by Kassadee_Marie, HSM team writer

The years from 1890 to 1899 were the last decade of the Victorian era, and that period of time is categorized by prosperity, morality and romanticism. Although this epoch was named after Queen Victoria of England, its mores and morals, styles and designs, were copied in other places in the world, most especially in North America. The styles of architecture, furniture and clothing are considered quaint and over-done by today’s standards, but they can be a lot of fun to emulate on Home.

So, without further ado, let’s go 90’s on a budget — the 1890’s, that is!

The perfect personal estate for this theme is the Cutteridge Estate by Juggernaut. While there certainly are “ghostly” aspects to this estate, the style of the mansion, inside and out, is very suitable for the period. Also, the later-era Victorians were great believers in the supernatural, and often held séances in their homes with the help of a medium. In addition, Juggernaut periodically changes the “happenings” there, especially at Halloween time, so it’s just a great place to own.

This $6.99 personal space has a large two-story dwelling, some grounds where you can also decorate, and interesting additions such as a pond, a well, benches, and a mailbox for news of estate updates. The downstairs has an entryway and five rooms — the library, parlor, dining room, kitchen and a small multi-use room just off the entrance. The upstairs has an attic, three bedrooms and a tiled-floor room which is suitable for a bathroom. This cliff-side estate has an incredible view on one side of a lighthouse on rocks in the sea below, and an eerie cornfield on another side. You can even purchase a game pack of four “Ghost Stories” for $6.99 to increase your enjoyment of this space and earn rewards, including a second, “demonic” version of the estate.

Victorians of the middle and upper classes loved to show off their possessions, and this was characterized by their over-filled rooms. Depending on how you like to decorate and if you use any active items, you will need to be very careful to obtain the cluttered Victorian “look” without running into the 100 furniture-slot limit. However, there are some built-in furniture items there already, such as book-filled shelves in the library; a large painting in one room near the entry; a gold-framed mirror in the upstairs hall; a huge table in the dining room; and a long window-bench in the parlor. You may also want to leave the small and mostly-furnished kitchen as-is.

Juggernaut sells a matching furniture bundle of 19 items for $6.99, but other items such as the leather furniture from Waterfall Terrace would look right in this space. Victorians loved small occasional tables with ornaments and plants, especially ferns, so be sure to include these items. The Waterfall Terrace collection also has two hanging plants for $.99 each that would be great here. You may also want to add the Antique throw pillow from this collection, for $.49. Persian carpets are very suitable for a Victorian theme, and there are many available from Juggernaut, in the Seven Winds furniture items in their store and in the bazaar at the space or club house. There are also three rugs for $.99 each from Lockwood, in their Sodium furniture collection. Also, since there are no closets in the space, you may want to pick up the $.99 Paris classical wardrobe for the master bedroom.

Almost anything you have that is embellished, gilt or gold-trimmed would suit a Victorian style. For instance, if you have the ornate reward clock from the “Baron’s Egg-cellent Plan” game from Lockwood, that would be a perfect fit. Additional items that I suggest are these items from the Lockwood gift machine: the perfume bottle for the lady of the house’s dresser; the rocking horse, rag doll, doll house, nut cracker (toy soldier) for the children’s rooms (if you decorate the bedrooms this way); and the eminently suitable gramophone for the parlor. There are a lot of spaces for picture frames which you could fill with copies of painting by artists of that time, such as Monet, Matisse, Degas and Van Gogh.

Hellfire Games sells an interesting musical item that they call the “Home Tycoon Record Player”, which looks like a Victrola. This items sells for $2.99 and plays the soundtrack from the Home Tycoon game. If you enjoy this theme and have saved a little money in your budget, you may want to pick up this item.

In the 1890’s women wore less extravagant styles than those of previous decades — though they still mostly wore floor-length dresses — and they even wore sports clothes such as tennis and bicycling dresses where appropriate. Men of this era wore three-piece suits with a contrasting waistcoat for most occasions. Jackets and blazers with matching breeches or knickerbockers were worn for sporting. (You may recognize knickerbockers by looking at the bottoms of most baseball uniforms.) Sony’s Costumes Originals offers a Paris Victorian outfit for both genders for $2.49 for five pieces, which is a bit pricey. Also, the female outfit is not in style for an 1890’s theme, as bustles went out of style in the 1880’s.

With the right accessories you can make your own 1890’s outfits, however. For the ladies, I suggest you pick up the Alice themed bundle for only $.99 and use the shoes and gloves at least. You may also like the hat and “boots” from the Paris Victorian bundle, which are $.49 each. The long skirt from the Victoria set is only $.25 and would make the beginning of a more casual outfit. Other long skirts are rare, although there is the red skirt from the Paris classical gown set and the maroon skirt from the Paris Fantasy costume bundle. These skirts are $.49 each. You may also have the Bridesmaid’s Criss Cross dress; this skirt was sold in Threads Originals, but is no longer available. Your hair should be worn up in a soft bun, such as the $.99 Vanessa and Burning Desire hairstyles from Lockwood.

For the guys I suggest the top hat, gloves and shoes from the Victorian male outfit for $.49 each, if you don’t pick up the whole bundle. You can match these items with some pieces such as the tuxedo coat and pants for $.49 each from Threads Originals for a great look. By the way, 1890’s men wore their hair short and were usually clean-shaved, except for a mustache.

Pets in this era were simple or even common, such as a cat or a dog. There are a lot of both of these companions available to you to choose from in the Sidekicks store. Loot has three adorable puppies for $1.99 each and Lockwood has four equally adorable kittens for $1.49 that I especially recommend to you.

If you love other eras as much as I do, I think you’ll enjoy the aesthetics of the 1890’s. While I offer some suggestions here, you may have your own ideas that you’d like to explore and I hope you do so. Just remember to have fun and stay on a budget!

Share