Hmmm, now where should they go???

You could put them on your fence posts outside.  If your fence has more than four pillars, you could add one gargoyle to each pillar, or you can skip every second pillar, or you can just put them on the four corners.

You can put one on a pillar on each side of your driveway.  They can greet you as you drive in.  If your porch or gallery steps are wide, you can add them to the bottom steps.  You can add them in your garden or in your yard.  By putting them on big stones or tree stumps.

Inside the home you can put them on either side of your fireplace mantle, or use them as bookends to a shelf.  You can put them on a shelf in different places in your home.

The Griffin, or sometimes spelled Gryphon (for this website, we will be using the spelling of Gryphon), is a powerful beast that has been depicted in literature for centuries, the Gryphon is not a creature you’d want to make mad. It is a figure of Greek mythology.

The Gryphon is a mythical creature that has the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. The lion is traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle is the king of the birds, and the Gryphon is thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature.  Sometimes it is shown  as having a long snake for a tail. Most of the time, only the female has wings and males have spikes on their backs instead of wings.

The Gryphon is said to be native to India, although nobody knows for sure exactly where it came from. Legend says that these winged creatures would find gold in the mountains and built their nests from it.  This would lure hunters to their nests and the Gryphons would be ferocious in their attacks on the hunters.  Thus Gryphons were known for guarding treasure and they were a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine.

Gryphons are viewed as  heroic symbols. They are well known for their speed, ability to fly and having eyes like an eagle, as well as the strength and courage of a lion. In hieroglyphics, Gryphons represent heat and summer. In Assyria (an ancient empire of western Asia,) both the Gryphon and the dragon were symbols of wisdom. In Roman art, you will see that Gryphons are often pulling the chariot of Nemesis who was the goddess of justice and revenge.

Did you know that the proper spelling is Griffin.  The spelling of Gryphon is more magical and mystical.  Did you know that Hippogriffs, like the one in the Harry Potter stories, are said to be the offspring of a Griffin and a horse – even though Griffins are traditionally supposed to hate horses.

Gryphons are sculpted on churches and are portrayed in many family crests.  Today you can see Gryphons perched on the roof top of the Philidelphia museum of art.  Many schools have Gryphons as their mascot.  Gryphon statues mark the entrance to the city of London in England.

In legend, a griffin’s claw was believed to have medicinal properties and one of its feathers could restore sight to the blind.  In medieval times, goblets fashioned from griffin claws (actually antelope horns) and griffin eggs (actually ostrich eggs) were highly prized in medieval European courts

In Greek mythology the griffins were always at war against a race of one-eyed humans called Arimaspians who were constantly trying to steal their gold.

Gosh I really love Gryphons….and Gargoyles,   I  just can’t choose between the two!

Medieval decorating for the home is gaining a lot in popularity.  People are becoming more open to new themes and ideas.  There are a number of brick and mortar stores and online websites that are dedicating themselves to objects related to medieval home decorating.

Statues are one item that is seeing a surge in popularity.  Statues are not only for the yard, they can even be used for the home.   Adding a statue to your homes is one way that you can make your home more exquisite and beautiful.

Selecting the right statue for your home is the first step and should be well thought out and planned.  Remember you will most likely be keeping these statues a very long time, so choose wisely.Take time and look at the room where you want to add a statue.  What are the colors, is the room more feminine or masculine?  If the room is in light colored tones, putting a black statue of a Greek god won’t appeal to the eye.  The statue will really stick out.

When you have decided where to put a statue, you need to measure the space and take in consideration where the wall and the furniture is place.  If need be, write down your observations on paper and bring a measuring tape with you when you go to the store to shop.  This will save you time ,effort and risk.  You don’t want to buy a piece and bring it home and then realize it doesn’t quite fit in.

You also need to think about what kind of statue you want.  If you have children who are active or pets or both children and pets, a floor statue can easily get knocked over.  The children and animals could get hurt and the statue can get broken.  You want peace of mind and spirit with children, animals and statues all getting along under the same roof.
Choose a statue that has meaning for you.  If you are going to be seeing it or passing by it day in and day out, you want a statue that invokes a pleasant feeling in you or makes a pleasant impression in the atmosphere.  The themes you choose for your statues will be a reflection of you and your personality.

If you like to be considerate of others, keep in mind that some statues may be offensive to others.  If you really like that statue that is sexually suggestive, think of maybe putting it in your bedroom.

Can you spot a Victorian House just by the outside?

