How to Draw a Victorian House

The task of drawing a Victorian house may seem complicated--they were, after all, meant to look as complicated as possible. Luckily, Victorian houses are all made out of standard geometric shapes (rectangles, semi-circles, trapezoids). When they are broken down into these shapes, drawing this type of house becomes relatively easy and straightforward. Note that the dimensions of the house are not fixed and can be changed as necessary.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Pencil
• Ruler

Instructions

1. Draw a rectangle, approximately 3 inches wide and 3 inches tall.

2. Draw a vertical line inside the rectangle, from the bottom to the top, one inch from the far left hand side. Now you actually have two rectangles touching each other. These two rectangles represent the left and right wings of the house.

3. On the left-hand rectangle, draw four or five straight horizontal lines at 1/16" intervals starting from the base. These lines represent the stairs up to the door.

4. At the top of the stairs, draw a double door, 3/4" tall and 1/2" wide. The door will be positioned in the center of the stairs.

5. Draw a trapezoid centered just above the door. The base of the trapezoid will be 1 1/4" wide and the top of the trapezoid will be 1" wide. The top of the trapezoid will be centered above the base of the trapezoid. This trapezoid represents the top of the porch, which overhangs the side of the house.

6. Draw two thin columns connecting the trapezoid to the stairs, one on the left and one on the right.

7. Approximately 1/4" above the front porch draw two windows 1/2" tall and 1/3" wide, with a semi-circle attached to the top of each window. The total height of the windows, with the semi-circles on top, will be 7/8" tall.

8. Draw a trapezoid above the left-wing of the house. The trapezoid will be 1 1/2" wide at its base and 1" wide at its top, and approximately 7/8" tall. The top of the trapezoid will be centered above the base. This is the roof above the left wing of the house.

9. Draw a trapezoid at the top of the right wing of the house. The trapezoid will be 2 1/2" wide at its base and 2" tall at its top. The top will be centered above the base and the trapezoid will be 1 1/4" tall. This is the roof above the right wing of the house. This roof will overlap the roof on the left wing of the house. The smaller roof should be erased where it intersects with the larger roof.

10. Centered in the roof above the left wing, draw a semi-circle for a window.

11. Centered in the roof above the right wing, draw two semi-circle windows evenly spaced.

12. In the right wing of the house, draw four pairs of windows identical to the windows described in Step 7. Two pairs of windows will be in the first floor (in line with the door), and two pairs will be on the second floor (in line with the two windows you drew in the left wing).

13. Draw details and embellishments as desired, now that the structure and basic appearance has been provided for you. Victorian houses basically can't get too detailed. The Victorians loved to cover their architecture and art with little swirls and cherubs and other flourishes. You may also wish to add a tower above the left wing, or a wrap-around porch along the bottom.