Victorian homes emerged between 1830 and 1910 and includes sub-styles such as Gothic, Queen Anne, & Folk.

Constructed for beauty and entertaining, Victorian homes tend to be fanciful and ornate.  They can be complex in design with large porches, turrets, bay windows, and multi-faceted rooflines, creating asymmetrical harmony.  Lavish layered details like turned posts, gingerbread trim and patterned shingles, stained glass windows, and bright colors are typical.

The décor for a Victorian home can range from Farmhouse (Folk Victorian) to Maximalist Traditional (Queen Anne), full of collected antiques and vintage furnishings, rich colors, Persian rugs, wallpapers and claw foot tubs. Owners love to collect period antiques and stay true to the era and architecture of the home. Typically passionate about preservation, Victorian owners take great care in restoring and maintaining their homes.

Victorian houses are like snowflakes, with no two exactly alike. There are, however, several important types, each with its own distinct features.

Queen Anne

This exuberant style represents the quintessential Victorian. Named after an 18th century English queen, the style is characterized by elaborate trim, a complicated roofline, and expansive porches that wrap around the front and side of the house. A home with a round tower or enormous round bay windows is almost certainly a Queen Anne.

As the name suggests, this is lavish queen of the Victorian era homes.  Called the Painted Ladies, these homes have all the fanciful and ornate details, painted in bright colors.  Inside you’ll find stained wood, grand staircases, pocket doors, parlours and sun rooms.  Traditionalists and Maximalists rejoice in a Queen Anne!

• Steeply pitched, irregular shaped roof
• Dominant front facing gable
• patterned shingles
• Bay windows
• Asymmetrical facade
• Partial or Full-width porch
• Towers
• Roof Cresting
• Finials
• Spindlework
• Free Classic
• Half-Timbering
• Patterned Masonry

Stick

Stick Victorian is a transitional style that links the Gothic Revival with the Queen Anne. It is another free adaptation of Medieval English architecture, grown out of the picturesque movement.  Emphasis was placed on patterned wood walls and decorative half timbering.

• Front facing Roof Gables
• Steeply pitched roof
• Decorative trusses
• Exposed Rater tails
• Wooden cladding
• Stickwork
• Diagonal or Curved porch braces

Gothic Revival

Gothic Revival homes are inspired by the cathedrals of medieval Europe. The exterior window moldings are arched, forming a point at the top. Some Gothic homes are imposing estates constructed of stone. Others are modest wooden cottages. The term “Carpenter Gothic’ describes a wood frame home with brackets, spindles, jig-saw patterns, and other wooden decorations.

A nod to Medival Europe with details borrowed from cathedrals and castles. Pointed arches, steep gables, finials, lancet windows, tracery and towers distinguish these homes.  Décor can be French, Vintage or Traditional.

Décor can be French, Vintage or Traditional.

• Steep pitched roof
• Cross Gables
• Decorated Vergeboards
• Windows in Gables
• Lancet (pointed arch) windows
• Tracery
• Finials
• Towers
• One story porch
• Gothic arch porch supports

Folk Victorian

The simplest of the Victorian era homes, defined by decorative detailing on simple folk house forms, which are much less elaborate than other styles. Built during the time of the the railroads and the invention of the heavy woodworking machinery.  the designs became accessible to more people outside the cities, with smaller budgets.  Smaller and more clean lined, these homes are perfect for Farmhouse or Cottage styles of décor.

• Porches
• Spindles & Spandrels
• Sawcut trim
• Cornice brackets
• Queen Anne & Italianate & Gothic detailing

Italianate

While most Victorian houses have steep roofs and irregular shapes, houses in the Victorian Italianate style tend to be rectangular and fairly symmetrical. Sometimes called the “bracketed style,’ Italianate houses have low roofs and wide eaves with large ornamental brackets.

• Low pitched roof
• Square cupola or tower
• 2-3 stories
• Decorative brackets under wide eaves
• Elaborate window crowns

Second Empire

Considered very modern among the other Victorian homes, Second Empires style was popular 1860-1880, mostly in the northeastern and midwestern states.  The style imitated the latest French building fashions, including the distinctive Mansard roof.  The unusual roof shape provided extra living space on the upper story and also gave American homes a dignified European flavor.Stately and formal, these homes would look great dressed in Traditional or French country decor.

• Mansard Roof
• Dormer Windows
• Molded Cornices
• Decorative Brackets
• Cresting along Roof Line
• Cupola
• Projecting Central Pavilion
• Quoins
• Paired Entry Doors

Shingle

Sided mostly in wooden shingles, these houses are rambling and informal. They may be shaped like Queen Anne houses with wide wrap-around porches, but they have much less ornamentation. Shingle houses are most often found in affluent coastal resort areas.

• Continuous wood shingle wall cladding and roofing
• Asymmetrical facades
• Irregular, steep roof
• Cross gables
• Extensive Porches

Stick

A stick style home would be relatively plain if it were not for the fairly complex exterior cladding. Vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and crisscross boards are applied over the façade, creating interesting patterns that may resemble medieval half-timbering.

The simplest of the Victorian era homes.  These are the later versions, built after the railroads and the invention of the scroll saw,  the designs became accessible to more people outside the cities, with smaller budgets.  Smaller and more clean lined, these homes are perfect for Farmhouse or Cottage styles of décor.

Eastlake

During the Victorian period, the English architect Charles L. Eastlake wrote about furniture and other interior design details. The Eastlake style in architecture uses the type of brackets, scrolls, spindles, and other elaborate woodwork he described. Hallmarks of the style are beaded spindles, jigsaw wooden forms, and massive lathe-formed columns and balustrades. You may also find some Eastlake details on other styles such as Queen Anne, Stick, and Carpenter Gothic.

Folk or Vernacular

Modest farmhouses and cottages constructed during the mid-1800s and early 1900s do not fall easily into any distinct Victorian style. These simple homes were built according to the traditions handed down through generations. Ornamental trim and other surface details give these homes their Victorian flavor.

The simplest of the Victorian era homes, defined by decorative detailing on simple folk house forms, which are much less elaborate than other styles. Built during the time of the the railroads and the invention of the heavy woodworking machinery.  the designs became accessible to more people outside the cities, with smaller budgets.  Smaller and more clean lined, these homes are perfect for Farmhouse or Cottage styles of décor.

• Porches
• Spindles & Spandrels
• Sawcut trim
• Cornice brackets
• Queen Anne & Italianate & Gothic detailing

Richardsonian Romanesque

Popularized by the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson , Romanesque houses are constructed of rough hewn stone. These castle-like houses feature round Roman arches at the entry or over the windows. Like Queen Anne houses, Romanesque homes often have round towers and large porches.

• Rounded arches
• Masonry walls
• Squared stonework
• Towers with Conical Roofs
• Deep reveals
• Recessed balconies
• Gabled wall dormers

Neo-Victorian

The Victorian era ended with the arrival of the 20th century, but some modern day builders use Victorian ideas and reproduction trim on brand new houses. With curved towers, patterned shingles, wide porches, and other 19th century details, these neo-Victorians (or, new Victorians) are especially appealing to those who want the flavor of the past with the convenience of contemporary floor plans.