Victorian Architecture?

Victorian Terraced Houses

Victorian architecture technically refers to the era, a foundation, not a specific style. The Victorian era was, of course, the reign of Queen Victoria in Great Britain, from 1837 to 1901. The term "Victorian style" doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. But in general, the styles that are most strongly associated with this era emphasize verticality, decoration, and a mix of materials and colors.

Steampunk Lamp Collections

Many architectural styles emerged from the Victorian era, but the two most famous are technically revivals of earlier architectural styles, though they had a life of their own and were "often decoratively exuberant, with little concern for historical accuracy." Ironically, it is in the United States that we find the most of these extraordinary Victorian-style period homes.

Each has distinct characteristics (noted below), but they share a common emphasis on vertical elements—the house is often two or three stories high with tall windows and porches—and detailed ornamentation that borders on exaggeration. After all, a recurring theme of the Victorian era was the prioritization of form over function. Here are the differences and some of the other most notable style variations.


Italianate Victorian Houses

Characteristic Description
Roof Gently sloping with a nice overhang
Windows Large windows decorated with moldings
Dome or Tower Glass dome or tower in the center
Porch Large covered porch protecting the entrance

Queen Anne Victorian Houses

Characteristic Description
Floor Two or three floors
Porch Single-story porches often surrounding the entire house
Shape Asymmetric
Roof Very steep roofs
Decorations Multiple ornaments, "gingerbread" effect

Victorian Houses Gothic Revival

Characteristic Description
Period 1840 to 1860
Location Mainly in the northeastern United States
Style Medieval moldings and symbols

Victorian Stick Houses

Characteristic Description
Roof Steeply pitched wooden roofs
Framework Half-timbered frame
Verandas Open verandas made of sticks
Ornamentation Flat ornamentation

Second Empire Victorian Houses

Characteristic Description
Roof Mansard roof with two slopes
Skylights Presence of skylights
Cornices Molded cornices
Pavilions Some pavilions

Victorian Folk Houses

Characteristic Description
Style Basic version of Victorian architecture
Shape Symmetrical
Porch Simple porch
Roof Gable roof

Now let’s detail each style.

The "Italianate" style

Italianate Victorian Houses

These houses were first popularized, from the 1860s until after the Civil War in the United States, by taking inspiration from the Italian villas of the 16th century. The main structures were fairly simple houses, rectangular in shape, with low-pitched or sometimes flat roofs that extended quite far from the exterior colored walls. The architecture pulls the openings upward, the windows are tall and narrow, often rounded at the top, and there is decorative cladding over and over again. Some even have a square tower or cupola that rises in the center of the house, which reinforces the impression of a Tuscan villa.

Main characteristics :

  • Low-slope roof with a nice overhang
  • Large windows decorated with moldings
  • Glass dome or tower
  • Large covered porch protecting the entrance

The "Queen Anne" style

Queen Ann Victorian Houses

Queen Anne houses, which were popular in the United States from about the 1880s to the 1920s, are theoretically a revival of the pre-Victorian style during the reign of Queen Anne (1702–1714), but there is little resemblance in practice. The Queen Anne house is the quintessential Victorian house: it is asymmetrical, multi-level, two or three stories (or more) high, has steeply pitched roofs, and features large wooden porches. These houses are often decorated with different wall decorations and ornamental trim, giving them the "gingerbread" effect commonly associated with houses. Colors are usually chosen from two or three shades so as to contrast the walls with the roof. Some Queen Anne houses also have octagonal towers (topped by a round, pointed roof) and highly decorated bay windows without much subtlety.

Main characteristics :

  • Large houses with two or even three floors.
  • One-story porches that often wrap around the entire house.
  • An asymmetrical shape that distinguishes Victorian houses from one another.
  • Very steep roofs and multiple decorations.

The "Gothic Revival" style

Victorian Gothic Revival House

The Gothic Revival style was popular between the 1840s and 1860s for houses, and remained a popular style for churches until the 1940s, primarily because of its association with European ecclesiastical architecture. It was most prevalent in the northeastern United States, where the first American Gothic house was built by Alexander Jackson Davis in Baltimore in 1832. Gothic was primarily promoted as a rural style for early suburban and country homes; its unique designs were generally not suited to standard urban lots. Gothic Revival can be traced back to England around 1750, where medieval styles with towers or cement spires, oddly symbolic moldings, and other oddities eventually blended together to form a cohesive style.

The "Stick" style

victorian stick houses

A precursor to the Shingle style, the Stick style features steeply pitched wood roofs, half-timbered framing, open stick verandas, and flat ornamentation. Shingle Style: With shingles covering the entire building, this style also features open porches and an irregular roofline.

