Stained Glass Windows Add Color To A 1905 Victorian Home

As you may know, or may have read from my previous blog posts about Victorian houses in the Western Addition, The Painted Ladies, and The Westerfield House, San Francisco is a literal showcase for Victorian architecture. Victorian houses both grand and modest were built in San Francisco during a huge growth spurt which started around 1880. While Victorian homes elsewhere in the United States and in England were built from a variety of materials, stone and brick were not widely available in San Francisco, and certainly not in the quantities that were needed, so wood was the predominate building material. Wood elements and features were ordered from catalogs, and every builder in essence became a designer, adding details that are today whimsical and very detailed. Many of the houses were essentially cookie cutter homes, and many were built as row houses, such that every home, with the exception of its exterior color looked the same. The Victorian style whose origins in England dictated the general look of the homes built far from the design source in San Francisco, included stained glass windows, a favorite Victorian home feature and a way to individualize and personalize a residence, especially one built essentially from a kit! I had the wonderful opportunity to stay in a grand Victorian home in San Francisco whose stained glass windows were especially lovely and happened to reflect the present day owner’s love for plants! Let’s take a look!

Above: Lovely stained glass windows over the front door, with Art Nouveau inspired designs.

Historically, Victorian, Eastlake, Art Nouveau, and Arts and Crafts style houses were primarily the homes that held stained glass windows. Stained glass was often found used in transoms, stairways, and sidelights. Occasionally an Eastlake home would have an unusually shaped window as a decorative accent. These were often round or half-round and could be found in the upper rooms of the home. Transoms over interior doorways were often stained glass, as were the doors to built-in buffets and china cabinets. In Victorian homes, these designs would likely be more intricate, while in the Arts and Crafts bungalows made popular by Frank Lloyd Wright the designs were more geometric.

Above: A stained glass window in the parlor, is on the facade of the home.
Above: Wonderful square stained glass over a series of windows in the kitchen work perfectly with the wall of lush bamboo beyond!