5 Questions I Ask Before Choosing Paint Colours for Your Victorian Home

1. What direction does the room face, and how do your sash windows affect the light?Victorian terraces are often built in long rows facing the same direction, so front and back rooms can have very different light quality: one flooded with morning sun, the other permanently in shade. Original sash windows also tend to be smaller and more divided than later Edwardian glazing, letting in less light overall, which changes how a colour reads compared to a swatch held up in a bright shop.

2. What original features are you keeping, and what condition are they in?

Cornicing, ceiling roses, picture rails, cast iron fireplaces, tiles in the hallway. Victorian rooms usually have lower ceilings than Edwardian ones, so a picture rail sits closer to eye level and becomes a much stronger visual break, meaning the two-tone wall it invites needs more thought, not less.

3. What's already fixed and can't change right now?

Original floorboards, an encaustic tile hallway, a fireplace surround, furniture you're keeping. This question also flags where later additions clash with the Victorian bones, like a 1990s kitchen extension or replacement uPVC windows, since those are often what a new colour scheme needs to visually bridge or downplay.

4. How do you want to feel in this room, not just what do you want it to look like?

Do you want your living room to feel cosy and inviting? Perhaps you want your hallway to feel bright and airy? The feel you want gives me a very good clue as to what kinds of colours are likely to work best.

5. What's the room next to it, and can you see between them?

Victorian properties almost always have long narrow corridors or multiple landings, meaning you can see multiple spaces when you open the front door. This means that paint colours need to be planned carefully and cohesively.

When you choose to work with me for Design Spark or Full Service Design, one of the first things I'll send you is a detailed questionnaire.

It goes well beyond these five questions, covering everything from how you actually use the space day to day, to your budget and timeline, to any hobbies, sentimental pieces, or specific needs that should shape the design. I ask for all of this before I even start thinking about colours, because a paint choice that ignores how you live in a room is just decoration. Getting the fuller picture first means the palette we land on actually works for your home, not just for a mood board.

I'm Hannah Ashe, an interior designer specialising in Victorian and Edwardian homes working across London and Surrey supporting clients in making considered choices about how best to preserve, or thoughtfully reinterpret, the character of their properties.

Take a look at my portfolio, or if you'd like to talk through a project, drop me a line at info@hannahashe.co.uk.