What Is the “Right” Kind Of Wallpaper For A Victorian Dollhouse?

The answer could start, “That depends. Which era? Which room? Town or country house?” When choosing the appropriate type of wallpaper for a Victorian dollhouse, it’s important to understand how wall coverings were used in the Victorian era, if authenticity is important to you.

In the Victorian era, wallpapers and wall coverings became an important element to interior decoration as they became accessible to the middle class householders. A wide range of quality and designs could be produced at high and low prices due to the introduction of mass production techniques, and the repeal in 1836 of the wallpaper tax.



Popular wallpapers in the early and mid-Victorian period had backgrounds of red, blue, and green printed with intricate scrolled floral pattern in shades of cream and tan. Later, rich, earthy tones with stylized plants became common. Embossed paper was used on ceilings and friezes to counterbalance the busy wallpapers.

William Morris was the most well known designer of wallpaper at the time. He was renowned for mixing strong, pure colors harmoniously, and giving a flat pattern an narrative quality. Other popular designs included landscape pictures, historical scenes, and papers imitating cut stone or fabric. "Fresco"imitated panels, cornices, friezes, moldings, and columns. The 1870s saw the emergence of geometric patterns and Japanese motifs.

With the introduction into rooms of the dado (chair) rails and picture rails to divide the vertical space in a room, which was deemed to be the epitome of artistic taste, so wallpapers came to be produced in sets of three, one for cornice to picture rail, one for picture rail down to the dado rail and the last for the bottom portion of the wall under the dado rail.

The Industrial Revolution had a dramatic impact on interior design in the Victorian Age. The prosperity of the middle class increased and allowed them, along with other new opportunities, the chance to change the decoration and ornamentation of their homes.

The pollution generated had by all those prosperous factories also influenced interior design. City dwellers tended to paint their walls more than their country cousin, who could also use lighter tones. Pollution also dictating how often one could change their décor. Except for the aristocracy. They could afford to change at will. The lower orders might have to put up with sooty walls longer than was deemed fashionable.

Some of the nouveau riche, unsure of how to best portray their new status and wealth, chose to use architecture and furnishings that had previously been used only by the upper class. In these homes, the owners crammed in as many pieces of furniture, fabrics, and knickknacks as possible, in an effort to flaunt their new status. Also, it was fashionable to believe that bareness in a room was a sure sign of poor taste.

So, after you have decided the era, and who the householder might be, the answer to “what is the right wallpaper for my Victorian dollhouse“ might be: How vivid Is you Imagination?

These pictures are from a wonderful resource, Bradbury&Bradbury Art Wallpapers


Susan Downing