Victorian design is one of the most appealing interior design styles. It is dominated by oversized and ornate furnishings, arched doors, rich color palettes, wood flooring, wall paneling, fancy curtains, crown modeling, chandeliers, fireplaces, and much more. Victorian style adds the flavors of romance, drama, and glamour to any interior design. When it comes to Victorian décor, more is more. This style takes its name from Victorian era, 1837-1901, after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, who reigned during this time.
Colonialism and Orientalism were at the height of British fashion during the 19th century, and you can clearly see that they drew their inspiration from everywhere the United Kingdom had colonies or did trade with, from the Caribbean to South Africa to India and further east. These themes aren’t one we want to emphasize, as we want to appreciate cultures from around the world rather than appropriate them. However what we can do is focus on the essentials of Victorian style and bring them from the 19th century into the 21st century, educating ourselves with its history without glorifying it.
Basic Essentials of Victorian Design
Let us break down the essential Victorian interior design elements that a home office must have and how you can incorporate them into your home office.
Architectural Features
Victorian home office design, or really any room done in a Victorian style, will highlight the architectural features of your space. Arched doors, ornate fireplace mantles, intricate wainscoting, solid wood flooring, and decorative moldings and trim-work are essential.
If your space lacks these naturally, consider spending a weekend adding to DIY large baseboards, decorative crown molding, or wainscoting. It can be done on a tight budget, especially if you already have a saw, a tape measure, staple gun, and possibly a ladder at home. And if you do not, see if there is a sharing, borrowing, or “Buy-Nothing” group in the community to borrow some of these tools for the weekend. Then all you would need to purchase then would be the trim itself, ether paint or stain in the color of your choice, and some caulking to close up any gaps against the wall. This small weekend projected will have enormous impact once you’re finished.
Lighting
As with everything in Victorian style, more is more. Therefore you want a massive amount of natural light and to highlight your windows with ornate curtains to frame them. Stained glass was one of the trendiest ways for Victorian socialites to show off their wealth, so adding stained glass transoms above doors or decorative small windows was the height of class in the 19th century.
In addition to highlighting windows and stained glass, you will also find ornate chandeliers, wall sconces, and all manner of accent lights, from fancy floor lamps to adjustable metal task lights to intricate candelabras. This is a perfect moment to hunt for or incorporate already existing antiques from your collection into your office décor.
Antique Office Furniture
Victorian style is known for its oversized and embellished furnishing. It mostly opts for jewel tones or floral textiles in a combination with golden or silver metal accents to enhance the beauty of its dark wood and intricately carved furniture. Victorian furniture also includes tufted fabric often on sofas, chairs, or accent pillows.
You can create a perfect Victorian inspired home office by using an antique Victorian writing desk as your main office desk. Your office chair should be almost as ornate as your desk. If you’re struggling to find the perfect vintage piece to reuse as your office chair, consider repurposing a dining room chair as your main desk chair, as it can be easier to find a chair with elements like a high back or tufting under “dining room” than under office when searching for key words.
Finally, consider adding an entertaining space or living room- like space to your office, if space allows. Furnish it with extra plush seating, a coffee table, and accent chairs to host clients, important meetings, or just make your Zoom environment more luxurious.
Storage
Storage is a key factor of any room, and a Victorian house was no different. Multiple storage options are one of the perks of Victorian style, because although Victorian design is luxurious and ornate, the Victorians were nothing if not practical. Take advantage of this by adding vintage console tables, antique wardrobes, vintage vanity tables, and antique bookcases for the perfect storage solution. This way your office space remains functional but put together.
Vintage Office Décor
When decorating your Victorian inspired home office, you want to balance this “more is more” mantra with not over cluttering. Focus on a few key areas to create a warm and inviting space. Ornate area rugs will, lush curtains, and textured throw pillows will depth and dimension quickly. Wall paper is another easy place to add drama and personality. If you’re worried about it being overwhelming, keep it to an accent wall or only on the top half of the walls above the wainscoting.
Your color palette might run warm and dark, especially if highlighting the dark wood tones of your space. Earth toned paints and jewel toned fabrics will provide balance throughout your office.
Gilded mirrors, an old wooden clock, and framed art will continue the drama throughout your office space. Decorate your bookshelves and mantel with family heirlooms, old photographs, classic books, and a pair of candlesticks. This is the time to incorporate any tchotchkes or souvenirs from your travels or trips to the antique store into your office décor.
But don’t confuse highly decorated for highly cluttered. Everything must be carefully considered. No shelf nor drawer was wasted with clutter or trash. Each object has its purpose, a home, and when not in use, put back appropriately. The moral here is to decorate with intentionality.
Benefits of Victorian Design
Victorian style not only takes your interior design to the next level, but also can have the benefit of making your home more functional. Its classy accents create an inviting look and its decorative element lets you fully express yourself. Victorian style also blends well with other interior designs and its elements don’t look out of place when combined with other home décor styles. These perks are going to help you even more if you are planning to design a Victorian office.
Lots of Storage
Victorian interior design comes with plenty of storage options. You can easily incorporate storage in the form of console tables, antique wardrobes, wall-to-wall bookcases, and vintage storage cabinets. This is perfect for spaces that lack closet space to store your paperwork or supplies. Victorian writing desks or secretary desks come full of drawers to store all your writing implements and documents to keep you well organized and clutter off your desk.
Blends with Other Styles
Victorian style elements can work well with any architectural style even, if your home itself is not Victorian. You can do this by adding vintage furniture, art, or antiques to complement the other styles of your current home décor. Adding small touches throughout the space will give the hint 19th century design without overwhelming your space or fully committing to it. This can also make the Victorian style more economical as you can thrift or shop secondhand for the right accents for your home office space.
Extremely Expressive
Another perk of having a vintage style is that you can truly express yourself. As it is often said, “your home is the reflection of your personality.” All the elements of décor within your home express a lot about your personality. From the window treatments that you choose to paint the walls to the use, or lack thereof, of indoor plants reflect much about your personal style.
Similarly, Victorian style celebrates your interests by highlighting what speaks to you and lets you fully express yourself. You can freely follow your instinct while choosing your office décor without fearing it is too much because more is more. Go for your favorite bold wallpaper or gilded frame wall art because you love it. Put that antique clock or favored candlesticks on your shelf because it makes you happy when you see them. Do not be bashful with your home office ideas. This is the time to be courageous and show off what you’ve collected over the years.
Conclusion
With much of the workforce now working from home, many are struggling to create functional and inspirational workspaces within their homes and Victorian style has something special to offer. Choosing to make a Victorian inspired home office allows you to create a warm, productive, artistic space simply by adding a few, or all, of its richest elements to your office décor. Its a balancing act of classic, if opulent, elegance and severe practicality that dramatically elevates your space.
If you’re looking for more Victorian home office ideas or inspiration, check out out Pinterest board for more. Comment down below if you’ve taken the leap and redone your home office with any of our Victorian inspired ideas.