|
| My husband and I just purchased a 1927 home in Westchester Co., NY. We always refer to the house as a colonial with a french twist, but that is obviously not technically accurate. I have been combing through "A Field Guide to American Houses" and here is what I can surmise:
The house has many of the features of a colonial revival: accentuated front door, hipped roof, symmetrically balanced windows and center door, windows with double-hung sashes. It also seems to have some of the features of the French Eclectic style, which will use brick and stucco wall cladding, sometimes with false half timbering (which can be found on the 2nd floor sun-room), these can also be symmetrical. However, the house does not have the defining characteristic: the tall, steeply pitched hipped roof - our house does not. Some of the more pronounced features remind me of some of the Tudors that are prominent in our area. For example, the brick and wood arched doorway and multiple materials on the facade: stucco with red brick along the corners, as well as some decorative half-timbering. The book says that French Eclectic styles can often resemble the Tudors, but lack the dominant front-facing cross gables. The "eyebrows" above the 2nd story window are something that I have not been able to locate in the books. There are no dormers in the front of the house, but one in the back. We will be doing a lot of exterior work on the house; replacing all windows, roof, gutters, repainting, rebuilding the walk-way and front entrance, replacing the porch to the right, and if possible would like to keep true to the style of the house. But it seems to have a split personality. Would love to know what people think. |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| Can you post a picture? In the twenties, architects/builders often drew from a variety of historical references. So a house could have a bit of Craftsman and a bit of Spanish Colonoal Revival, etc. Yours sounds like a "Storybook" style home, which usually has romantic bits of various types of homes. Post a pic and we can help you better. |
|
- Posted by Renovator8 (My Page) on Tue, Aug 21, 12 at 11:52
| No one can offer an opinion unless they have seen what you have seen. |
|
| I did attempt to attach a photo, but I guess it didn't work. Here goes again! |
|
| What you have is a center entrance colonial, but that describes the layout and not the style. The style is Mediterranean Revival. |
|
| You say you're going to replace all the windows, but let me ask you to slow down a little. Today's replacement windows are going to last 10 years, maybe 20. The 90 year old wooden windows in my old lady are going strong, but they are being helped along by an old-house-window expert. We are having them re-zinced (we have leaded glass windows, but it's zinc, not lead), and rehung with new sash cords and weather-stripping. Much less expensive than replacing them with inferior new windows, and much truer to the house. We are also having wooden storm windows built to replace the aluminum triple-tracks. Think carefully before you tear out your old wooden windows. You'll never find anything like them again. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Old House Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.