x
  • Home
  • House Tours
  • Homemaking
  • Miniatures
  • About
  • Contact
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Little Victorian

Little Victorian

DIY Interior Design

  • House Tours
    • Little Victorian
    • The Mid Century Modern
    • The Mid Century Cape Cod
    • The Cabin
  • Remodeling
    • Before and after
  • Decor & Furniture
  • How to decorate
Home › Uncategorized

Victorian or Victorian?

June 18, 2014by Christina
Victorian is not exactly our preferred style.  It, like every other style, is beautiful in its own way, but it’s not our favorite.  We never looked for any particular style of house when shopping, just one that we both loved and saw great potential in.  And in spite of Victorian not being our favorite, we […]

Victorian is not exactly our preferred style.  It, like every other style, is beautiful in its own way, but it’s not our favorite.  We never looked for any particular style of house when shopping, just one that we both loved and saw great potential in.  And in spite of Victorian not being our favorite, we both fell in love with this house right away.  It didn’t make sense to me at the time, because at the time, I didn’t realize that there were many types of Victorian homes.

Once I learned what type ours was, it made perfect sense.  What I always pictured as a “Victorian” was actually the Queen Anne type of Victorian.  The beautiful, highly detailed, ornate, rich-looking homes.  Like Nicole’s at Making it Lovely, or this:

Queen Anne
San Juan Capistrano Kitchen & Bath Designers The Kitchen Lady

I’ve mentioned it before, but ours is a Folk Victorian.

Our Folk Victorian
Old picture–the porch and flower bed are too messy for a new one right now.

The difference, in a nutshell, between a Queen Anne Victorian and a Folk Victorian is that the Queen Annes were built by the upper class and the Folks were built by the middle class.  Hence, the smaller size, less ornate details and lack of towers in the Folks.  This suits The Hubs and I much better (except for the tower–I’d really, REALLY love a tower).

Queen Annes were often designed by actual architects, but since the middle-class had a smaller income, they generally hired a local carpenter to mimick the look of a Queen Anne in a simplified and affordable way.  This is why our house had things like 4 inch floorboards, whereas a Queen Anne often has boards between 2 and 3 inches, and simpler, more Craftsman style moulding, verses fluted moulding and rosette corners.

Folk Victorians are also sometimes called Victorian Farmhouses.  And in the area we are in, ours was likely a farmette house.  But the more and more we uncover of the original architecture of our home, the more it feels like a farmhouse.  And that, we love.

FacebookTweetPin


Removing 130 years of gunk from the hardwood floor (part 1)

Organize paint colors in a decor file

Decorating file

About Christina

I'm a full-time web developer with a dog sitting business, home renovations, and a blog on the side.

Reader Interactions

Join the Conversation Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I have a question
I have a suggestion
I did this!

  1. [email protected]

    That was very interesting as I knew nothing about the difference! I think I like Victorian famrhouses better.

    Reply
    • Christina

      Me too, but your house is closer to my dream house.

  2. Sue Silva

    It’s so pretty. Will you be replacing the front door?

    Reply
    • Christina

      Thank you, Sue! Ahh, the front door… I have to write a post on it someday. We still had the original (and amazing) front door when we moved in, but it was so warped that it wouldn’t close. Literally. So we had to replace it with this builder grade door. We really, really wanted to replace it with something pretty and simple like the original, but the doorway is only 32″ across, and they just don’t make front doors that small anymore. I may or may not have cried when we put the original on the curb.

      So, very sad to say that the new builder-grade door must stay. 🙁

  3. Sarah

    Can i send you a picture and you tell me if you think this house is a Victorian farm house?

    Reply
    • Christina

      Yes! I’d love to see. [email protected]

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I’m Christina.

Little Victorian is your place for inspiration, education, and encouragement for how to be your own interior designer and decorator, and how to carry out your big plans yourself too.

It starts with psychology, then artistry, and ends with power tools. None of those are scary, and you really can do it.

Read More

Sign Up

See more from:

Meet the Prairie House

Re-painting the kitchen cabinets

How to strip paint with a heat gun

Kitchen open shelving brackets

Beautiful brackets

  • Email
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Go back in time:


Level-up today!

Please Note

As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Links

Home
About
Contact
Privacy Policy & Disclosure

Copyright © 2023 · Little Victorian · Website by Meyne