Victorian Kitchen Design: How to Decorate for that Victorian Look

Victorian design is a style choice that many people enjoy in their home decor. Here are some tips to add Victorian design elements to you kitchen. Modern kitchens have conveniences that Victorian kitchens did not, such as electricity and indoor plumbing. Keep the conveniences, while adding some Victorian romance and charm. Victorian kitchen design can give the kitchen a romantic look , while retaining modern convenience. The Victorian kitchen was a simple room, furnished with simple pine or oak finishes and open shelves. The kitchen in authentic Victorian homes was a simple, utilitarian room. According to an article on Victorian Station, the kitchen consisted of a network of rooms. The cast iron coal or wood stove was at the heart of the kitchen. The scullery was a room off the side that was used for washing dishes. Additional kitchen rooms w could have includes a storeroom, larder and butlers pantry.

Victorian kitchens did not have built in work counters. Food was prepared on a large table that was centrally placed. The utensils were kept in shallow drawers beneath the table top. Open shelving, racks and small cupboards display utensils. Victorians enjoyed having everything visible.

Victorian kitchens featured a wooden ice box, which was a box containing a chunk of ice. Kitchen floors were marble, tile or hardwood. The floors were left bare or covered with rag rugs. Kitchen walls were painted a light color. Windows were draped with fabrics made of brocade, lace, muslin or netting. Bare windows would have a stenciled border.

If you have a traditional kitchen, it is not necessary to tear out the conveniences that you have become used to. If the cupboards are perfectly good, it is not necessary to tear off the doors to reveal open shelving. Instead, add touches of Victorian to give the kitchen charm and grace.

Following are some tips to give the kitchen a Victorian charm. Pick and choose the ideas you like. Look at catalogs and magazines for pictures and additional ideas.

Flooring

Victorian homes had tile or hardwood flooring. Ceramic tile can also be used if preferred.

Paint the Walls a Light Color

The kitchen gets brightened with a light shade, such as antique white.

Paint Existing Cabinets a Light Color

White or light colored cabinetry gives the kitchen a light, clean look. Replace cabinet hardware with decorative hardware.

Purchase Victorian Style Cabinets

If placing new cabinets in the kitchen, choose a simple Shaker or Mission style design. Simple cabinets blend well with Victorian design elements.

Victorian Appliances

Reproduction appliances give the kitchen an authentic Victorian feel. Cast iron stoves and stove tops can be found at antique stores, at appliance warehouses and on the Internet. Whether you want to invest in vintage appliances is a personal choice. Vintage appliances give the kitchen an authentic Victorian look, bu they can be costly.

Pots and Pans

Hang pots and pans from a rack or from hooks hung on a wall or from a ceiling. Pots and pans and Utensils can be hung out in the open as well. Cast iron or copper pans are good choices.

Spice Rack

Hang a decorated wooden spice rack, with the bottles of spices displayed on the wall.

Stencil the Windows

It is easy to add a Victorian style lace stencil pattern the window. Use a stencil with a lace pattern. Secure the pattern on a clean window. Spray the window with white spray car enamel. Make the stencil pattern by drawing a lace design on a piece of stencil cardboard. Cut out the pattern. Tape the stencil onto the window. Mask off the area at least 20 inches around the window, using brown paper and masking tape. A can of white car enamel paint can be sprayed on the window. Once the paint dries and the stencil is removed for the window, the glass will have an attractive frosted pattern on it. (From The Complete Home Decorator).

Hang Sheer or Lacy Curtains

Give the windows a romantic look with Victorian curtains. Victorians used lace, netting or muslin on the windows. Purchase lace curtains or make them yourself. Large fabric stores often sell lengths of lace with holes already in them that are just right for pushing a curtain rod through them. Measure the window. Purchase a length of lace that is twice the width of the window. Push the rod through the holes in the lace. The curtains are ready to be hung on the window.

The look of a Victorian kitchen can be achieved by incorporating a few Victorian design ideas. Victorian design can be achieved as a do it yourself project.

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