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Edwardian Bedrooms
The Edwardians believed that bedrooms should be spacious, airy and light. Walls were painted in pale hues and were often left white. Wood panelling would be painted white and if wallpaper was to be hung, floral motifs with a small repeat were common. More modern households might have used wallpapers with black backgrounds, particularly in bedrooms with a dual purpose, business work for example.
Floors were usually wooden or parquet covered with Oriental, Persian or Turkish rugs
Typical dolls house furniture in an Edwardian bedroom might include: -
- Washstand (with tiled or curtained splash back and marble tops)
- Jug and bowl (This would have become less common as bathrooms became installed in separate rooms)
- Wicker chairs
- Small bedroom fire with over mantel and mirror
- Bedroom suites in warm wooden tones,
- Dressing table with drawers and mirror
- Wardrobe with central opening door with full length mirror on door front
- Chest of drawers
- Bedstead
- Writing table
- Bookcase
- Comfortable chair
- Shaving set (for a gentleman)
- Lamps
- Soap dish
- Sponge bowl
- Hat box
- Luggage
- Blue and white china
- Toilet sets (including brushes, powder, powder puff, cosmetics, trinket and jewellery box, hand mirror, pomades, curling tongs, glove stretchers, button hooks, hat pins, medicine chests)
To add a feminine touch, bedrooms became accessorized with curtains, cushions, chair covers, mantelshelf borders and bed hangings, all of course in floral chintz or cretonne.
White furniture and enamelled furniture became de rigueur. It was seen as clean and practical at a time when the Edwardians were becoming increasingly obsessed with hygiene. Iron bedsteads would become very common
Bedroom suites were put up for sale. They might contain a bedstead, wardrobe, dressing table and washstand with a couple of chairs. Larger sets included a couch, mirror and pedestal tables. There was a hankering for yesterday and period furniture began to be resold. There was a thriving market for four-poster beds, tall boys, chests of drawers and the old washstands.
Fitted furniture became more commonplace to make the most of small spaces and to hide unsightly items like washbasins and chamber pots
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