Classic Victorian #1

I have an interest in houses from the Victorian era. I own several books on Victorian house designs, and have spent hours of "reading room" time perusing elevations, renderings, and floor plans. There are some designs that I would like to model, but since they don't usually provide enough views, it's very hard to fill in the missing details.

This house design isn't particularly authentic, though I've tried to make the exterior authentic enough for most.

The Front

I particularly like this design, though I'm not sure exactly what about it appeals to me so much. Whatever it is, I feel very much right at home when I look at this house. Minimally, among all the designs I've done, this one is definitely one I could live in. Though it's also true that I like very clean, "post-modern" designs, I have a warm spot in my psyche for the Victorian style.

The Victorian style originated and was named because it came into vogue during the reign of Queen Victoria of England. The style itself originated there, and was of course imported to America by British immigrants. I won't provide a complete history here, but within the Victorian style there are several sub-styles. This design doesn't match any of the sub-styles, exactly. But, just to review, here are some of the more common characteristics of the Victorian style:

• Three floors, all finished. (Though this third floor is rather small.)
• Wrap around porches covered by a roof.
• Round "towers" or "turrets". This house has three, though only the one in the back right (you can see it above on the left) would be considered a tower.
• Octagonal (8-sided) rooms, usually on the corner.
• First floor raised above ground. This feature is not particularly Victorian, but a first floor 5' to 8' (with a grandiose stairway ascending to the front door) were common.
• Gingerbread (scalloped shingles) under the gables. You can see this feature prominently on the roof gable in the front.
• Shutters, bullet windows.
• Corbels. This design has them every 4 feet under each roof eave and/or at the corners of the roofs.
• Large, prominent fireplaces and chimneys, with masonry decoration at the top of the chimney. I would have made this chimney more decorative, but the CAD program is somewhat limited.
• Transoms over the doors. Note that I did not place transoms over interior doors. The ceilings are too low.
• High ceilings, usually 10 to 12 feet (sometimes more!). These ceilings aren't at traditional heights. This is one area where I have deviated from the more typical design.
• Extensive (usually dark) woodwork throughout. This design does have the kind of sumptuous woodwork that would make a turn-of-the-century builder proud. These days the cost for such handcrafted work would make the price exorbitant.

The Garage & Back Porch

Some things worth noting:

• At the back right corner is the covered back porch. Then men would come in from working through this door, and they would remove their dirty coats and work boots in the rear entrance foyer before going into the house proper.
• There is a full basement under the house. Across the hall from the rear entrance foyer is a smallish storage room where the stairs lead down to the basement. The laundry would be in the basement, but I have not included the basement plan here.
• Off the kitchen is a hobby/crafts room (I was reminded of when the women in the household used to sew). In any event, this room would be where mom can go when she wants to get away from the kitchen (but not too far).
• Small half bath, somewhat uncharacteristic of Victorian homes. In a traditional design, there might only be one bathroom in the whole house, and it would probably be upstairs.
• Large, central island kitchen. The stove is in the island, somewhat unusual, but not unheard of. I thought the rounded cabinet ends was a nice touch, but they are definitely not traditional.
• The front porch wraps around the living room and there's a side door into the kitchen. Friends would come to call at the kitchen door. Strangers would, of course, knock at the more formal front door.
• Small, round breakfast nook off the kitchen in the back.
• In the back at the end of the hall opposite the kitchen is the formal dining room. The curved front of this room is the outside edge of the large tower.
• Forward of the dining room is the library/office. Bookshelves line the exterior wall, here, and desks adorn the interior wall.
• A round formal parlor is in the front right corner.
• Large stairway leading up to the family room at the top of the stairs, and a large fireplace to the right of the front door.
• The living room is octagonal, and I've placed wainscoting around its perimeter.

On the second floor (below), you might want to note the following:

• There is a large, open family room centrally located on this floor. It also has a fireplace.
• There is an octagonal bedroom over the living room. This might be a guest room.
• In the front right is a narrow bathroom with a claw-foot tub.
• The tower has a bedroom, and the entire back of the house is occupied by the master suite.
• Note that the master bath is large and contemporary, though the master bedroom is more traditionally sized. Closet space is also more typical of older homes, when people didn't have so much of their income tied up in fashion.

And, there's a third floor, as well:

• There's a bedroom in the tower, study behind.
• The bathroom (a bonus!) is small, but in front of it is a small exercise area tucked up under the main gable. The feel of this floor is decidedly contemporary, but third floors were quite common, as well.

Now for a few images ...

This is a straight-on front shot at night, showing the warm, inviting glow of this large, comfortable home.

This is a bird's eye view looking back toward the living room and the front octagonal bedroom. That's the gravel driveway there running behind the house. The garage, as is shown in the image above, is separate from the house, as was more common in earlier eras.

This is a night view of the kitchen and breakfast nook. The dormer in the middle is the master bath. The dormer on the right is the master bedroom. The small dormer on the third floor is off the small study.

Here we are looking through the dining room toward the library and parlor beyond. The dining room is not large, but large enough for eight people to eat in comfortably. Larger get-togethers would require that some guests eat in the breakfast nook.

The kitchen in all its glory. This looks toward the front of the house, and the kitchen door. I chose marble countertops to complement the dark walnut cabinetry. Of course, all the appliances are white, as they should be.

This looks from the kitchen door toward the breakfast nook. I think the white tile with blue diamonds is evocative of the era. I like it, anyway.

If you sat in the parlor and looked toward the living room, this is what you'd see. I almost didn't include this image, but it does show the built-in cabinets in the library. I forgot desk chairs, but I did include a couple of desks.

Standing inside the front doors, this looks toward the main staircase. To the right is the central hall, and note the built-in floor to ceiling cabinets that line the hall. You can never have too much storage, or too many places to put things.

The fireplace and formal living room. Need I say more?

This is the last image, and it shows the master bath. I wanted to include this image because it shows the skylight over the spa tub. Of course there is a tiled shower, in case you're in a hurry and don't want to run a bath. And I do like the white tile with blue diamonds.