Whether you’re designing a new home or searching for an authentic period gem, there’s nothing more charming in our opinion than a home filled with extravagant and elegant Victorian features.
Victorian Architecture Australia
Here are our favourite Victorian architectural characteristics that never go out of style and you should consider emulating in your new home design.
32 Park Street, Brighton, VIC
Impressive front porches
Mainly just for show, a sprawling mosaic tiled front porch running the length of the building was a staple of any respectable Victorian back in the day.
With the rise in popularity of outdoor entertaining and living these days you’d be silly to pass up an opportunity to add an adorable front porch onto your home. Up the functionality and inviting factor of your porch with a small table setting or bench seat with room for two.
Enrich your home’s exterior further with the addition of decorative wrought iron lacework or timber fretwork to dress up the porch roofline.
93 Cross Road, Hawthorn, SA
Wonderful windows
One of our favourite features of original Victorian homes is their large, sometimes colourful and always beautifully crafted windows.
Impressive bay windows framing a cosy window seat are common in living and master bedroom spaces of period homes and are on-trend in contemporary designs.
Add a nod to Victorian architecture by opting for stained-glass feature panels in your front door design or by including a pretty decorative bullseye leadlight window in your bedroom.
7 Olive Street, North Perth, WA
Grand fireplaces
Luxurious carved marble and timber mantel pieces commonly abound in traditional Victorian architecture. Typically housing polished cast-iron fireplaces to keep the chill out of living and sleeping quarters.
In modern homes, ornate fireplaces can still function as room heaters but also act as a nostalgic architectural feature and attractive focal point of living areas and bedrooms alike.
So, if you love the idea of cosying up in front of a roaring open fireplace and roasting marshmallows on a cold winter night, you’ll want to incorporate a fireplace or two into your main living area and master bedroom.
32 Wellesley Street, Summer Hill, NSW
Charming chimneys
Traditionally the size, style and number of chimneys on a Victorian home were status symbols demonstrating the wealth and grandness of the home and its owners.
Nowadays, a handsome chimney adds character and interest drawing the eye upwards when viewing the home from the outside.
178 Albert Street, Port Melbourne, VIC
Decorative trimmings
In their heyday, Victorian homes were built to impress guests under the philosophy of ‘more is more’, so they commonly feature extensive, elaborate and unique trimmings and mouldings throughout.
From extra tall cornices and skirting boards, intricate plaster ceiling roses, picture rails and archways, all these beautiful little details add up to create grand and decoratively delightful interiors.
If you’re going for a traditional Victorian look play up your ceiling roses with a shimmery chandelier. Alternatively bring your ceiling roses into the 21st century with a sleek modern hanging light fitting, if contemporary fixtures are more your style.
115 Harbourne Street, Wembley, WA
We hope these stunning features inspire you to draw on traditional Victorian architecture when designing your new home.
Guest author bio:
Larissa Gardner is a blogger, social media strategist and marketing coordinator at arguably Australia’s best-looking, banner-ad free real estate website homely.com.au. With a superb devotion to product innovation, user-centred design and innovative marketing platforms for real estate agents, homely.com.au helps millions of Australians find their next home easier and faster than ever before.
