Steampunk style places emphasis on the bespoke, the recycled and the handmade, as well as high-quality materials and craftsmanship. Steampunk fans also share an interest in the industrial and in machines, especially steam-powered ones.
As a design concept, steampunk can feel elusive. Unlike movements such as Arts and Crafts or American Craftsman, which are rooted in specific historical periods, steampunk combines an imagined past with the present and sometimes even the future.
In the late 1980s, writer K. W. Jeter coined the term steampunk to describe his science-fiction stories, which were set in an idealized version of Victorian London. Since that time, steampunk has evolved, emerging as a design style and a subculture.
Since the mid-1990s, steampunk-styled settings and interiors have become popular in mainstream films such as Sherlock Holmes (2009) with Robert Downey Jr.; Van Helsing (2004), which starred Hugh Jackman; or the Will Smith vehicle Wild Wild West (1999). These movies present a contemporary version of the Victorian past. Steampunk elements, such as dark walls, industrial lighting, brass fittings and Edison bulbs, have also been featured in the designs of numerous restaurants.
When talking of steampunk, design professionals often emphasize the style’s industrial elements. Interior designer Stephen Shadley particularly likes steampunk’s inclusion of factory-style light fixtures. “The elegant simplicity of those fixtures, a white or clear glass shade on a brass base, the bakelite switch. They’re beautiful and functional,” he says. “Here, form follows function almost completely.”
One of the appeals of steampunk lies in its oppositions: domestic versus industrial, refined and polished versus coarse and gritty, Victorian versus new, fantasy versus reality. Because it is up to the individual designer to develop the right steamy mix, you will find a large range of steampunk looks.
A steampunk interior can appear much like the Victorian drawing room in your imagination — stately, restrained, proper — while at the same time containing contemporary comforts and conveniences. Another steampunk-style room can look more theatrical, much like the lair of a mad scientist. And, of course, objects with high steampunk quotient, such as brass light fixtures or Victorian scientific instruments, can add charm and interest to almost any set up.
Steampunk, by combining antique and contemporary and repurposing industrial items, offers a fresh way to enjoy Victorian style.
Find steampunk-style wall decorations, lighting, decorative objects and more on 1stDIbs.
Pair of Steampunk Brass Industrial Architectural Pressure Gauges
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A super cool pair vintage General Electric pressure gauges. Each brass and glass gauge houses an aluminum faced dial marked for the General Electric Co. Perfect for a steam punk set...
Brass
Framed Enamel Southwark Street Sign, Tisdall Place, London
Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight
Framed enamel Southwark street sign, Tisdall Place, London The sign is embossed enamel and is in a very weathered old oak frame with wall fixings The sign has a little rust but i...
Iron
$285Sale Price|40% Off
H 18 in W 12 in D 0.25 in
Vintage Enamel Capital Letter F ... Orange Typography, Marquee, Sans Serif Type
Located in Chicago, IL
Fun, large vintage orange enamel capital letter F, made of heavy duty metal. From some cool marquee or sign. Bold coloring in primary orange. Sans serif font. Multiple uses! Very stu...
Metal, Enamel
Elegant Wall Barometer in Brass & Glass by Taylor
By D. Taylor
Located in San Diego, CA
The beautiful design on this wall barometer by Taylor in patinated brass and glass can be hung on the wall or table top.
Brass
$16,000Sale Price|50% Off
H 52 in W 9 in D 32 in
15th C Gothic Tabernacle 4 ft.+ Rare Architectural Religious Art, Museum Quality
Located in Vero Beach, FL
15th century period Gothic Tabernacle, extremely rare (Medieval) architectural religious art, museum quality ecclesiastical altar piece. This is an ...
Wood, Paint
Pair of Antique Architectural Column Capitals
Located in Doylestown, PA
A pair of large glazed terracotta columns capitals reportedly from a New York building, circa 1890.
Terracotta
Brass Embossed Architectural Elements
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
3-677 French brass embossed architectural element. Has matching clock face see 3-676
Brass
Pair of Red Round Enameled Copper Door Pull Surrounds
By Paolo di Poli
Located in Hanover, MA
Pair of vitreous enameled copper (smalti) round door pull surrounds. Appears never to have been used. New Old Stock.
Copper
Pair of Art-Deco architectural grates in brass and steel
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Beautiful pair of hand-forged steel and brass grates, a rare architectural find believed to date back to the Art-Deco period. Characteristic of that era the geometric scallop pattern...
Brass, Steel
Pair of 1950's Italian Enameled Copper Door Pulls
By Paolo di Poli
Located in Hanover, MA
Pair of large and visually striking 1950's Italian door pulls in hefty fired enameled copper aka smalti.
