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Show .Page 4 r- - Home Maga4ne, HW aUW HERALDuFriday, July S, 19. . Victorian lite: Look of success but not overkill By DYLAN LANDIS Universal Press Syndicate Rooms stifled by wallpaper, windows shrouded in velvet, chairs fussy with antimacassars these are the claustrophobic stereotypes of the Victorian home. So it is startling to glimpse a cathedral ceiling, a few contemporary sofas, even the occasional bare wall in Ellen M. Plante's new book, "The Victorian Home: The lectors, with densely appointed rooms that visitors could not resist exploring (though if you happened to be waiting for the lady of the house, it was considered rude' to prowl). Material things were laden with meaning. and sou"Small venirs showed that you had the wherewithal to travel," said Plante. "Books symbolized a love of learning. Even artwork proved that you had good VW II t- - ol bric-a-br- ? IS Iji , till 9B St ? Oil. . - m m taste." Red velvets, gold draperies, gaudiness that's not Victorian decorating at all. It was really very tasteful. Ellen M. Plante Antique Author Grandeur and Comforts of the Victorian Era, in Households Past and Present" (Running Press, $24.95). "A lot of Victorian furnishings and accessories are so gorgeous, they can stand alone against a white wall," said Plante, a writer who specializes in antiques, during a recent interview. "Red velvets, gold that's not draperies, gaudiness Victorian decorating at all. It was really very tasteful. Every piece in a room had meaning, and was chosen with a lot of forethought." If this sounds like a modern ideal, consider that the Victorians started cocooning much as we did; toward the end of a century, on the brink of a revolution. (Theirs was industrial; ours is technological.) Home was an escape, and people were reverent about comfort, intent on bringing nature indoors. Many were passionate col But the books, paintings and objects on these pages don't just resurrect the decades when Queen Victoria reigned, from 1837 to 1901. Some of them add up to rooms that might best be called Victorian Lite. Victorian Lite is a Rococo Revival chair so effusively carved, it seems about to froth, but it's set against a noticeably bare wall that lets the chair breathe. It's a room where the windows are veiled by lace, but the lace falls straight from a roller blind. Or it's a home office whose high-tec- h sterility is tempered with h decor: a ceiling painted a light pastel; an Oriental rug under the desk. Note the floors in these photographs: A few are covered simply with sisal, over which floral. Oriental or needlepoint rugs might be layered for a richer effect. But nothing squelches historic charm faster than solid-colcarpeting, which didn't then exist. Solid colors, on the other hand, were often considered beautiful on walls particularly olive, terra cotta, claret or plum. If grace notes add romance to these rooms, tailoring often adds restraint. Indeed, the balance .seems , fairly easy to adjust. Instead of papering the walls with cabbage roses, for example, (See VICTORIAN, Page 5) 4" half-mode- rn AT O high-touc- or 1 Jbfr lectibles are marshaled into a period etagere instead of being scattered throughout the room. COUNTRY SWOODS CimUy Quality Townhomes and Condominiums 19th-centu- 20th-centu- photo, home of Mark and Ariene Oahl Rosen FelicianoTreelops Lass is more Recalling the late Victorian era, the windows wear simple panels of lace, and coi- - ry 1330 South Geneva Road 1 Spseeas Zrnif hwtotwM if'i ; Orem tptcate TmnbMts frM 114,488 DAVENCOURT TOWNHOMES Model Hours: 7 pm Mon-Fpm Sat. 4-- ri 1- Features: West 930 North Pi. Grove Priced at $105,500 - $110,900 Only 2 remaining in Phase I! 1150 3 large bedrooms 2.5 bathrooms central air bright open kitchen oak entry & railings fenced yard playground & equip. 2 or 3 bedrooms Open & spacious floor plans Lots of storage Decks & Patios Central Air Conditioning Laundry Rooms White on white G.E. appliances Townhomes With Fireplace Option Club House Basketball Court Play Ground Exercise Center Marketed by: Jeff Southard 235-999- 5 Rob McGovern 5 Osmond Real Estate 372-722- Of Trophy Homes ffimingYnr Tnut Every Dty Central Dealt VX |