The High Victorian Gothic style of the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut, is the masonry cousin of the wood-framed Stick Style. These houses often feature polychrome brick, stone, and/or tile on the exteriors with expressive wood trim elements at the gables and porches.
On this house, selected bricks are picked out in several paint colors to appear as bricks of different colors creating patterns on the walls. This house also has exceptional interiors by Associated Artists, showing the collective genius of Louis C. Tiffany, Candace Wheeler, and Lockwood DeForest. It is operated as a house museum and is well worth a trip to Hartford to see.
The Harriet Beecher Stowe House next door is also open to the public. In addition to being the famed author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” Stowe and her sister Catharine were influential Victorian era writers on household management and decorating.
Understanding the style of a house will help you identify which features are character-defining so you can prioritize their preservation.
Twenty-five historic architectural house styles and types are described and illustrated in Chapter 2 of “Restoring Your Historic House, The Comprehensive Guide for Homeowners.”
Signed and personalized copies of the award-winning and bestselling 720-page hardcover book are available from the author in our shop at YourHistoricHouse.com/shop/.
Our shop also carries select preservation and restoration titles by other authors, including “A Field Guide to American Houses.”
© Scott T. Hanson 2024.
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