Customer Reviews

Victorian Interior Decoration: American Interiors : 1830-1900

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Two years ago, we moved into a house built in 1875, and bought up an armload of Victoriana books to tell us what to do with it. Most of them were "decorator porn" -- lots of gorgeous pictures (many photographing the same places) that inspire a person to go antique hunting or to refinish Aunt Martha's rocker. This book is different! It divides 70 years into 4 periods, and for each, tells you plenty about what went on the walls, on the floors,on the windows, on the ceilings. It tells how the composition of paint (and its effects) evolved over the century, recommends books for sources of historic wallpapers, and tells how to recapture Victorian room colors amidst modern lighting. Generous notes on bygone lifestyles, too, with sprinkled quotes from Charles Eastlake, Godey's Lady's Book, and other 19th century gurus of taste. If you want something to help you capture the look (or just understand it) of another century, here it is. More encyclopedic than (the also useful, but much shorter) "Creating Authentic Victorian Rooms." The downside? Very low porn quotient: No glossy paper and few colored pictures (even for contemporary photographs)--but numerous 19th-century prints and diagrams.

I voluteer at an 1844 farm in Ann Arbor, MI. I have been researching paint colors and wallpaper for a sitting room and this book was the best source I have found. There is good descriptions of the tastes and styles of each time period as well as some pictures that really show what they are talking about. More pictures would have been helpful, but it's good book for those looking to do true historic restoration. My one problem with the book is the lack of paint colors. It will say, "they used to paint the rooms blue-green, grey or yellow" but the book doesn't show what these colors looked like or even what the color range to begin in. That is my only criticism. If you are looking to be completely accurate with your restoration more work and research would be required, but this book is the best place to start.

Researching a mystery novel with a Victorian subplot, I pillaged the library for reference books. This one (I've just ordered my own copy) stands far above the rest. Not only are the details accessible, but the book references design mavens and trendsetters of that time so you can follow those research threads as well. Only problem is the maddening absence of color in sections addressing color. The black and white "color wheel" on pg.130 has got to be a first. And what on earth is "citron?" Beyond that, however, this is a well-organized goldmine of thoroughgoing detail about Victorian decorating bound to delight those interested in authenticity.

This book has been extremely informative for me as I get ready to renovate and furnish a home built in 1861. It shows the changes in style for each decade or so, and has lots of drawings and photos of furniture and other decor. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to authentically reproduce any part of the era discussed.

This book has answered a lot of questions I have had about my Victorian home.

I love this book because it's different from most other Victorian interior decoration books. It was just the thing for me when I began researching my 1857 Victorian, as it seems that almost every other book about Victorian interiors focus on later Victorian periods and/or just Queen Annes. If you're looking for pretty pictures of other peoples' homes, this isn't the book for you. If you want solid historical information about what the interiors of Victorian homes looked like and why, then you'll want to read this book. It tells you what was used, where, when, how it was installed, what it was made out of, what color it was, quite literally everything. There is also information on how to obtain these materials and which materials to substitute should the originals no longer be available. There are black and white photographs and period sketches and diagrams to accompany the text. Everything you ever needed to know about the interiors of Victorian homes can be found in this book.

While I received the book in reasonable time, I have to say I was extremely disappointed in the book itself. I was hoping for a book that would provide lots of photos of current day decorating incorporating the Victorian style, like the photo shown on the cover. This is more of a text book. I couldn't tell that from the description when I purchased it. Maybe I didn't read it close enough?

The book cost more than $100 new, a price that I don't think can be justified, given the fact that the book is printed on cheap stock, with few color illustrations.