Victorian Style Vanity Stools

Bench

• A common style of stool used for Victorian vanities looks similar to a piano bench. The seat is wide like a conventional chair but not quite as deep. The seat is often rectangular with a soft, fabric-covered top. The seat may be tufted with fabric-covered buttons. The legs will favor the same carved style of the vanity and often have curved elements. The edge between the wood and the fabric usually has some kind of trim. The stool may not fit into the vanity leg opening of the furniture piece since the stool was designed to sit away from the furniture.

Low-back Chair

• Some vanities use a stool that looks like a cross between a chair and a stool. The chair back may be only a few inches tall. This style of stool sometimes looks to modern eyes as if the chair has been cut off abruptly. This stool is finished similar to a dining room chair with full stuffing, and the upholstery may sit on top or wrap fairly far down the sides of the seat. The fabric is often lush or hand-made needlework. Many Victorian ladies preferred hand-made needlework over the original materials of the seats, and they created these pieces to specifically match their decor.

Dressmaker Chairs

• Victorian revival vanity chairs often favor the dressmaker chair. This is a small chair with a rounded seat and rounded back. The entire chair may be upholstered or covered in one or several fabrics layered over each other. This style of chair usually has a skirt that hides the legs and several layers of ruffles below the actual seat. Lots of trims or dressmaker details are applied to the finish of the upholstery to make it look lush and expensive. The chair is often matched to the drapes and bedding to continue a theme throughout the room.

Wicker and Metal

• In warmer climates women favored both wicker and metal chairs and stools. Wicker stools matched the basic design of the furniture and could be painted to look light and fresh. Metal stools and chairs often had curls and bends to create a whimsical appearance and a lightness. Both of these styles favored upholstered seats in an over-plump style with small trims. Many furniture pieces of the era had fringe, beads, nailheads and other trim embellishments.