Copper, Enamel
Modernist Sculptural Copper Wall Plate Signed Bolba H
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
Brutalist/modernist sculptural copper wall plate signed Bolba H.
Copper
$155 / set
H 12.75 in W 10 in D 3 in
Pictorial History of Architecture in America by G. E. Kidder Smith, 1st Ed
Located in valatie, NY
A Pictorial History Of Architecture In America by G. E. Kidder Smith. Published by W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated, 1976, 1976Published by American Academy of Arts and American ...
Paper
Art Nouveau Architecture by Frank Russell
Located in valatie, NY
Art Nouveau Architecture by Frank Russell. Arch Cape Press, NY, 1986. Hardcover with dust jacket. With 68 color and 500 black and white illustrations. Architects of the fin de siècle (end of the century) organized by country, each chapter written by a well-known authority in the field. The introduction, by Roger-Henri Guerrand; Great Britain: arts and crafts and art nouveau, by Tim Benton; Spain: moderismo in Catalonia, by Tim Benton; Belgium: red steel and blue aesthetic, by Maurice Culot; France: Viollet-le-Duc to Tony Garnier: the passion of rationalism, by Francois Loyer; Holland: building towards an ideal: progressive architecture in Holland, by Richard Padovan; Switzerland: the temperate presence of art nouveau, by Jacques Gubler; Germany: Judgendstil: the early morning of the modern movement, by Ian Latham; Italy: liberty architecture in Italy, by Ezio Godoli; Czechoslovakia: the secession in Eastern Europe, by Anna Masarykova; Austria: to the limits of a language: Wagner, Olbrich, Hoffmann, by Ezio Godoli; USA: Louis Sullivan, Greene and Greene...
Paper
Antique French Curtain Tie Backs Enameled Cast Iron
Located in Rochester, NY
Unusual set of five antique enameled blue floral curtain tie backs. French. 19th century.
Enamel, Iron
Sold
H 80.5 in W 33 in D 10 in
Set of Advertising Arrow Light, FDNY Popeye Painting and Carousel Horse
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Consolidated Listing Item: Set of Advertising Arrow Light 1940's Fantastic large-scale advertising arrow. Sheet iron construction with steady lights. Lights do not flash or chase. ...
Pair of Small Empire Style Iron Andirons with Brass Finials
Located in Buchanan, NY
A pair of 19th century French fire andirons in the Empire style. The polished iron supports are complimented with oversized brass finials resting ...
Brass, Iron
Vintage Movie Marquee Sheet Metal Letters Metropolitan
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Fantastic vintage movie marquee channel letters "Metropolitan" from Midwestern movie theater. Heavy sheet metal construction. Most likely neon skins that were stripped from the original marquee sign...
Large Industrial Orb Eight-Candle Chandelier
By Brendan Bass
Located in Dallas, TX
Large Industrial Orb eight-candle chandelier, Made with Circa 1900 metal wheels used in industry. Original rust patina with eight iron metal candleholders. For indoor or outdoor ...
Iron
Early 20th Century Cape Cod Cast Iron Nautical Ocean Buoys
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Objects in images appear much bigger in person! Substantial cast iron nautical ocean buoys with fantastic vintage yellow marine paint. Embossed Falmouth, Mass. with a few other embos...
Iron
Advertising Arrow Light 1940's
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Fantastic large-scale advertising arrow. Sheet iron construction with steady lights. Lights do not flash or chase. The arrow has a new heavy duty electrical cord attached. We have no...
Early 20th Century Agricultural Lawn Sprinkler
By White Showers Co. 1
Located in Ferndale, MI
White Showers Company, Detroit, Mich., dated March 1930
Bronze, Iron
Sold
H 21 in W 23 in D 2.5 in
Cast Iron Vintage Industrial Factory Furnace Boiler Door "Incinerator Products"
Located in Oakville, CT
Original vintage Industrial furniture. Vintage Industrial early iron factory furnace, boiler door, "Incinerator Products" Sculpture, Wall Art
Iron
Boiler Door Antique Industrial Cast Iron Bigelow Wall Art Sculpture
Located in Oakville, CT
Antique Industrial furniture. Antique Industrial Bigelow boiler door, cast iron wall art sculpture. "The Bigelow Co. New Haven Conn.1422.".
Late 19th Century Cast Iron Architectural Building Diamonds
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Cast iron architectural building diamonds in a variety of sizes and paint surfaces. Presented on museum stands. Please note: Priced for all th...
Iron