Welcome to The Victorian Emporium how-to tips
How-to tips on Victorian living
Welcome to the How-To Tips area of The Victorian Emporium. Here you can view and read all of our advice articles on their various subjects.
Our guide on creating an elegant Victorian garden pathway
We look into choosing the right tiles to achieve that sought after and elegant Victorian garden path using Victorian style path tiles.
The Victorian Path - why have a nice Victorian garden pathway?
Victorian front garden paths leading from the road to the house are a really important feature of Victorian and Edwardian houses, especially town centre terraces, as the path conveys that really important first impression of the house acting as an indication of the good taste and prosperity of it’s inhabitants, such an important element of the Victorian way of life. A scruffy concrete path with cracked edges and weeds gives a very…
How to bleed a cast iron radiator?
A brief guide on how to bleed your cast iron radiators which will help ensure that your radiators work as efficiently as possible.
How To Bleed A Cast Iron Radiator
Cast iron radiators are a significant investment and if they are working efficiently, they will provide a powerful and reliable source of heat in your period house. If however they are not working properly and contain air pockets which prevent them outputting their full heat capacity, the warmth they provide will be much lower than the level of heat you may require in the depths of winter.
How to upcycle junk to create a warehouse style party venue
We look into what are the essential elements to create a warehouse style party and the criteria for making sure it is safe to turn your site into a warehouse party venue
How To Upcycle Junk To Create A Warehouse Party Venue From A Building Site
Building projects can take a long time to complete and be expensive. If you have a special birthday or event which you would like host within your house but the building project is taking longer than expected or you want to take a breather from builders and costs for your own health, and if your project is up to the watertight shell stage, you could host your party within the building site by making a few cheap improvements to the…
How to create an authentic Victorian bay window
We look into what period are bay windows, why include a Victorian bay window in my extension and how to build and dress them
How to create an authentic Victorian bay window for your house extension
If you are looking to extend your period house there are two different approaches you may take. You may wish to create an extension that provides a contrast to the existing style of the house and is a statement piece. This might incorporate glass and concret joined onto a Victorian or Edwardian house which the planners and any conservation officer involved with your house if it is listed may love or loathe.
Things I wished I’d asked
Finally coming up for air after an arduous 6 months building our extension we pondered our recent experiences. Whilst we found some wonderful people to work with namely our Groundworker Karl, our Scaffolder Dan and our Roofer Ken, we’ve also had some horrible…
Things I wished I’d asked before hiring my Builder/ Bricklayer/Roofer
Finally coming up for air after an arduous 6 months building our extension we pondered our recent experiences. Whilst we found some wonderful people to work with namely our Groundworker Karl, our Scaffolder Dan and our Roofer Ken, we’ve also had some horrible experiences with dishonest, alcohol dependant, money grabbing and feckless bricklayers and a very unpleasant carpenter and roofer team who seemingly didn’t get on at all and who…
How to upcycle an antique desk
There might be several reasons you choose to upcycle a Victorian writing desk – you might have this old piece of furniture and not really like it but don’t want to throw it away and think could be transformed into something you do like. Or your piece of…
How to upcycle an antique desk
There might be several reasons you choose to upcycle a Victorian writing desk – you might have this old piece of furniture and not really like it but don’t want to throw it away and think could be transformed into something you do like. Or your piece of furniture could be damaged but with some filler and paint, could look perfect albeit in another guise. Or you could just fancy taking up a new hobby and “pimping up” furniture sounds…
Top tips on how to furnish a wooden dolls house
A wooden dolls house is an object that can be very attractive and unique both inside and outside. You can save money on your wooden dolls house if you buy one with a good quality structure with no furniture, fixtures and decor then slowly add this yourself over…
Top tips on how to furnish a wooden dolls house
A wooden dolls house is an object that can be very attractive and unique both inside and outside. You can save money on your wooden dolls house if you buy one with a good quality structure with no furniture, fixtures and decor then slowly add this yourself over time. This is a course of action which provides a source of entertainment and pride in itself, almost as enjoyable as playing with it once it’s finished. How can I decorate a…
What is a Victorian dresser?
dresser |ˈdrɛsə| noun a sideboard with shelves above for storing and displaying plates and kitchen utensils. • N. Amer.a chest of drawers. ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting a kitchen sideboard or table on which food was prepared): from Old French…
What is a Victorian dresser?
dresser |ˈdrɛsə| noun a sideboard with shelves above for storing and displaying plates and kitchen utensils. • N. Amer.a chest of drawers. ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting a kitchen sideboard or table on which food was prepared): from Old French dresseur, from dresser ‘prepare’ (see dress) What is the meaning of the word Dresser? Firstly a point of clarification; a dresser means two different things depending on whether you…
How to reupholster a chair
The techniques of traditional upholstery are centuries old. To reupholster a chair, means to take the chair back to its frame and build the shape back up with springs, fibre, animal hair and hand stitching.
How to reupholster a chair
The techniques of traditional upholstery are centuries old. To reupholster a chair, means to take the chair back to its frame and build the shape back up with springs, fibre, animal hair and hand stitching. Using one of my chairs as an example, I will show the process without going into too much detail. What's the first step to reupholstering a chair? It’s always a good idea to see what has been done before. The chair’s seat was a…
How to clean cast iron radiators
This is a simple guide about how to clean cast iron and column radiators. These radiators can be tricky to clean with their vertical columns with narrow gaps in between them, which attracts dust and dirt. A small cast iron radiator with 12 columns can take a…
How To Clean Cast Iron Radiators
This is a simple guide about how to clean cast iron and column radiators. These radiators can be tricky to clean with their vertical columns with narrow gaps in between them, which attracts dust and dirt. A small cast iron radiator with 12 columns can take a good half an hour to clean but this is not something that needs to be done every week. If you are not careful dust can really accumulate without you realising leaving a very mucky…