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What makes a house Victorian style?
It’s describing Victorian era architecture in the period of Queen Victoria’s
reign. The Victorian styles include Queen Anne, dominate from 1880-1910, Gothic
Revival 1840-1880, Second Empire 1855-1885 and Italianate 1840-1885. You’re
guaranteed to win a round of Trivia with this question.
It was common for American home styles
to follow style trends from England, but what also accounts for an abundance of
Victorian style homes in America was the building boom during the later
nineteenth century. Victorian homes were
the first product of our Industrial Age after the Civil War when munitions
factories were converted to make house parts. The factories mass-produced wood
trim for the decorative trim, porches, gables, towers and dormers.
Although Victorians are largely
made of wood, this was not always the case. In fact a large number of old Victorians
around the Midwest are built with patterned brick and stone, which was the
preference in urban neighborhoods.
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| DYINetwork.com |
What are the characteristics of
front entries during this period? Typically entry doors are rail-and-style wood
construction with raised panels. Commonly they’re designed with two panels with
the upper panel made of glass and decorative motifs. Four or six panel doors
will combine flat and glass panels. Generally speaking these homes have a porch
or a projecting pavilion above the entry door.
Wood or Fiberglass
Either material will be suitable to
create the Victorian style entry door look, however wood is preferable. In most
cases, the entry door is protected by a porch, which eliminates weather exposure
concerns. Second, wood can finished to mimic the same carved moldings
throughout the rest of a Victorian house. Expensive Fiberglass is an
alternative that will give the look of wood, but it’s unlikely you can match
the overall finishes to the home.
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| Finehomebuilding.com |
A very real challenge that most
homeowners face when selecting an entry door is translating their favorite
style photos into an actual door that will give their home the look. Selecting
just the right door for a Victorian style home presents this challenge in
spades because Victorian is a stylistic hodgepodge of classical decorative
elements – it’s expression is very individual. Bring photos into Woodland’s
showroom and we’ll show you the door profile and glass options you can build
from.
For example, a classic London
Victorian will have twin glass panels in the four-panel door. Jeld-Wen Custom Wood Glass Panel Collection or Simpson Door Selects Series offer the door profile to create this
look. Or if you’re looking for a single large glass opening the Therma-Tru Fiberglass Classic Craft Canvas Collection is a good place to start.
Glass
Use your imagination and design
away. Today the availability of glass options is as endless as the glass
expressions you’ll see on Victorian style doors and windows. Large single panes
of clear or etched glass, standalone or framed by square panes are universally
liked. Frequently you’ll see multi-paned
clear glass or colored glass insets. More elaborate use of glass includes stained
glass or beveled glass designs in a variety of motifs’. Check out Simpson Door for glass panel ideas.
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| London |
Hardware
You’ll have no trouble finding an
assortment of suitable hardware choices for your Victorian entry door. We
suggest you make your entry door hardware traditionally conforming, yet unique.
You can do this by observing the door hardware of yesteryear such as, an
oversized knob centered on the door or an address etched in the glass above the
door. The Victorian era was the romantic period – express yourself.
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