The Victorian Floor Plan

The floor plan of the Victorian home demonstrates the pattern of family life within. A staff of servants was deemed necessary for the running of a respectable home. The kitchen was far from the dining area to avoid smells, heat and noise near the front of the house. Having the kitchen at the back of the house also made for easy access for deliveries of groceries, and an inconspicuous entrance for servants and tradesmen. Visitors who came calling in the normal round of social affairs were received in a separate parlor. Victorians read widely, and the library often served as an office for the male head of household. Bedrooms were on the second floor, with servants' rooms and the children's nursery near the top of the house, removed from downstairs adult activities. The minimum staff was considered to be a cook and a maid, plus a groom or bootboy if the family owned its own horse-drawn vehicle. Larger households included a parlor maid for answering the door, and very large households had butlers or housekeepers for managing the staff.