Victorian Era Tidbits:
"The Victorians associated the clutter of ornamentation and ostentatious display with wealth and so crammed their homes with furniture, bric-a-brac and pianos to show their refinement and taste. Home interiors were quite dark with busily patterned wallpaper. From a picture rail hung oil paintings, etchings, engravings, silhouettes, water colours, stitched needlework samplers and hand embroidered reproductions of famous paintings. Sunlight was kept out of the already dark room by layers of blinds, lace curtains, velvet drapes, and side curtains in dark colours. The brass ringed curtains hung on great poles, but often remained drawn on bright days. Clutter of furniture and ornaments was reflected in the huge looking glasses. Furniture and shelves were covered with fringed, beaded cloths and runners. The more a home could be over filled with china, domed wax flowers, stuffed birds, trinket boxes, the more homelife could be reflected in mirrors, the more it showed its owner had arrived to the full Victorian lifestyle."    (Information from www.fashion-era.com/homelife_changes.htm)