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Victorian modern : a design bible for the Victorian home / Jo Leevers, Rachael Smith.

by Leevers, Jo.

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Thames and Hudson, 2023.

747.094109 L487v

Interior decoration -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.

Decorative arts, Victorian.

Antiques, Victorian.

9780500024041 (hc.)

239 p. : col. ill. ; 27 cm.

"'While the Victorians saw decorating their homes as a way to conform, we are free to... create rooms that invigorate and express our individuality,' according to this elegant volume, which showcases modernized Victorian homes that retain some of their original character. Interior stylist Leevers (Global Style) explores the common architectural features of Victorian houses and how contemporary owners have updated them, explaining that modern open-plan designs that 'integrate cooking, eating and entertaining' update partitioned Victorian floor plans that were meant to codify the 'rigid gender and class divides of the day.' Leevers notes that entryways of the era were often 'skinny room with little natural light' and shows how interior designer Mairead Turner brightened up her entrance hall by painting the staircase light blue. Kitchens used to be secluded but now often function as the hub of family life, as seen in one home that turned what had originally been a conservatory and family room into an expansive kitchen with 'a breakout seating area centred around a wood-burning stove.' Photos of the vibrant interiors are a treat, and historical tidbits enliven the proceedings (during the late 19th-century vogue for wallpaper, Queen Victoria had 'all of the green wallpaper in Buckingham Palace stripped out' after discovering it was likely toxic). Colorful and informative, this delivers."--Publishers Weekly.

Jo Leevers is a writer, editor, and stylist. She works regularly for Livingetc, Elle Decoration, the World of Interiors, Stella, Homes & Gardens, The Telegraph, The Guardian, and The Observer and is the author of Global Style. Rachael Smith is a photographer who studied under Mark Power, winning the Nagoya Award for artistic achievement for her degree show. She works regularly for the World of Interiors, House & Garden, Elle Decoration, Homes & Gardens, and leading magazines in Europe and Asia. Her work has been published in several interior design books, most recently The House of Glam.

Smith, Rachael (Photographer).

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