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Historic Modern Movements

Victorian

Historic / ornate

Ornate, vertical, and richly layered — 19th-century romance and detail.

Your take
Overview

Ornate, vertical, and richly layered — 19th-century romance and detail.

The elaborate, decorative architecture of the late 1800s (Queen Anne, Italianate, Second Empire). Steep asymmetrical rooflines, turrets and bays, gingerbread trim, and ornamented surfaces; interiors rich with pattern, color, and detail. Maximal by nature — every surface is an opportunity for ornament — and full of romance and character.

01 Key principles

  • 01Steep, complex, asymmetrical rooflines with turrets and gables
  • 02Elaborate decorative trim — spindlework, brackets, "gingerbread"
  • 03Vertical emphasis and ornamented, textured façades
  • 04Bay windows, wraparound porches, and towers
  • 05Rich interior pattern, color, and layered detail
  • 06Ornament celebrated everywhere
Spatial direction
Tall, formal rooms; elaborate plasterwork and ceiling medallions; parlors and a grand stair; bay windows and a wraparound porch.
Furniture
Ornate and tufted — carved dark wood, button-tufted velvet, marble-top tables, fringe and tassels, gilt mirrors.
Textures
Patterned wallpaper, ceiling medallions, stained glass, fringed and tufted textiles, ornate millwork, layered antiques.

02 Materials & finishes

Painted wood and patterned shingles, decorative trim, stained and etched glass, cast iron, rich wallpaper, dark hardwoods, marble

Color palette
6 tones — the working palette for this direction.
Burgundy
#5E2230
Forest Green
#2F4733
Navy
#26314C
Plum
#4E2E47
Gold
#B2913F
Cream
#EADFC6
The feeling

“Romantic, ornate, and richly layered. Unapologetic 19th-century detail and character.”