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8 Victorian Drawing Rooms for Modern Living
Whether you remodel it for an open plan or keep it intact, a Victorian drawing room can graciously adapt to modern needs
Houzz Contributor. Based in Cambridgeshire, U.K., Julia Pockett is founder Director of Sujiivana Design Ltd (http://www.sujiivana.co.uk), an on-line emporium of home accessories and of interior design services. Specialising in affordable design, Julia has worked on projects including full property refurbishments, individual room designs and home staging.
Houzz Contributor. Based in Cambridgeshire, U.K., Julia Pockett is founder... More »
The drawing room, essentially the lady's "withdrawing room," was usually the main public room of a Victorian home. These rooms were feminine, comfortable and hospitable. Places for receiving guests, they were platforms to show off one's wealth, culture and taste. Items, pictures and decorative items from the Victorians' newfound love of travel were constantly added to the space, resulting in the busy or cluttered style we associate with the era. Colors were strong and blended, with graduated tints from walls to ceiling creating a dominant effect.
In modest middle-class homes the drawing room may have been the only reception room, and therefore doubled as the adults' sitting room, directly off the hall next to the dining room. While size would have been commensurate with affluence, for most ordinary folk it was not a room of great proportions.
The use of the drawing room in your Victorian home will depend on your needs, but here are a few tips for modern adaption.
In modest middle-class homes the drawing room may have been the only reception room, and therefore doubled as the adults' sitting room, directly off the hall next to the dining room. While size would have been commensurate with affluence, for most ordinary folk it was not a room of great proportions.
The use of the drawing room in your Victorian home will depend on your needs, but here are a few tips for modern adaption.
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by Ben Herzog
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| Here we can see how a traditional middle-class Victorian layout has been adapted for modern living. A long, thin entrance hall would have opened to the drawing room on the right, then a separate dining room would have followed by the kitchen at the end. This conversion really opens up the space while still having clear sitting, dining and hall areas. The drawing room would have had a fireplace, but this has been removed and replaced with practical wall units; the dining room fireplace has been kept. |
While modern homeowners often prefer open plan living, there is a lot to be said for separate rooms for separate activities. This lovely room has the proportions of a modest Victorian drawing room and is being used as a sitting room. Modern, pale, neutral colors and a large light-reflecting mirror promote a feeling of space.
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Large sash windows were common in Victorian drawing rooms. Please don't replace them with modern casement windows — only hardwood replicas will do! If you are keeping your drawing room separate, consider blending drapes with walls, as the Victorians would have done. The lack of contrasts enhances the feeling of space in a small room.
| Some Victorian homes had bay windows, typically three sided. As the drawing room was often at the front of the house, it had the benefit of the extra space provided by the bay. As drawing and dining rooms are being opened into much more usable modern spaces, the bay can be put to great use with a circular dining table placed to follow its contours. Or, as you can see here, a desk from which you can see the world pass by works beautifully too. |
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by Lucienne Carlo
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| French doors were not a feature of a modest Victorian drawing room, but introducing them where there is access to a terrace or conservatory can give you additional living space and get more light into your small room. |
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We should cover the more affluent homes too, where the drawing room was bigger and probably not the only reception room. This size gives you more scope to have a family room with comfy sofas, a TV and books while keeping the traditional use of the drawing room as a more formal adult space too.
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| Here we have another grand home, where it looks like the morning room has been opened up into the drawing room. The morning room would have been the larger of the two and traditionally faced east to make the most of the daylight. Opening the rooms up here has created a wonderful light, dual-purpose space — very practical for modern living. |
In homes with two or more reception rooms, the drawing room is usually a spare, since it's often the smallest. Without the major upheaval of conversion or removing walls, it is the perfect size for a really comfortable study. I love the use of the library wallpaper in the recess here — it creates a great feeling of depth.
Dark wood trim
Dark wood trims with blue
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Dark wood trims with blue
Ideabook updated on Nov. 4, 2012.
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Our old house's sitting room had a bay window. During most of the year we kept in it a side table flanked by two small chairs. During Christmas though we kept a grand Christmas tree in the bay window. It looked great and was very welcoming for guests.
I am looking forward to when I can reclaim our small sitting room from our kids. Right now it's full of oversized blocks, a tunnel and a giraffe tent which makes for a very nice presentation when visitors come over. I want to put an upright piano in there along with cozy chairs and ottoman for reading in front of the fireplace on chilly days.
The larger ones usually had a front parlor and a drawing room. The front parlor was where strangers were left to cool their heels while the family member they had come to see was being notified.
The drawing room was where close friends were entertained, and where the ladies withdrew after dinner.
Back in the U.S. I see so many colonial and arts and crafts home where the trim is left untouched. So much of it is pine, which isn't special at all. If it's chestnut or another more exotic wood then I'd think twice about painting it but in most cases it is pine. I'm renovating a barn conversion now. The old part of the house had all unpainted trim and painting it has turned it from a low light, sort of depressing area into something brighter and cleaner feeling. The only wood left are the original ceiling and wall beams. Since the rafters in the great room had been replaced, it was sprayed all white and turned from a big dark room into a very bright one that I want to be in all the time. Paint!
We have unpainted woodwork throughout the house. The 1st floor was stripped of its beautiful shellac in the 80's to a honey oak. The parlor sliding doors were left undone -- oh I wish the rest of the woodwork had been left alone. I re-shellacked all of the 2nd floor Douglas fir trim in a renovation. Couldn't bring myself to paint over it. Kind of wish I had though. So I know what you all are talking about.
Thanks for sharing - I thought I was the only one with these minor frustrations.
But the turret is perfect for the 9ft Xmas tree!