The Tour: Off to Morocco in our Victorian Aesthetic Movement Parlor

Some spaces you just have to think about. In this case a small room off the"Garland Parlor".  This room probably functioned as an upstairs office for Mr Burgman and as the family grew it became a bed room. By the time we came along it was painted white and totally devoid of personality.

It  also had some design challenges. The door was to one side which made the room look totally unbalanced and it walled in a very small space in way that made it appear even smaller/ Our solution was to close in the doorway and instead move the doorway to a new centered to the room opening  Originally a single door with transom. in its new configuration at 5 ft wide with Victorian fretwork. Portier rod below with exotic vintage fringed tapestry and curtains, it takes the entrance to a new level and welcomes your entrance to a unique space.

On the wall opposite the fainting sofa we hung a large antique tapestry on the wall which was done in a Terra Cotta color  and brushed and color washed to give it a slightly aged look.

Below that we stretched some old green fabric on a wooden stretcher and sat it on the floor to add another visual layer and placed a vintage ebonized and gilt table topped with a brass Turkish Tea Pot

The window was also an issue as it was not centered. We decided to false drape part of the wall to make it look like one double window with the drape pulled back.

Peacock feathers and a Urn with peacock complete a theme and fill a corner

This Moroccan lantern light adds visual interest in the other corner.

The settee is an aesthetic movement piece. that just happened to work with wall colors perfectly.

 The stained glass window  started out at a regular "farmhouse window" that we replaced with stained glass in colors to match the light fixture stained glass.

The Moorish chandelier and medallion complete the look. We still plan on covering the ceiling with a Turkish style ceiling tile we have on order.

So we went from white box to Moroccan Dream in less than one week

Exotic Influences In Victorian Interior Design

Perhaps one of the greatest 'Exotic designed' rooms of the Victorian era. (photo courtesy Brooklyn Museum)

Interior Design came to the forefront in the 1870's-80's. The wealthy no longer relied on their own sense of style and taste but rather turned over those responsibilities to "designers" many of whom were an outgrowth of the furniture industry.

Furniture, drapes, and stencils all coordinated into a room design (photo courtesy Brooklyn Museum)

At the same time style inspiration often came from the exotic. The wealthy who could afford it often went to Europe and the far east in their travels and the style of exotic places was brought back in furnishings and art and those stryle elements were quickly put into production by the best firms. Much like today with designer furniture , lesser price 'knockoffs' were soon on the market for those of the middle class who could not afford a designers like Pottier and Stymus or Tiffany.

A restained exterior held such exhuberance inside (photo courtesy Brooklyn Museum)

This design movement was often referred as the Aesthetic Movement in interior design. Wealthy Victorians embraced this idea of turning over rooms to designers and the Moorish smoking room of the Worsham-Rockefeller home is one of the finest examples of 'designed' spaces.  Rockefeller purchased this house, located at 4 west 54th street from Arabella Worsham. This home was built in 1865 and she later enlarged it. Rockefeller purchased the home in 1884. His son John D Rockefeller Jr donated the room to the Brooklyn Museum in 1937. The room was 17 1/2 x 15 1/2 foot and considered by many to be a work of art.