In My Lady's Chamber

Re-Create The Mood Of A Victorian Bedroom
With Intimate Details And Personal Touches.

Downstairs rooms in a Victorian house - the parlor, dining room and even the entry hall - were decorated with an eye to making a good impression on guests. A general atmosphere of baronial splendor was the goal; rich, deep colors, heavy draperies and massive furniture, preferably in the latest mode and preferably mahogany, were the order of the day.

But the bedroom was a private space, so everything didn't have to be new and shiny, as long as it was comfortable and functional. If one could afford the latest furniture and the grandest scale, all the better, but generally, bedroom furnishings and accessories were chosen for usefulness, prettiness and sentimental value.

After all, for most women, the bedroom was definitely the most personal room in the house. Quite apart from being the place where those activities Queen Victoria referred to as "the secret side of marriage" occurred, it was also a lady's sleeping quarters, her dressing room, her powder room and, until indoor plumbing became common, her bathroom.

And, in an era when most people began and ended their lives at home, it was here that children were born, slept beside the bed until they outgrew their cradles, and were nursed through their illnesses; for many women, its familiar and well-loved objects were their last sight on earth.

Times have changed, it's no longer necessary for your bedroom to fulfill all those functions -- and in some cases that's probably just as well. (A separate bathroom is undubitably what Martha Stewart calls "A Good Thing.")

Besides, nowadays, few of us have either the space or the budget to decorate with all the furnishings the Victorians considered essential: a matched "suite" of furniture, consisting of a bed, two nightstands, a dresser and an armoire -- and sometimes a chiffonier and wash stand, as well; a dressing screen and perhaps a fainting couch, to say nothing of the large mirrored dressing cases, bureaus, chests, trunks and wardrobes needed for storage because 19th century houses had no built-in closets.

Of course, you'll want your furniture to include a few period pieces, but whether you decorate with replicas or the real thing, it is possible to re-create the atmosphere that made 19th century bedrooms so inviting. The secret is amassing all sorts of personal items that might have been found in any Victorian bedroom.

Here are a selection of ideas for intimate details to inspire you when you decorate: