The gateway into a home is often a hall, and it is the first impression people get of the inside. Hallways in Victorian homes were no different, however there were different lifestyles and requirements back then, so adapting a hallway in a Victorian house for contemporary use can pose a few challenges.
As with the rest of the public rooms in a Victorian home, the halls are full of architectural features. Regardless of whether you want to keep the style of your hall conventional or give it a contemporary slant, your design will show more integrity should you operate with those lovely features. Vestibules, stained glass, dark wood panelling, dados and tiled flooring were usually dark and extravagant, but they can easily be adapted for contemporary tastes.
CWB Architects
The vestibule is a common characteristic in grand Victorian homes; it was frequently utilised to show standing. This little room connected into the front hall was also used to decrease the impacts of the cold and of the dust thrown out of horse-drawn carriages.
Aside from being operational, it’d the aesthetic intention of reducing what was generally a very long and narrow hall. The interior door to the hall could have had exceptionally decorative glass to let through the little quantity of light, given by a fanlight over the front entrance. It’s a handy space today, but if you keep it, keep practicality with easy-clean floor and ensure your interior door lets in the light. Consider bespoke stained glass to match together with the hall design.
Tim Barber Ltd Architecture
The narrow Victorian entrance hall normally has doors into the sitting room, dining room and kitchen. This design doesn’t naturally lend itself to the preference for open-plan living, especially since a lot people favor letting more natural light into our homes. With modern heating and insulation, we’re much less concerned about dust and loopholes from the front doorway, so opening doors can be a simple solution.
This hall has a partly glazed paneled door at the end. The door to the sitting room could also be removed completely, making a wider opening. This isn’t entirely out of step with the Victorian era, as the Arts and Crafts movement of the time did introduce the”living hall,” a space that replaced the formal drawing room.
www.LUXURYSTYLE.es
The Victorians favored hard-wearing substances, so many Victorian Gothic-style homes used encaustic tiles from the hall. Original encaustic tiles frequently incorporated colors of crimson and brown with yellow and white patterns, but today’s tiles are available in many colours and designs. Employing these tiles can add a genuine and magnificent feature to your hall.
Jennifer Hulse Design
Victorian homes, especially the grander ones, frequently used dark wood paneling. Dark wood doesn’t work that well with more modern designs, but timber can look fantastic painted white and paired with a bolder color on the walls. Here, the painted paneling used with the white and wood staircase adds interest and width to plain walls in a narrow hall, which is typical of this age. If you are installing paneling from scratch, then keep true to Victorian style and be sure it is elegantly beveled.
If you like your paneling and the Victorian age’s love of the dramatic and dark, try this contemporary take: Paint the paneling a fashionable matte dark gray but add a burst of color.
LDa Architecture & Interiors
This hall looks wonderfully modern and bright, with the first attributes painted bright white, and the accession of great lighting and an antique rug. The black doorway grounds the entire space.
Michael Robert Construction
Chances are, your Victorian home has wooden staircase in the front hall. Stair runners and sticks remain a standard yet attractive approach to treat them. However, if your staircase is narrow or cheaply designed, fitted carpets may be a better solution.
If you have encaustic tile in your hall, plain carpeting in a similar tone can work well. If you have a wooden floor, then you have a huge range of styles to pick from. To get a modern slant, try a bold geometric rug with plain walls.
DISTINCTIVE APPLICATIONS Kimberly Wohlfarth,Artist
Anaglypta paper was a common hard-wearing choice in the latter half of the 19th century. This wallpaper was exceptionally decorative and painted in dark, extravagant colours — and it frequently showed up on the ceiling also. It isn’t a particularly common choice for a modern inside, but since it is really difficult to remove, you could try hand painting the paper in a modern color to attain an interesting finish. Since most people do not spend much time in the hallway, you can use a profusion of colours and patterns.
Rick Hoge
In Victorian homes, drapes served a very practical function in keeping out drafts. It may not be necessary to utilize them for that purpose nowadays, but they are able to add texture and drama into a space. These drapes help frame the opening into some other room, making a beautiful way to introduce the plan from the next room.
Rebekah Zaveloff | KitchenLab
Finally, do not be afraid to mix new and old — it can work superbly. This staircase was probably once all dark timber, but painting the balustrades whitened and adding the white console table and sculptures really gave this Victorian hall a modern spin.