How to Decorate a Home Office in Victorian Style

Pull together an efficient, comfortable and nondistracting home office while keeping within the dictates of Victorian style.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Canvas Floor Cloths
• Tassels
• Oriental-style Area Rugs
• Ceiling Lights
• Chairs
• Curtains
• Desk Chairs
• Desk Lamps
• Desks
• File Cabinets
• Framed Mirrors
• Marble-topped Tables
• Nightstands
• Pictures
• Wastebaskets

1. Modify a Victorian-era kneehole desk by hinging the lap drawer's front - the drawer can then pull out as a platform for the computer keyboard. Or select a reproduction style, such as a rolltop desk with cubbyholes for the telephone and computer equipment as well as a keyboard tray.
2. Choose a chair with comfort as your first priority. Depending on how frequently you use the home office, you may want either an antique wooden office chair that tilts backward, a recent reproduction or a modern-style office chair.
3. Reduce the clutter usually found in Victorian rooms, which would be distracting in the office environment. This includes the pictures and mirrors (Victorian favorites) on the wall; select just a few favorite pieces, which may be in elaborate frames with gold curlicues.
4. Put a low-pile Oriental-style rug on the floor (make sure your chair can roll on it). A painted canvas floor cloth is another option - it could be a trompe l'oeil Oriental motif with faux tassels or a design evocative of a needlepoint-floral look.
5. Dress a window with a swag treatment, possibly with a tasseled cord draped in front of the swag, and then use companion tassels as tiebacks for the curtains. Curtain fabrics include velvet, damask and lace.
6. Stash metal file cabinets in a larger cabinet or closet. Or buy a file cabinet that fits Victorian styling, such as one with a hand-painted Asian or floral motif, or use a wicker file box.
7. Set the printer or fax machine on a petite marble-topped night table or carved occasional table if your desk won't hold all the equipment.
8. Light the desktop and room adequately. A banker's lamp (brass with a green-glass shade) works well on desks; ceiling-fixture options include multibulb styles, with faceted-crystal or frosted-glass shades.

Tips & Warnings

• Go all out with a marble-topped center hall table or paw-footed antique oak dining table as a conference table, if you need one. Chairs could be mismatched oak antiques, or pointy-topped Gothic revival styles.
• Be creative with the wastebasket: Make it a decoupage Oriental design or an elaborate wicker basket, or recycle a period antique such as an umbrella stand.

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