Before & After ~ The 1895 Martin House is a fabulous George F. Barber designed Queen Anne style house in South Royalton, Vermont. The current owner has restored the missing side porch and had the house’s wood trim painted in a period appropriate dark green and terra cotta scheme that unifies the brick and wood elements as the architect intended. The house no longer appears to be a random collection of Victorian house parts, it looks whole.
It is a modified example of the Design No. 128 from Barber’s “Cottage Souvenir” (2nd and 4th editions) first published in 1891. Houses were built from the popular plan book designs in all parts of the United States and are often exuberant examples of the Queen Anne or Neoclassical styles.
The Queen Anne style often incorporated features like the complex roof form and tower, scalloped shingle siding, porch with turned posts and stickwork and bead spandrels, and a second story porch seen in this example.
Understanding the style of a house is the essential first step in developing a restoration plan that prioritizes the preservation and restoration of character-defining features while making changes necessary for modern life in an old house.
More than 50 color photos are used to illustrate the Queen Anne style 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 at YourHistoricHouse.com/shop/.
Our shop also carries select preservation and restoration titles by other authors, including Virginia McAlester’s classic “A Field Guide to American Houses.” Save with our multi-book combo packs!
© Scott T. Hanson 2026.
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