Victorian House Styles and Examples (2024)

FAQs

What are the different types of Victorian houses? ›

The Victorian Society is a membership charity which campaigns for Victorian architecture. In the United States, Victorian house styles include Second Empire, Queen Anne, Stick (and Eastlake Stick), Shingle, Richardsonian Romanesque, and others.

Victorian homes are usually large and imposing. Wood or stone exterior. The majority of Victorian styles use wood siding, but the Second Empire and Romanesque styles almost always have outer walls made of stone. Complicated, asymmetrical shape.

Queen Anne and Eastlake

The two styles are similar in massing and picturesque quality, and differ primarily in type of ornamentation. A Queen Anne building is noted for its extensive use of curvilinear, slender profile forms, whereas the Eastlake is often noted for its geometric, more massive forms.

These homes often have 2-3 stories, with the living spaces, kitchens, and study rooms typically residing on the bottom floor while the bedrooms typically reside on the upper levels. Another notable and grand aspect of these homes is the presence of large, extravagant staircases.

“Recognizable characteristics are steep, tiled roofs, painted brick, bay windows, and asymmetrical design,” Dadswell says. “Wooden floorboards, plaster cornicing, sweeping staircases, wooden sash windows, and tiled entrance hallways would have been incorporated into most Victorian homes.”

Like the Queen Annes to come, Stick style buildings generally exhibit a strong vertical emphasis, with tall windows, multiple stories, and surface ornament reaching skyward along with sharply pitched roofs and monumental towers. More than Queen Annes, however, Stick style buildings are angular.

Some of the main features of the Folk Victorian style include: porches with spindlework detailing, an l-shape or a gable front plan, details or inspiration from the Italianate or Queen Anne style. It is often identified by basic or simpler details with asymmetrical floor plans.

Edwardian houses are similar to Victorian homes—which came slightly before—in some ways but are overall less ornate and more airy in design. They have a history of being seen as homes for the wealthy and are therefore considered to be grand and ideal for entertaining.

“Large staircases, big mantles, big fireplaces, and closed-off rooms mark a historic Victorian home,” says Small. In addition to these features, they usually have: High ceilings with crown molding or ornate trim.

Edwardian buildings are basically post-Victorian residences similar to the Queen Anne style in form and massing but lacking ornamentation.

What is the difference between Queen Anne and Georgian style? ›

Georgian: A more decorative version of the Queen Anne style with heavier proportions, elaborately carved cabriole legs terminating in a pad or ball-and-claw foot, ornate carvings, pierced back splats, and the use of gilding. Named after George I and George II who reigned over England from 1714-1760.

One of the best-known examples of American Queen Anne houses is the Carson Mansion, located in Eureka, Calif. Revival Queen Anne houses (known as just Queen Anne today), are often called Victorians because they were in vogue during the reign of Britain's Queen Victoria.

The most common Victorian style is Folk Victorian. The classic Victorian styles (Gothic Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Stick Style, Romanesque Revival, and Shingle Style) were created by professional architects, and were built mostly by the well-to-do.

Victorian houses were designed with high ceilings to give the illusion of generous space, even in smaller terraced properties, while the quality of wall and ceiling mouldings was directly related to the status of the house. The more ornate, the grander the home.

Speaking of color, the quintessential Victorian home's exterior is comprised of at least three colors; some have as many as nine different hues and shades. Darker colors are meant to enhance unique architectural details, and outlining windows lends character to the home.

Edwardian properties

So, unlike the smaller, darker Victorian homes, Edwardian houses were more squat, wider and roomy, with bigger hallways and more windows. It's common for an Edwardian property to have a front garden and be set back from the pavement, as there was an ever-increasing desire for privacy at that time.

Tudor-style homes stand out from other historic homes with their steeply pitched gable roofs, elegant masonry and stonework, and stately wooden beams set in a stucco or stone facade. The half-timber beams are typically placed vertically, but they are not load-bearing.