The Victorian period started in 1837 when Queen Victoria came to the throne of England and lasted until 1901 when she died.

Today, we have many materials and technology that was not available in the late 1800′s and early 1900′s.  It is quite easy to remodel a Victorian home.
How can you tell if the house is from the Victorian period? Well, these could be some clues…

Clue #1:  Outside brick work
It’s rare that an owner will change the brickwork.  Some owners will change it, but if the owner wants to preserve the history of the house, he may very well just replace what bricks need to be replaced.  Mind you that could involve lots of work and maybe some headaches, but it can still be done.

Buildings from the early centuries have stood the test of time and so many are still standing strong today.  A real testament to the quality of the work and the materials used.

Most houses were built of red or orange colored bricks.  That was the standard.  The homes were built using the Flemish brick bond which consists of bricks placed in the  header, stretcher, header, stretcher positions.  The long side of a brick is called the stretcher and the end of the brick is called the header.  You can always Google more information on this.
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Clue #2;  Roofing material:
A great many houses had roofs made of slate.  I had never heard of slate, so this is what I read:
“Slate is a type of metamorphic rock which is highly durable and very very heavy”.

It seems they made tiles of slate to put on the roof.  Since slate is very heavy, the interior of the house needed to have good supports to hold the roof up.
Slate tiles are still available for home owners who have the original roof on their home and just replace the ones that are broken,  but these tiles are used less for roofing and more for other things, like tombstones,and commemorative tablets.

In the past, laboratory bench tops,billiard table tops and school black boards used slate tiles, but again with today’s technology, lighter materials are available.
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Clue #3:  Garages
Victorian houses were built in a time when not many people had cars. The German Karl Benz is acknowledged as the inventor of the modern automobile in 1885.  He sold 25 automobiles between 1888 and 1893.  So as you can see, not many cars were on the road in Queen Victoria’s lifetime.

People either walked, traveled by boat or train or used horse drawn carriages or coaches to get around and do things. In 1840 the first bicycle to have pedals was invented by a Scottish man named Kirkpatrick Macmillan.  So naturally, the “Victorians” did not need another building beside the house.  Of course today nothing stops the owner from adding a garage on the property, if there is room.
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Clue #4: Chimeys
This next part might be a little tricky.  Chimenys.  The fireplace was the only source of heat to keep warm.  There was no electricity, so no central heating and no radiators.  Most rooms had fireplaces.  So if you see a house with more than one chiminey sticking out of the roof, that’s  a clue right there.
In this modern age, we have electricity and radiators and more ways to heat that don’t need to cut down our trees.   I don’t know if an owner  would completely dismantle a chimeny on the roof?  If I had a chimeny, I would find a way to completely and permanently  close off the hole at the top still leaving the chimeny column up and I would scrub out and wash out the inside of the chimeny all the way up the column to the top.

Then I would use the fireplace “hole” / space to decorate.  Here imagination is just great.  let yourself go nuts with this idea.
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clue #6:  Windows
With today’s technology and the fact that some, not all home owners of Victorian houses have today changed their windows to more modern ones, trying to use the  windows to try and  to spot a Victorian home is almost impossible.  Your best bet is to study the brick work.
In Victorian times, the home had two types of windows, the sash windows and the bay windows.  True Victorian windows had six and later four paned vertical sliding sash windows with a single glazing bar down the middle.
These types of windows are the ones that slide all the way up, or they slide from side to side).   Even though they provide an advantage in cooling off a room in hot weather, and it is easy to clean all the glass from the inside just by sliding the two windows in different positions,  they were plagued with a few problems.

They were manly made of wood and so were prone to rot, and distort with the swelling  or shrinkage of the frame.  This would cause the windows to rattle in windy weather.
As time went on and  technology improved, new sash windows have been developed to look like the traditional windows of olden times but they are made of better materials to avoid the problems above.
Typical Victorian bay windows are often associated with Victorian Architecture.   Bay windows are three sided and are used to provide the illusion of a larger room.  They also increase the flow of natural light into the room at the same time the view to look out is considerably enhanced.  Bay windows are very popular in all kinds of buildings.
Two other things that were used widely were stained glass windows and iron railings. Today stained glass is easily available and so anyone could install a door or a window to their home or their apartment and iron railings are very popular everywhere.
Things have changed so much in the last hundred years.  Today it is very easy to build a true Victorian home.  Don’t forget I’m not talking about how expensive it could be.  I’m talking about the technology and the materials and the know how that is available for use in this project.