Victorian Design: The "art' of Victorian Lampshades

This shade kit is from TLC Lampshdes. http://www.tcl-inc.com/kits.htm

The elaborate victorian lamp, so highly coveted today, didn't start out that way of course. Early lighting was simple and in fact thought of as 'utilitaian". Lights were brought out at night but during the day regulated to a shelf or in nore affluent homes the "lamp room" where lamps were stored during the day and brought out by the staff. Early lighting especially oil lamps required frequent cleaning and this task was best done out of sight.
As advances in lighting took place like gas lights and then electric lighting, lighting became more a fixture.

Early bulbs put out little light but were considered so advanced and forward thinking they were proudly displayed. As lighting became more advanced the glare from those bulbs became more apparent and in typically victorian fashion it was decided the lighting, like everything else in the home should be a thing of beauty and sophistication. Glass shades were created and eventually table lamps which were more 'globe' based were treated to finely detailed silk shades.

This shade is from Victorian lamp shade supply. http://www.victorianlampshadesupply.com/lamp_shade_kits.html

Of course few of those shades are still around as they were fragile. Today it is no problem to find old table lamp bases and floor lamps at very reasonable prices. but they dont look right with modern shades in older homes. Fortunately there are a number of manufacturer of new "old" shades but they are very pricey. However if you are handy there are a number of companies now making kits which will allow you to have that great shade for that old lamp base you have sitting around collecting dust. In fact most of the shade kit companies have complete instructions and even videos of how to make shades. Proficiency with a glue gun helps but they are well within the abilities of most people.

One word of caution, you should not use high watt bulbs with fabric shades as they give off excessive heat. In fact withe the advent of CFL's a  fabric shade is a great way to disguise those ugly bulbs and add a little warmth to the light given off.

Victorian Design: Tassels and Tiebacks

Victorian drapes area most unique confection. Complex layers, originally designed to keep the heat in and the cold out during the Victorina Era.  They created a cozy feel that many of us who design in the victorian style love. Its hard to imagine  living in the typical suburban home with its white plastic windows open for all to see Fishbowl effect..

Creating that look can be expensive , however there are ways to get that grand look without breaking the bank. Timing is often everything and one of your best resources may be things you already have. Scrap fabric or even old silk scarves can be use to create tiebacks. Ribbon often sold around the  holidays and especially after Chruistmas can be bought for pennies on the dollar. The same goes for tassels which are often found at the holidays. Cording can also be found cheaply as well. To add some drama consider using beads. Everyone has some Mardi Gras beads laying around.

Window treatments can be elaborate confections and Theatre on a grand scale by simply thinking out of the box. I  always check the clearance areas of craft stores and Fabric shops. Even places like Big Lots and TJ Maxx often have close out tiebacks with fringe for just a few dollars that originally sold for 50-60 dollars. I keep a sealed tupperware storage box and whever I come across something I think might work in the future, I put it in there. TIP: Old vintage cameos pins can make a very effective tieback. I've also used vintage hatpins and even strands of pearls in tieback design. Reproduction tassels are now quite affordable, thanks to the import trade, but dont forget to keep an eye out for the occaisonal original. They are often highly collected but many dealers overlook them .

Victorian style and the "Art of Exotic Ornamentalism"

Whenever I do lectures on Victorian Interior Design, I often get asked what is Victorian style? Now I can go into the 'textbook answers' about the history the main players of the era. But often its easier to tell you what it is not. Victorian Is not:

Ducks with hats, wooden shelfs with sawn hearts, It not 'clutter for the sake of clutter.

Victorian style is a combination of artful placement, layering of materials and striking a "sophisticated balance" that said more about ones hopes and ambitions and how "worldly' one was. If one were to make a historical comparison. the Victorian shared a lot with the 'dot com era' of the 1990's. It was about success, it was about ambition, it was about 'keeping up with the Jones'. More importantly it was about the fact that the Victorian believed  that ANYTHING was possible. Most of them came to this country or were 1st generation Americans and they understood that hard work and the belief in ones abilities could overcome almost anything. Remarkably different than today where many are 'government dependent' from birth to grave.

Ones home even if it was a modest one, was about ones dreams and ambitions and it was a "personal statement' Particularly among the middle and business class of the era.The hardest part of this era from a design standpoint is we have no color photographic records of the era. We know the popular colors of the era, from written accounts. We know the Victorian appreciated the "exotic", but we largely only have black and white photos to guide us on the way they arranged things so we must 'guess' about the colors.

Studying those images tells us a lot about how they achieved that art of "Exotic Ornamentalism". We see rich fabrics, the mixing of fabrics and the use of layering to achieve a luxury using fairly common items.

By using simple things like Peacock feathers and patterned fabrics in the Aesthetic or  Moorish style, we create a sense of a far away place and the "presumption' that the Victorian of the era had perhaps traveled there. Or at the least that they appreciated the finer things and were well read on world travels. This was one of the reasons that the "Worlds Expositions" were so popular in the era as it gave one the opportunity to see how people lived in exotic locals albeit "staged". Because much like a fine Victorian home and these B&W photos of the era they are "staged" too.

But this exercise illustrates that you can have an authentic Victorian look by using items you can find at antiques stores or on line. Because what we are looking at is a 'Staged area' that I set up to illustrate that by studying your room in black and white mode ( by simply converting your color photo into Blank and white) you can get a much better sense if you room really "looks Victorian.