The Victorian Era and The Shoals
So as I am delving back into my interior design roots, I decided to pull out my old text, History of Interior Design by John Pile and try to place some of the architecture and styles I see around the Shoals. This may bore some of you to death, so feel free to move on, but maybe you live in an older home or are interested in architecture...or you just are my friend and are kindly reading my blog, in which case...I love you, too!
Besides the fact that Florence has a Frank Lloyd Wright house, which I will get to in another post, I mainly think of the Victorian-style homes of Wood Avenue (my third favorite street here). But when I drive this street I know which homes are obviously Victorian, but what about the other older homes....does their 100-year-old construction make them Victorian. This is still sort of a mystery to me, but the more I learn about the Victorian period of architecture and design, the more I realize that it was sort of a period of anything goes.
So what is the Victorian Era, and what does it mean - besides looking like a doll house. Well, for those who are curious I am here to the rescue with a little bit of shared knowledge (with help of course from Mr. John Pile).
Queen Victoria reigned from 1837-1901, hence the name, which overlapped a period of style revivals as well as new styles such as the Arts and Crafts (my favorite) movements in England. This also coincided with the Industrial Revolution. "Victorian" has come to mean an aspect on 19th-Century design characterized by the use of decorative, and at times too much decorative, ornamentation. The reason behind this frenzy of decorative excess is tied to the Industrial Revolution in the fact that where once homes were built and designed by architects, artisans, apprentices, cabinet makers, pieces and parts were now being churned out in factories, making decorative elements more affordable and available. Power looms could create textiles and fabrics faster than ever before. Cast iron was cheap and easy to create molds and mass produce elaborate designs.
The quality of this ornamentation declined dramatically of course, and the use of it became excessive none the less. But think of it like the introduction of Ikea to us - people could actually afford cool stuff! They could build and decorate their homes to look like the homes that only the wealthy were living in.
This will all lead to a rejection of ornamentation which you will see in some of the more modern movements of architecture and design, but for now, the Victorian fondness for combinations of decorative elements in all styles defeats efforts at classification. Interior design in the Victorian style is even harder to classify. The mixture of styles and the use of invented ornamentation have no clear roots, and people were free to mix and match, redecorate, alter according to their whim because design was more accessible to the masses.
Mix and match, redecorate, alter according to whim....this sounds a lot like my house, ha ha! But it is far from Victorian. But maybe this helps explain where the dollhouse qualities come from when we think of a Victorian home.
618 Wood Avenue Victorian Home
 |
| No this house is not on Wood Ave, but it is a great example and was built in 1903 |
Besides the fact that Florence has a Frank Lloyd Wright house, which I will get to in another post, I mainly think of the Victorian-style homes of Wood Avenue (my third favorite street here). But when I drive this street I know which homes are obviously Victorian, but what about the other older homes....does their 100-year-old construction make them Victorian. This is still sort of a mystery to me, but the more I learn about the Victorian period of architecture and design, the more I realize that it was sort of a period of anything goes.
So what is the Victorian Era, and what does it mean - besides looking like a doll house. Well, for those who are curious I am here to the rescue with a little bit of shared knowledge (with help of course from Mr. John Pile).
Queen Victoria reigned from 1837-1901, hence the name, which overlapped a period of style revivals as well as new styles such as the Arts and Crafts (my favorite) movements in England. This also coincided with the Industrial Revolution. "Victorian" has come to mean an aspect on 19th-Century design characterized by the use of decorative, and at times too much decorative, ornamentation. The reason behind this frenzy of decorative excess is tied to the Industrial Revolution in the fact that where once homes were built and designed by architects, artisans, apprentices, cabinet makers, pieces and parts were now being churned out in factories, making decorative elements more affordable and available. Power looms could create textiles and fabrics faster than ever before. Cast iron was cheap and easy to create molds and mass produce elaborate designs.
The quality of this ornamentation declined dramatically of course, and the use of it became excessive none the less. But think of it like the introduction of Ikea to us - people could actually afford cool stuff! They could build and decorate their homes to look like the homes that only the wealthy were living in.
This will all lead to a rejection of ornamentation which you will see in some of the more modern movements of architecture and design, but for now, the Victorian fondness for combinations of decorative elements in all styles defeats efforts at classification. Interior design in the Victorian style is even harder to classify. The mixture of styles and the use of invented ornamentation have no clear roots, and people were free to mix and match, redecorate, alter according to their whim because design was more accessible to the masses.
Mix and match, redecorate, alter according to whim....this sounds a lot like my house, ha ha! But it is far from Victorian. But maybe this helps explain where the dollhouse qualities come from when we think of a Victorian home.
Hey, in case you were in the market for one, they restored this one on Wood Ave and even have pretty music to listen to while you look at the dreamy pictures :) I cannot say that I would decline if offered this house to live in, but it would not be my first choice if I have a dream house to choose from, but they are fun, and whimsical!
posted by Tracy at
4:58 PM
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