The Practical 144-Year-Old Home Feature I Wish Every Home Still Had
Finding a Victorian home where the original hardware has been maintained is rare (take it from me!), but there’s one feature that is a particularly hard-to-find unicorn — and it’s a feature that could make a huge difference in how often you have to clean your stairs: dust corners. I personally own a Victorian — a gorgeous, 134-year-old home — and don’t actually have any. (I do, however, have swinging doors and window sash lifts.) But if you do have dust corners — or if you want them — they’re more than just a product of the past.
In fact, they have a huge advantage in your home, if you’re lucky enough to have them.
What Are Victorian Dust Corners?
Victorian dust corners are small, metal corners that are on the stairs of often-older homes. These tiny details first became popular in the 1880s, and they were created to prevent dust from getting caught in the corners of stairs.
“These little metal accents, often found where the stair riser meets the tread, were originally designed to make sweeping easier by preventing dust from gathering in hard-to-reach corners. Vacuum cleaners may have eliminated their original functional purpose, but they still add a beautiful layer of richness and character,” says Leo Peak, Realtor at Peak Family Real Estate Group in San Francisco.
“I’ve seen them in homes where they’re restored to their original luster, often in brass or copper, adding a subtle touch of elegance,” Peak says.
How Do Victorian Dust Corners Work?
Because Victorian dust corners are curved, they make it easier to sweep up dust. Dust can’t get caught in the square corner where a broom will have trouble reaching. They’re a minute detail, but one that has a big functional impact. (Just take a look at the corners of your stairs right now if you want an example of how dust can get trapped — I won’t judge!)
They’re less of a must-have now — in the days before vacuums and attachments that can get into hard-to-reach spaces, these made a huge difference in how long a chore like sweeping might take. But they also reveal that sometimes beautiful, historical details in a home aren’t just about beauty. They’re also about function.
Decorative Brass Dust Corner in Antique-by-Hand
House of Antique Hardware
$10.19
Buy Now
“Victorian homes are full of details that are not only beautiful but serve functional and practical purposes,” Peak says. “There was so much more thought put into how these features made everyday life more efficient.”
Victorian Dust Corners in Houses Today
It’s not common to see period-authentic dust corners in a house today, so, if you do, that’s a testament to a home that has likely been well-preserved and may have other decorative and functional details throughout.
But, even if you don’t have dust corners present, that doesn’t mean you can’t add them back in. Just ask Amy Leigh Heavilin, who chronicles her Victorian renovation on Instagram at @amyleigh_1902victorian.
“We’ve definitely done several projects where people say, ‘You can’t find things like this nowadays,’ and then people are shocked when we say, ‘Actually, we did, and this is all new to look old!’ ” Heavilin says.
Today, you can buy them through antique reproduction companies, including House of Antique Hardware, Van Dyke’s Restorers, and Historic Houseparts.
Are There Modern-Day Dust Corners?
While most dust corners you’ll find online are designed to be reproductions of the original Victorian dust corners, there are more modern-day versions out there. You can find them inexpensively online, and most of them are designed to disappear against your stairs rather than stand out. They may not make the same impact that the reproduction and salvaged dust corners do, but they definitely beat them in price.
Further Reading
We Tested (and Rated!) All the Sofas at Ashley — Here Are the Best to Suit Your Style and Space
We Tested (and Rated!) All the Sofas at Pottery Barn — Here Are the Best for Every Type of Need
See How a Stager Used Paint to Transform a 1950s Living Room
