Some of the most impressive moulding available is Victorian moulding. People typically associate crown moulding with the Victorian style, and with good reason. Victorian moulding was highly popular for a long time, thanks to Victorian style houses. These houses appeared in the mid 1800s and continued on well until the 1900s.
Victorian homes can often have their own distinct personality while the overall style has a similar flavor. Many of the features in a Victorian home include steep roofs, turret towers, bay windows, ornamental spindles and brackets, and interesting as well as complicated asymmetrical shapes. If you know you have a Victorian home, you may already have Victorian moulding and be well acquainted with its features, should you ever need to replace it. If you don’t have a house that is distinctly Victorian, but it may match well with Victorian moulding, consider these three things before making a final choice.
1. It can be beautifully ornate or deceptively simple.
Victorian moulding is interesting in that it can have many layers or just a few. The more ornate pieces can be large and include several indentations or waterfalls. They can really bring out certain areas, such as doorways and windows. They can bring a kind of grace into a room, reminding visitors of a time gone by where opulence was highly regarded. Larger, older homes often do well with Victorian moulding. Due to its place in history, Victorian moulding tends to be associated with the past. But there are some pieces that are simple and can work for newer homes as well.
2. Some people layer crown moulding for the same effect.
Victorian moulding is popular and highly sought after by some due to the beauty it can bring into a room. But because some people aren’t sure if they want to buy entire pieces of moulding, they often take pieces of crown moulding and layer it to produce a similar effect. The results can look much like Victorian moulding for less money, though it will not be authentic. Likewise, there is additional work involved to piece the different parts together. Doing so can be tricky and cumbersome. For people doing the job themselves, it may well be worth the money to get a single piece to install instead of layering many.
3. Only get Victorian moulding if you know for a fact it will work in your home.
New homes with a modern look or houses with a completely different style overall are better off without Victorian moulding; otherwise, the results could be quite awkward. Get a sample piece to see how it might look in your home before making any final decisions.