From the bedroom to the parlor, every room in a Victorian home presented its challenges. The Victorian objective was to create, in every room, a setting that was both functional and attractive. The room needed to be warm in winter and cool in summer. Furniture needed to be comfortable and functional. Many Victorian home magazines recognized that their readers were decorating on a budget, so articles abound on how to achieve these goals inexpensively, often with a host of DIY tips on how to make attractive and useful furniture out of such items as packing crates, or how to hand-decorate cheap furniture to make it more decorative. This section also introduces the idea of a "snuggery" - a room or a corner for the Victorian lady to read, write, and generally "retreat" to that is her very own. (Tempting as it is to try to organize this section by room, I've decided to leave it chronological to show how decorating styles changed through the Victorian period.)

The Parlor (Peterson's Magazine, 1865)

How Shall I Furnish My Bedroom? (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1875)

How Shall I Furnish My Dining Room? (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1875)

How Shall I Furnish My Drawing-Room? (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1875)

A Country Parlor, by Margaret Harvey (Demorest, 1879)

The Girls' Own Bedroom, by Madame Coralie de Lorraine (Girl's Own Paper, 1880)

The Girls' Own Entrance Hall and Staircase, by Madame Coralie de Lorraine (Girl's Own Paper, 1880)

How the Girls Arrayed Their Sitting-Room, by Madame Coralie de Lorraine (Girl's Own Paper, 1880)

My Workshop at Home (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1880)

Our Guest-Chamber, by Grace Benedict (Demorest, 1880)

The Drawing Room, by Madame Coralie de Lorraine (Girl's Own Paper, 1881)

A Family Ice-House, by Charles Barnard (Century Magazine, 1883A)

How to set up an ice-house so that you can keep ice all year long.

The China Room, by Katherine Armstrong (Demorest, 1885)

On the Decoration of a Bedroom (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1886)

How to Decorate a Girl's Sitting Room, by Fred Miller (Girl's Own Paper, 1887)

On the Decoration of a Boudoir (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1887)

Charming Rooms (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1888)

The Bed-Rooms and Bath-Room, by Edward Willis Blakeley (Demorest, 1888)

The Garret, Attic Chamber, Porches, Etc., by Edward Willis Blakeley (Demorest, 1888)

A Boy's Room, by Harriet Francene Crocker (Ingalls' Home Magazine, 1889)

The Dining-Room, by Harriet Francene Crocker (Ingalls' Home Magazine, 1889)

A Girl's Room, by Harriet Francene Crocker (Ingalls' Home Magazine, 1889)

A Luxurious Snuggery (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1889)

The Brightening of Three Dreary Back Rooms (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1891)

How to Furnish a Drawing Room for 18 Guineas, by Florence Caddy (Girl's Own Paper, 1891)

The Drawing-Room Floor: How I Found It and How I Left It, by Bertha Vaughan Dawes (Girl's Own Paper, 1892)

My New Drawing-Room (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1892)

Our Schoolroom, by Mrs. J. Nicholson Shearman (Girl's Own Paper, 1892)

Dressing-Tables for Girls' Rooms, by James Thomson (Ladies' Home Journal, 1893)

The Girls' Own Snuggery, by Bertha Vaughan Dawes (Girl's Own Paper, 1893)

How to make even a small room beautiful, at minimal expense.

An Old Maid's Sanctum, by Edith Long Fox (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1895)

My Boudoir, by Lady Bloomfield (Girl's Own Paper, 1897)

Containing artworks, majolica, marble sculptures and Viennese china figurines, this is probably not representative of the "average" girl's boudoir!

"My Room" Competition Prize Winners (Girl's Own Paper, 1898)

Readers describe their favorite room.

The Prophet's Chamber [The Guestroom], by Isabella Fyvie Mayo (Girl's Own Paper, 1901)

On the best way to arrange a guest-room.

See also

• Hand-Made Furniture

• Do-It-Yourself Décor