The Victorian Hallway
The entrance hall to a Victorian house changed in importance throughout the period. It started out as a functional room, serving as a conduit between the outside world and weather and the other rooms in the house. Towards the end of the period the status of the hallway had grown and it was decorated as much as any other room. It was the first room that visitors would see. Therefore it had to contain all the signs of wealth and social status that reflected the status of the family who lived there. Increasingly luxurious materials started to be seen, - exotic woods, bronze, marble, ceramics and bamboo.
As entertaining became de rigeur. the hallway became grander and more opulent. By the end of the era, reasonably sized homes had large hallways, sometimes with a fireplace, curtained archways and grand doorways through to the other public rooms. In the middle class homes halls were still moderately dressed to differentiate from the working class home that had no hallway at all.
Hallways were often decorated in dark and sombre colours including browns, and greens. They would be furnished, but not too comfortably, guests would quickly be ushered into the drawing room. Hall furniture might include:-
- Mirror
- Glove box
- Lidded seat or hard backed chair
- Bench or stool
- Hall table
- Rug
- Umbrella stand
- Chest
Accessories would be carefully selected to be ornate and substantial:-
- Vases
- Barometer
- Table lamps
- Fern in pot
- Clock
- Visiting card tray
- Family picture
- Etchings and silhouettes
- Bronze statues – wildlife was very popular
In the UK, geometric floor tiles in shades of red, buff, terracotta were popular, they were hardwearing, hygienic and easy to clean. Lincrusta below the dado and dark woodwork, either stained or painted were common. Doors began to be fitted with (stained) glass to allow some light through to an otherwise dark living space.
In the United States styles became less formal towards the end of the century. Walls were split into three sections. A lower section below the dado displayed a particular design. A central section between the dado and the top section might display a second design. A freize ran around the top up to the cornice. Woodwork would be pained or stained in dark browns
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