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

Dollhouse Decorating Ideas – Victorian Dollhouse Accessories and Furniture

Susan's Note:
Idy Keeler gives a good basic list of the types of accessories and pieces of furniture to use in a Victorian dollhouse. I especially like the open paragraphs where Idy describes how the Victorians got to be so … should I say eclectic with their decorating, inside their home and out. The picture used is of a dollhouse purchased by Malcolm Forbes in the late 1980's
as a Christmas present for his granddaughters.

Here is Idy's article:


VICTORIAN DOLLHOUSE ACCESSORIES AND FURNITURE
By Idy Keeler

The Victorian Era (1837 to 1901) was known for its flamboyant, romantic, and excessive decorating style.  It represented the wealth and opulence during the reign of Queen Victoria.  A Victorian Home was meant to showcase the social standing of the owner . Ornate and excessive touches on everything from furniture to greeting cards marked this period.

Dollhouse Decorating Ideas – The Georgian Style

How to Achieve a Genuine Georgian House Style
By Julie Ann
By Julie Ann

Influences and style
To achieve a genuine Georgian house style when building or decorating your own Georgian dolls house it is important to understand the influences and style during this period which spanned from 1714 to about 1830. During the Georgian period people really began taking an interest in fashion and interiors. The upper classes would often enjoy a Grand Tour of Europe for a year or two and during this time were heavily influenced by the fashion & interior design they saw on their travels. This influence also extended to the design and style of the Georgian dolls house. Other major influences included the architecture of Inigo Jones and the Orient.

The style of the time was all about delicate colour schemes and woodwork, dainty furniture, harmony, balance and a sense of light and airiness to the rooms.

Characteristics of a Georgian dolls house
The most popular color schemes evolved from the heavier burgundy, sage green and blue greys of the early Georgian period to much lighter greens, sky blues and dusky pinks. Floors of Georgian houses were typically bare boards covered with Oriental rugs. Or, if the property was more up market, the floor would have been a pale colored stone or marble.

For a genuine Georgian effect dolls house walls should be paneled up to the dado rail and then painted or papered above.

Repetitive patterns in wallpaper such as trefoils and far eastern designs were very popular. Wallpaper also reflected the trend for block printing towards the end of the Georgian era and featured simple, bold geometric patterns such as squares and stripes.

Cotton with a delicate floral pattern was the fabric of choice for soft furnishings . It was important to match the sofas, armchairs and curtains, and the latter were often adorned with pagoda style pelmets. Often armchairs and divans were protected with loose covers made from cheap, striped linen and these were removed for entertaining on special occasions. Georgian lighting featured chandeliers made from glass, metal and wood, as well as brass, silver, or silvered wood wall lights. In less expensive properties light fittings were often pewter or tin.

Furniture was delicate, for example wing chairs and chairs with hoop or shield backs.
The Georgians loved their fireplaces and the grander the house the more elegant and eye-catching the fireplace! Carved surrounds with swags and shells were an indication of wealth and status. Ornaments and pictures would usually be grouped around the fireplace to emphasize the importance of the fireplace as the focal point of the room.

Moldings on the ceilings often consisted of elaborate ribbons and swags, classical figures and urns.
Georgian front doors generally had central knobs positioned at waist height and no letterboxes. There was often a filigree fanlight with a canopy and pediments. Original Georgian properties had sash windows and shutters.

All images are from the Thorne Room Collection on permanent display at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Find out more about Georgian dolls houses, accessories and furniture and advice on building dolls houses at Julie's website. Article originally published on Ezine.

Dollhouse Decorating - “Help Stamp Out Beige”

“Help Stamp Out Beige” was the tag line in a paint manufacture's advertisement in the '70s, touting a new line of vibrant colors. I guess that's what's put me on this Be Bold with color binge. 

Victorian dollhouse and miniatures are one of the most popular styles. So when it comes to color, be like the Atlanta residents in the 1870s. For those that could afford it, spectacular Victorian homes rose from the ashes of the Civil War.

By the 1880s, when the Queen Anne style became popular, synthetic pigments allowed for vivid blues, greens, purples, and yellows. Also common were multi-hue schemes that accentuated the style's diverse architectural details, such as turned porch spindles and fish-scale shingles under the eaves.

Victorian homes also have a long and illustrious tradition of whacky color. Different colors helped to highlight the incredible details on these homes. Multicolored palettes can still be found on beautifully detailed homes today.

You really can't go too far out with your next dollhouse, or one that needs a remodel. The Victorians believed that if one detail would do, two was better. Better yet was to paint them a different color, not necessarily compatible. They loved repetition, like putting enlarged porch spindles on the front gables.

Paint schemes with several colors and sharp contrasts play up these architectural features. The more detail, the bolder you can be. Extremely ornate corbels can have sharp contrast between light and dark colors, while the less detailed panels can be painted in two dark colors. 

Why not a red dollhouse, or one patterned after the wondrous orange Victorian decorated by Sue Pekaric. Click on the image for a link to Houseaboodle and check out some her wonderful color combinations to brighten-up an aging dollhouse. And don't forget about all the gorgeous “Painted Lady” around the country.

So fear not! Be as lavash as you want with color. Some might question your taste, but no one can accuse you of not being authentic.

What do you think? Can a Victorian dollhouse be too garish?