Common features of an Edwardian house (2024)

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What are the characteristics of Edwardian houses? ›

Edwardian houses are known for ornate decorative details, including floor tiles, stained glass, and timber, as well as large rooms with high ceilings.

Typical details of Edwardian Baroque architecture include extensive rustication, usually more extreme at ground level, often running into and exaggerating the voussoirs of arched openings (derived from French models); domed corner rooftop pavilions and a central taller tower-like element creating a lively rooftop ...

An Edwardian-style house typically has a tiled roof, often made from terracotta. It's all about those quirky, not-quite-symmetrical rooflines with pointy bits, fancy designs like bay windows, some artsy plaster pieces, and sky-high ceilings, those are the elements that make it stand out.

Edwardian houses are 1-1/2 storey with a very steep-pitched front-gabled roof above an integral porch and (typically) saddle-bag dormers. The roof skirt gives a strongly triangular look to the gable and usually frames a sleeping porch.

The Edwardian period was known for elegance and luxury among the rich and powerful in Britain but also for moral looseness and for a general failure to prepare for some of the challenges of the twentieth century — particularly World War I , which broke out four years after the death of King Edward.

The Edwardian period marked a peak in British building standards and homes have a reputation for being well designed and constructed using high-quality materials. People buying an Edwardian home can have a period property without the worry and maintenance costs that older properties can sometimes bring.

The interiors of Edwardian properties typically feature high ceilings that create a sense of spaciousness. This design element contrasted with the lower ceilings often found in Victorian houses. Edwardian houses aimed to create brighter and more open interior spaces.

As with Victorian and Georgian designs, Edwardian doors were made up of several panels. These panels were enhanced with elegant mouldings, while contrasting colours were often selected to create a tonal front door finish. As glazing became more affordable, stainless glass panels also became commonplace.

What are Edwardian colors? ›

To capture the essence of an Edwardian interior, consider using colours like soft pastels, pale blues, delicate pinks, and muted greens. These colours evoke a sense of tranquillity and sophistication that was synonymous with the Edwardian era.

Edwardian furniture tends to be more free-spirited, rejecting the restraint of the previous Victorian period as a result of Edward VII's love of fashion and the arts. Colours also changed as the style moved away from the darker shades of Victorian furniture toward lighter colours that created a less imposing look.

Wide hallways: typically wider than the Victorian houses that came before them, and larger, brighter rooms. Off road: Edwardian houses were set back from the road, to cater for a desire for privacy. This means they have front garden space (in addition to back gardens).

The Edwardian era was a pivotal time in design history and while taking inspiration from the Victoria period, Edwardian's favoured simpler styling. Classic bathroom designs of the time (1901-1910) valued light and open spaces, simple patterns and colours, as well as the necessary luxury finishing touches.

Edwardian homes tend to be shorter than equivalent Victorian residences, partly because the middle classes who lived in these homes had less of a need for servants, unlike the Georgian the Victorian generations before them. Gone were the cellars and the second floors, but in came larger halls and spacious gardens.

The Edwardian era stands out as a time of peace and prosperity. Britain's growth rate, manufacturing output and GDP (but not GDP per capita) fell behind its rivals, the United States and Germany, though the nation still led the world in trade, finance and shipping, and had strong bases in manufacturing and mining.