The "Second Empire" Style

second Empire

Also called Napoleon III , this type is characterized by a mansard roof (with two slopes on all sides and the lower slope steeper than the upper), dormers, molded cornices and some pavilions. A French style that is rarely found in England but a lot in the north-east of the United States such as in the city of Boston. The famous maid's rooms hidden under the roofs are typical of these rather urban houses and buildings. Apart from the roof, the style is close to the "Italianate" style.

The "Victorian Folk" style

Victorian folk style house

These rather American buildings are a more basic version of Victorian architecture that is symmetrical with a porch and a simpler gable roof. The spread of this style was made possible by the expansion of the railroads into small towns. The wooden elements, often redwood, produced in large volumes, could be transported quickly and cheaply almost anywhere. Home builders often simply added moldings and ornaments to traditional houses. This is a very common and small style found in the American West towns of the turn of the century, settled at that time.

The interior decoration of Victorian homes is just as impressive as their exterior architecture.

Rooms are often decorated with intricate woodwork , colorful wallpaper, and mosaic tiled floors. Ceilings are high, and windows often feature colorful stained glass. Furniture is often large and ornate. Marble fireplaces, antique clocks , and crystal lamps are majestic. The interior design of Victorian homes is a testament to the refined taste and attention to detail that characterized the Victorian era. We will provide more details, but please read our article on Victorian decorating for more details and illustrations.

Woodwork: The Art of Wood Carving in Victorian Homes.

Woodwork is a major feature of Victorian home interior design. Victorian craftsmen created intricate and detailed carvings in wood to adorn doors, windows, fireplaces, baseboards, and walls. Popular motifs included arabesques , flowers, leaves, and animals, and the woods used were often oak, walnut, or pine. Woodwork can add richness, texture, and depth to a Victorian room, and can be renovated and restored to maintain its original appearance.


Stained glass windows: how to bring light and color indoors.

Stained glass windows were a popular part of the interior decoration of Victorian homes. Stained glass was used to add color and brightness to windows, and to create intricate designs and scenes in doors and partitions. Popular motifs in the home included roses, lilies, and angels, and the colors used were often pastel tones and primary colors . Stained glass windows can add beauty and life to a Victorian room, while creating an ambiance of soft, romantic light.


Victorian wallpapers: patterns, colors and textures for authentic decoration.

Wallpapers in the home were a symbol of success in the interior design of Victorian homes. Wallpapers were often very expensive, they were used to cover the walls, and popular designs included flowers, geometric patterns, and landscapes . Colors used in the home were often dark and rich, such as red, dark green, and dark blue, and textures could be smooth or embossed. Wallpapers could add depth and texture to a Victorian room, while creating a warm and welcoming ambiance.

What happened to the Victorian Houses?

Examples of Victorian Houses

The British Empire and its Commonwealth allowed to spread its culture, and of course architecture to all its colonies and on all continents. Thus we can find homes in surprising places like Hong Kong or India through Melbourne and of course all of North America like in the city of New York or San Francisco . In these countries many neighborhoods were built at this time. Some splendid administrative, military or religious buildings still bear witness to this era of colonization and construction.

While the Victorian era officially ended in 1901, the architectural styles that accompanied it remained in place for about a decade, until the Colonial Revival movement overtook them in popularity in the 1920s. But rather than falling out of favor, Victorian homes actually became unloved in the decades that followed. At one time, the Victorian home was considered undesirable in many neighborhoods. Indeed, it had become the stereotypical American haunted house with its creepy garden that people threw eggs into on Halloween , with most of these homes aging and dilapidated.

Pocket Watch Collections

Queen Anne and Italianate style houses gained popularity in the United States in the mid- to late 19th century, spurred on by the Centennial International Exposition of 1876 (the first official World's Fair ). Advances in construction techniques, combined with the increased availability of various materials, new railroads, and the wider distribution of model house plans, also helped popularize these house styles.

Victorian houses are most numerous in American cities that experienced exponential growth in the mid-19th century: Cincinnati (Ohio), the Garden District of New Orleans and Brooklyn (New York). It is still the Californian region and San Francisco that concentrates more than fifty thousand Victorian houses. This forms an incredible architecture and atmosphere and demonstrates that the city was booming at that time.

The most famous are undoubtedly the Painted Ladies

It is a block of Queen Anne style townhouses painted in three or more colors, the quintessential Victorian houses of San Francisco. The painted ladies are in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. It is famous for these colorful and picturesque Victorian houses that attract visitors from all over the world. Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen , two photography enthusiasts, published a book in 1978 called "Victorian San Francisco: A Guide to the City's Victorian Architecture", which quickly became a reference for anyone wishing to discover the city's Victorian painted ladies and which answers every question. Thanks to their work, these houses have been preserved and restored, thus contributing to the cultural richness of San Francisco and its international reputation.


This article is coming to an end, you probably know more about the Victorian House. See you soon vaporists.