Johanne: I enjoy reading your e news info. It seems that you usually mostly comment on Victorian or Mission style houses. We have an Edwardian farm house (totally authentic/original state) that we bought 4 years ago, and am trying to get information on this era from a house/gardening perspective. There is one book that I found and bought, but I don’t hear much about this era from a decorating perspective. The farm house had two additions added on and they were done similar architecture including internal finishing, so that most folks don’t even realize they are not original (the previous owner was a heritage contractor. His carpentry/fine detailed work was excellent, different story on electrical/plumbing/heating though).
If interested, one of the things we did when we purchased this property was to install computer wiring throughout house (and no, you can’t see any wiring), as well as upgraded power, etc., but we are now investigating have our property water-turbine powered since it is a former grist mill. Fyi, we are technology consultants and run our business from our hobby farm. We took a two storey garage that was on the property next to the stream, etc., and converted to high-tech home offices. Our design in the “Annex” is very modern and high tech, while the farm house is the Edwardian part….I am trying to paint/decorate it authentic, with little no technology so it is a psychological break for us. If you have any ideas/links you could send that would be great!
Dear Roberta: You are absolutely right when you say there is very little on Edwardian homes anywhere. There are a couple of reasons for this:
- Edwardian homes technically refersto the period that King Edward was on the thrown – 1901 (when Queen Victoria died and he became King) until 1910 when he died. It is essentially English terminology and as such means more in England than it does in North Ameraica (although in Canada we still refer to homes being Edwardian because of our connection to England). There is a good book that I can recommend. It is called Edwardian House Style by Hilary Hockman and yes it is a British book. I find it to be a good book because it has excellent examples of antiques that I have sold when I had my antique store and interiors such as those I have seen in Canada and England from this period.
- Edwardian styles are somewhat transitional in that they encompass the period between the Victorian era and the 1920’s when technology really took off. So what does this mean? It means that at the same time Edwardian houses could be decorated in designs and furniture that were influenced by late Victorian styles, in Mission / Arts and Crafts styles, and Art Nouveau! For more specific information check out an article on Edwardian decorationg on my web site. Here’s the link: Edwardian House Style . By the way the book I have been working on has a whole section completely devoted to Edwardian houses. Our own house is Edwardian. Keep tuned to see how it’s progressing.
Johanne Yakula 
hey 🙂 this looks pretty cool what year was the house built ? and also maybe add a couple more pictures because i would like to see some more rooms in the house because i am making a book that will eventually turn into a movie so i will need some pictures of the interior so that i can get a good idea for the house i will soon build 🙂 and plus my grandson is a big fan of the edwardian era !!! 🙂
Thank you so much for this article! We too purchased an Edwardian-era (1907) home in the midwest, and have found the exact same challenge: Where to find any information or examples of Edwardian architecture or decorating. And I certainly agree — the term “Edwardian” in this case is an absolute definite mix of Victorian, Arts & Crafts, and Art Nouveau. From the pocket doors to the picture frame moulding on nearly every wall, we see a mix of influences everywhere. I have purchased the Edwardian House Style book as well, but are there any sources online at all? I would dearly love to find a list of other Edwardian homes in the USA so I can compare styles! 🙂
It’s as you said Judy – there are no specific Edwardian styles. You would have much more success looking for houses in the period by age or by style. There are books on Foursquare houses – so that will help you. There is another book that you may find very interesting. It contains many different “bungalow” styles but bungalows then could be one or one and a half or two stories in height. Try to get this book from your library. The book is “The American Bungalow – 1880 to 1930” by Clay Lancaster. It was reprinted by Dover Books in 1995 so it may be out of print – but at least you can start there. There is also another one that deals more upper scale homes in the book called “Victorian and Edwardian Decor- from the Gothic Revival to Art Nouveau” by Jeremy Cooper and published by Abbeville Press. It was published in 1987. And, eventually when I complete my own book there will be 1/4 of the book about Edwardian homes. Happy hunting!