Gothic was an architectural style predominant throughout the middle ages, from the fall of the Roman Empire until the Renaissance in the early 15th century. In the late 18th century, aspects of the style were used for interiors and known as ‘gothick’ along with rococo but in a romantic, frivolous way with no real historical basis.

Get the look

If you already live in a property with exposed wooden beams, you’re halfway there for that medieval style look. The Victorians added faked beams. Fireplaces were large and imposing and usually made of limestone or elaborately carved wood. Choose a surround which has a pointed inside arch.

Lighting: Try to emulate the candlelight of the authentic medieval ages. Look for huge metalwork chandeliers in black wrought and wall sconces in wrought iron and brass.

Cornices: Elaborately carved with ribbing and lattice work shapes.

Walls: Painted in stone colours, either flat, or to resemble stone with a paint effect. Create recesses or niches in your walls and give them the pointed arch shape. Hang a medieval style tapestry on your wall attached with simple wooden battens.

Wallpaper: Ornate, typically red and gold and heavily patterned look for naturalistically depicted flowers and foliage. To get the effect of powdered ornament (evenly spaced motifs), make a stencil and stamp on your design with gold metallic paint.

Flooring: Choose from large flagstones or fake the effect with clever stone blocking, which is a paint technique. Floorboards can be stained a dark oak colour with wood stain.

Furniture: Try to pick up old church furniture. Choose chairs and screens in designs with pointed arches. Buy sturdy, hefty furniture such as huge oak dining tables and chairs with barely-twisted legs.

Stained glass: This was an important part of the Gothic style because of its church connotations.

Accessories: Plates and suits of armour. Cover every available surface with ornaments and particularly stuffed animals in glass domes; place pairs of porcelain dogs at either end of the crowded mantelpiece.

Victorian style

Queen Victoria’s reign was a time of great change in the home. Mass production meant more goods were available for purchase. The newly emerging middle classes took immense pride in their homes which they saw as a reflection of status. The Victorian age was the age of imitation and reproduction. Every style from Gothic to rococo was revived.

Influences

Gothic-masculine preserves such as libraries and billiard rooms were built in the Gothic style.

Rococo: the frivolous feminine style was popular for ladies’ bedrooms.

Travel to places like Japan and India brought back an oriental influence on design. The industrial revolution meant that new techniques such as lamination and electroplating were introduced. World trade opened up.

Get the look

Lay on patterned carpets with faded grandeur — leaving a border of polished floorboards and floor cloths; a canvas painted with oils while many layers of linseed oil can be used for less grand rooms.

Tiles: For areas with heavy traffic, such as halls and kitchens, the best flooring is enthusiastic tiles (where the pattern is baked on in a kiln). Victorian ones are usually highly patterned.

Rich dark colours such as ruby reds and forest greens are typical. The Victorian colour palette was quite limited because chemical processes were still developing; purple and blue came in by the middle of the century.

Furniture:  Should literally be overstuffed. Look for plump armchairs with button backs, easy chairs, pouffees or ottomans. Crowd the room with furniture.

Fabrics: Highly patterned. Use velvet and damask for the winter and exchange with muslin, cottons for the summer.

Moulding: Made from paper mache and stuck on, rather than being an integral part of the wall. For other decorative Moulding any style goes from Gothic to rococo and feather to classical urns. Paint them the same shade as or one tone darker than the ceiling.