The Edwardian House

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See also Strathfield Federation Charm
See also Federation Classic Inglewood WA
See also Federation Queen Anne style
See also Federation Elegance
See also Federation Furniture

The Edwardian period is also known in Australia as Federation. Houses built at this time draw on both Victorian and Queen Anne features. They follow a similar plan to Victorian houses. Many Mid-Victorian ornaments are still used, but houses are less ostentatious than in previous decades.^[1] The houses are similar to Queen Anne, however they have less ornamentation.^[2]

The Edwardian era is classified by the reign of King Edward VII (1900-1910).
As an architectural style, 'Edwardian' refers to the period 1901 to 1918.
As a period, it covers the years between 1901 and 1910.

Classic Edwardian home, except for the coffee table

The beginning of the Twentieth Century experienced tremendous technological and social change. The wonders of the modern world, which had only sprang into being in the 1880s and 1890's brought the first rewards of modern industrialization and mass-produced abundance. It was a time where Britain was at its imperial height and one in three of the world's population were her subjects.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Americans were experiencing new-found wealth and indulging in cuisine, fashion, entertainment and travel as never before.
Perhaps the Edwardian era was best captured in the Titanic, the grand ocean liner which embodied human progress, opulence, and the excesses of the time.

The Edwardian era is viewed nostalgically and often called the "Gilded Age". In Britain, it was a time of peace: sandwiched between the Boer War (1899-1902) and the First World War which broke out in 1914.

In the words of Samuel Hynes, it was a 'leisurely time when women wore picture hats and did not vote, when the rich were not ashamed to live conspicuously, and the sun really never set on the British flag'.
It was also a time of great inequality, in which the privileges of the rich were made possible by the labour of their servants, an age when the inequalities of wealth and poverty were starkly delineated and the conventions of class were still rigidly defined - there was a place for everyone and everyone knew their place.^[3]

Edwardian house in England

Houses had wider frontages so there was often more room for a hall; in larger houses this was even used as a living room: for example, it would be furnished with a desk and perhaps even a fireplace.

The underlying themes of buildings and interior design of the Edwardian era were for expensive simplicity and sunshine and air.
Colours and detailing were lighter than in the late 19th century, looking back to the Georgian era of a century before. The desire for cleanliness continues.
As gas and then electric light became more widespread, walls could be lighter as they did not get so dirty, and so looked better in the brighter light. Decorative patterns were less complex, both wallpaper and curtain designs were plainer. There was less clutter than in the Victorian era.^[4]

Timber edwardian house

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Corrugated iron edwardian house

Edwardian facade

Weatherboard edwardian house

Key features:

Externally, it is common to see red bricks or painted weatherboards
The roof is made from slate, terracotta, or corrugated galvanised roofing and is usually gabled in form, often with finials (decorative ornaments that emphasize the apex of the roof).
Many Edwardian homes also feature roof shingles, which is a type of roof covering consisting of overlapping flat tiles.
The windows are often timber framed and feature decorative leadlight.
These houses also contain timber ornamentation to the external facade which is much simpler in design than Queen Anne homes.^[5]

Corrugated iron edwardian house

Outside:

Roofs steeply sloped, usually hipped roofs with wide eaves, sometimes prominent, front facing gable ends
Walls of red brickwork with flush joints, sometimes with cream painted render to base and gable ends or in bands on larger buildings
Timber houses generally have square-edged or bull-nosed weatherboards, sometimes with incised weatherboards simulating blocks of stonework, painted cream
Return L-shaped verandahs, roofed with corrugated bull-nosed metal and generally embellished with timber details including fretwork
Windows often grouped
Sunshades, supported by timber brackets, are common on the north and west

Garden:

Fences commonly timber pickets, sometimes with a capping
Palms used and occasional native plantings
Lawns growing in popularity

Inside:

Victorian period ornaments such as plaster cornices, ceiling roses, skirtings and architraves still popular
Stained glass in front windows, featuring geometric and curvilinear shapes and sometimes native plants or birds
After the heaviness, clutter and dark colours of Victorian interiors, people wanted something new and cheerful. Edwardian style was a breath of fresh air.

Edwardian style epitomised by Downton Abbey TV series

Style
- fresh and light
- informal, feminine
- bamboo and wicker furniture
- flowers and floral patterns
- pastel colours
Influences
The names
- Thomas Sheraton - furniture - Thomas Sheraton (1751 – 22 October 1806) was a furniture designer, one of the "big three" English furniture makers of the 18th century, along with Thomas Chippendale and George Hepplewhite.
- René Lalique - glassware
- René Jules Lalique (6 April 1860, Ay, Marne – 5 May 1945, Paris) was a French glass designer known for his creations of perfume bottles, vases, jewellery, chandeliers, clocks and automobile hood ornaments. He was born in the French village of Ay on 6 April 1860 and died 5 May 1945. He started a glassware firm, named after himself, which still remains successful.
- Louis Comfort Tiffany - lighting^[6] One of America's most acclaimed artists, Louis Comfort Tiffany's career spanned from the 1870s through the 1920s. He embraced virtually every artistic and decorative medium, designing and directing his studios to produce leaded-glass windows, mosaics, lighting, glass, pottery, metalwork, enamels, jewelry, and interiors. As the son of Charles Lewis Tiffany (1812–1902), founder of Tiffany & Company, the fancy goods store that became the renowned jewelry and silver firm, Tiffany chose to pursue his own artistic interests in lieu of joining the family business.

