A "cottage" in the leafy suburbs was the Victorian ideal, but many a real Victorian lived in a city rowhouse with tall front steps and party walls. These tall, narrow houses come with fantastic plasterwork, gorgeous stairways -- and some decorating problems that you won't find in a free-standing house. Solving these problems without violating the house's Victorian character can be a challenge, especially if you're not ready or able to embark on a full-scale restoration.
Exposed Pipes
Thanks to a 1919 renovation, our 1864 rowhouse has almost as many exposed pipes as Pompidou Center. Wood frame houses have room to hide pipes and wires by opening the walls and running the services through the space within the frame. Brick walls with lathe and plaster don't have this space. Reframing the walls can destroy the proportions of the room (this was done in our bedroom, resulting in weirdly recessed baseboards and molding), and it's an expensive project. So the pipes are there to stay, unless we want to give up heat, electricity, and the upstairs bathroom.
The most tactfully Victorian approach is to paint or paper the pipes to "disappear" into the wall. If you have a good eye and a steady hand, it's worthwhile to continue stencils, wallpaper borders, and the ceiling molding color across the pipes. (The wallpaper is wrapped around the pipe, of course. You can see this effect in this pre-purchase photo of our dining room.) The best "disappearing act" comes from a small wallpaper pattern on both the wall and the pipe.
If your camouflage act is imperfect (perhaps a previous owner papered the wall and painted the pipes, and you don't have any leftover wallpaper), put a large plant in front of it. A rubber tree, or a fern in a stand and a fern in a hanging basket, follows the Victorian fashion for indoor plants. Or try a birdcage on a tall stand. Or, if all else fails and space permits, put a folding screen in front of the troublesome pipe.
Windowless and Basement Rooms
Many rowhouses are three rooms deep, which means that the center room has no windows and receives no direct natural light. Upstairs modernizations usually put bathrooms or closets in this position, but you may have a lightless back parlor or dining room on your main floor. It's also common for rowhouses to have a basement kitchen or a basement rental unit. Light into a back basement room may be blocked by a "scrap wood special" of a porch and mud room that you're not ready to rip off the house.
Exposed Pipes
Thanks to a 1919 renovation, our 1864 rowhouse has almost as many exposed pipes as Pompidou Center. Wood frame houses have room to hide pipes and wires by opening the walls and running the services through the space within the frame. Brick walls with lathe and plaster don't have this space. Reframing the walls can destroy the proportions of the room (this was done in our bedroom, resulting in weirdly recessed baseboards and molding), and it's an expensive project. So the pipes are there to stay, unless we want to give up heat, electricity, and the upstairs bathroom.
The most tactfully Victorian approach is to paint or paper the pipes to "disappear" into the wall. If you have a good eye and a steady hand, it's worthwhile to continue stencils, wallpaper borders, and the ceiling molding color across the pipes. (The wallpaper is wrapped around the pipe, of course. You can see this effect in this pre-purchase photo of our dining room.) The best "disappearing act" comes from a small wallpaper pattern on both the wall and the pipe.
If your camouflage act is imperfect (perhaps a previous owner papered the wall and painted the pipes, and you don't have any leftover wallpaper), put a large plant in front of it. A rubber tree, or a fern in a stand and a fern in a hanging basket, follows the Victorian fashion for indoor plants. Or try a birdcage on a tall stand. Or, if all else fails and space permits, put a folding screen in front of the troublesome pipe.
Windowless and Basement Rooms
Many rowhouses are three rooms deep, which means that the center room has no windows and receives no direct natural light. Upstairs modernizations usually put bathrooms or closets in this position, but you may have a lightless back parlor or dining room on your main floor. It's also common for rowhouses to have a basement kitchen or a basement rental unit. Light into a back basement room may be blocked by a "scrap wood special" of a porch and mud room that you're not ready to rip off the house.
 |
 |
The copyright of the article Decorating Your Rowhouse... BEFORE the Rehab in Victorian Decorating is owned by . Permission to republish Decorating Your Rowhouse... BEFORE the Rehab in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
