The best way to learn about historic houses is to look at them closely, and the most fun way to look at them closely is to do a puzzle showing a wonderful historic house! So, we made a unique and interesting collection of Historic House Puzzles for you to enjoy!
This wonderful trim detail is on the facade of a Stick style house designed by the prolific Victorian-era architect George F. Barber. It is located diagonally across the street from Barber’s own former home in Knoxville, TN.
The use of paint on the shallow faceted blocks of the main motif is quite brilliant, emphasizing and exaggerating the light and shadow effects of the angled facets. It is part trompe l’oeil (fool the eye) paint technique and part actual three-dimension detail. It is one of the cleverest uses of exterior paint I have seen. See the second image for a view of the entire house.
The Stick Style is a variation of the Queen Anne style. It features wall surfaces divided into panels with flat or molded trim, often with different siding materials in panels to give a variety of patterns and textures to the surface.
Stick Style is one of 25 styles and types illustrated in Chapter 2 of “Restoring Your Historic House, The Comprehensive Guide for Homeowners.”
Click on the dashed box at the top-right in the puzzle box below to open the puzzle to full screen. In the top left, you can change the number of pieces (100 pieces is the default), toggle piece rotation, and change the background color. Then hit “OK” and have fun!