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Drawing room, 1910

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A drawing room in 1910 - photography Chris Ridley

This represents the drawing room of a semi-detached house in Golders’ Green, one of the new suburbs of North London. These cottage-style houses included Arts and Crafts features such as a ‘living-hall’, oak fireplaces, simple mouldings and low ceilings. The French windows, which allowed direct access to the garden, ensured the room was light. Electric power was also a new feature in these houses.

A modern interior design based on the Edwardian style

Colour & Design:

Roofs usually terracotta tiles or corrugated metal often painted, sometimes slate
Gable ends ornamented with roughcast or pebbledash, left natural and battens painted a dark colour
Verandahs increasingly feature timber fretwork rather than cast iron lacework ornamentation

Edwardian wall design, Spelter figures, chair and ewer

Get the look

Furniture- Edwardian furniture would have been reproduction furniture to them so you can choose from a range of styles including baroque, rococo and empire. The wing chair is a typical shape. Choose upholstery in chintz, and damasks in pale colours.
- The eclecticism of Edwardian furnishings, mixing classic lines with curvilinear details, gave rise to a new approach in interior design, one less rigid and more global than previously seen. Edwardian furniture is less about a specific design and more about a time of great change and new attitudes. Unlike his more reserved and less social mother, King Edward loved to travel and even took an interest in those groups that heretofore had been without influence, such as minority groups and women. The mixing of styles, the borrowing from past and creating new, the brightening and lightening of materials and design, all point to a celebration of the mixing of cultures and of classes.^[7]
Wicker - bamboo and wicker furniture were also introduced in these period. You can still buy good quality wicker furniture today in a range of colours. If you find some in a junk shop and it's worse for wear, give it a new lease of life by spraying the paint on with a spray gun or aerosol. Don't brush it on as you'll clog up the weave.
Floors - highly polished wood block floors, with oriental rugs, look fantastic in a living room. If you already have wooden floorboards, make sure they're not yellowy pine as this will jar. Stain them with an oak-coloured varnish instead. For areas with more wear and tear, go for bricks in a herringbone pattern or red quarry tiles.
Wallpaper - choose wallpapers with a fresh, cheerful feel such as florals of roses, lilac, wisteria, and sweet peas, with trellises, ribbons and bows. Stripes are also typical - go for something simple but rich for dining rooms such as a gold damask and white, and candy stripes for bedrooms. It was considered too much to have both a dado rail and a frieze: most people papered up to the dado rail and then papered or painted the wall above that with plain paper or distemper.
Lincrusta - put up some lincrusta - embossed wallpaper - introduced in 1877. It has an almost rubber-like texture and comes in beautiful art nouveau designs. It is still being made today. It can be painted any colour although cream is probably best.
Fireplaces - fireplaces are smaller than Victorian ones. They had splayed sides with projecting iron or copper hoods and decorative tiles. Smaller versions are usually found in the bedrooms.

Crystal glass services, vases, and table decorations, china dinner and dessert services, china tea and breakfast services, toilet services

Catalogue of linoleums

Decorative suggestions

China, glass & lamp department

Substantial and inexpensive furniture

Encaustic and tesselated tiles, plain and ornamental wall tiles ... art decorated tiles to order

Spring curtains illustrated 1909: Lace curtains direct from the Nottingham Mills at Mill prices

Illustrated catalogue of builders goods manufactured and sold by O'Brien, Thomas and Company, Jan. 1893

Art & utility in gas fittings: > No. 326

Colour schemes - choose pastel colour schemes in the colours of flowers - primrose yellows, leaf greens, the lilac of wisteria, and grey. Living rooms can take darker colours such as dark green for fabrics and cream walls.
Lighting - electric lighting was just beginning to be introduced to the grander homes. Buy fabric lampshades in soft colours with frills and tassels. Use them on wall lights, table lights and even standard lamps. For a central light, look for a pendant fitting in smoked glass. Ceiling roses disguised the wiring for light fittings. Tiffany lamps or reclining female bronze figures are also in keeping.
Windows - hang pieces of lace at the windows and then add plain or floral curtains to co-ordinate with the walls. Alternatively put up a simple striped roller blind.
Cushions - take up embroidery and needlepoint and make some cushions with floral motifs in an art nouveau style.
Pictures - hang pictures on hooks but place them halfway down the wall.
Accessories - add Edwardian-style accessories such as early gramophones (the ones with the conical shells), tiered silver cake stands, and pretty silver photograph frames.
Flowers - echo the wallpaper with your choice of flowers. Try loosely arranged bunches of sweet peas, roses, and lilac. House palms are also typically Edwardian.

What to invest in

Royal Worcester china
furniture by Maples, Waring and Gillow of the period

Gillow & Company were an English furniture company, founded by Robert Gillow (1704-72) in Lancaster about 1727. During the nineteenth century, Gillows became the leading manufacturers of furniture for the rising middle and upper class market due to the quality of the materials used and craftsmanship in manufacture.