What should the exterior of this house look like?

Bryan
by Bryan
I'd love to know the architectural style of this house. It was built around 1890. The exterior is sided with wood, and painted. The paint is peeling badly, and I'm planning to fix it, but I'm torn on colors and material choices.
front of house, cedar shakes on upper wall
rear of house, including added bw & garage
  15 answers
  • Laura Witt Chandler Laura Witt Chandler on Oct 15, 2014
    I need help like this too
  • Debra K. Debra K. on Oct 15, 2014
    This Old House is great with this stuff, why not send them a picture too...
    • Bryan Bryan on Oct 15, 2014
      @Debra K. This Old House has been terribly frustrating. I registered and entered the forum. No force on earth can convince their Attachment Manager than any of my images are, in fact, images. And, my question seems pointless without a picture of the house.
  • Patricia C Patricia C on Oct 15, 2014
    i would darken the windows to match the roof and paint the lower half in a taupe. then add landscaping... if you want to spend a few (lol) more dollars, stone on the lower portion would be the finishing touch...what a beautiful house!
    • See 1 previous
    • Patricia C Patricia C on Oct 15, 2014
      @Bryan tyes cedar: Shakertown's craftsman cedar shingles.
  • Gail Gail on Oct 15, 2014
    Can't answer your question, but it's a beautiful big old house.
  • Wendy Barden Wendy Barden on Oct 15, 2014
    Put a wrap around deck on that baby and enjoy it : }
  • Bryan Bryan on Oct 15, 2014
    Thanks much. I will check out This Old House and see what feedback I get.
  • Ruth Wolery Ruth Wolery on Oct 15, 2014
    How about sage green on the bottom and mustard on the top, ,of course, a wrap around porch on the bottom. Please add a sun room out back.
  • Bryan Bryan on Oct 15, 2014
    Funny that you point that out. I have a photo from 1905 and there was a full porch across the front that wrapped around to the right side. The room on the front right is a sunroom now. I wouldn't mind putting the full porch back on, but I cannot lose the sunroom.
  • MJ MJ on Oct 15, 2014
    I'll take a stab at this one, but not tonight. Have bookmarked it. In the meantime, for historic victorian paint colors to knock your socks off, look for a copy of "Victorian Exterior Decoration" by Roger W. Moss and Gail Caskey Winkler. ISBN 0-8050-0376-2.
  • Marion Nesbitt Marion Nesbitt on Oct 16, 2014
    Beautiful home. It has presence. I like the colours. I would keep it as it is - there is no need for a wrap around when you have a sun room. Any, big homes similar, I have not seen a wrap-around when there is a sun room.
  • Jeanette S Jeanette S on Oct 16, 2014
    The cedar shakes were probably added later. It is your choice as to whether or not to paint them. (Sometimes cedar is very pretty and sometimes it gets nasty, smutty looking???0 Get advice on painting that part...if it is recommended, paint the whole house white! It does not need shutters. It would be CLASSIC! Keep in mind that back when this house was built in the 1800s, most houses were white and even today it remains the choice color to make them stand out.. It looks to me like the stoop was added later too. I would add a porch all the way across the front at least and take down those trees too close to the corners!
  • MJ MJ on Oct 16, 2014
    Bryan: It's been awhile since I wrote national register nominations, so it took some research, but here's my take, for what it's worth:This house is a Folk/Vernacular combination of Colonial Revival/Queen Ann(1880-1900)/Folk Victorian (1870-1910)with Stick (1860-1890)influences. It would help to see the old photo, but in general, I think it has had its features modified over the years. Free classic is an indigenous interpretation of architectural styles. The growth of the railroad system spread the availability of the machinery to make the parts of the house, such as the brackets, which look "wrong" to me, but it's possible they are original, as they were common in Italianate and FV (1870-1910 ) and was apparently built by a local builder. The gable front and wing are FV, as is the open roof-wall junction.The grouped porch supports are characteristics of the Free Classic QA sub-type. This arrangement could have been added when the porch was removed, or could be remains of the original, but the base looks like newer material. The shingles on top story and clapboard on bottom story are Queen Ann/Stick. The false gable (second photo, on the right) is Stick. I can't tell for sure if the lower margin of the shingled area is a pent roof……which would be QA.The original wrap around porch would be QA. The door sidelights are Colonial Revival (1880-1955), as is the (almost) symmetrical facade, the columns, the multi-paned sashes over a single large panel, the paired and triple windows, & center door. I hope this is helpful. If I've made errors, I'm sure someone will kindly post corrections.
  • MJ MJ on Oct 16, 2014
    @Bryan If you scrape off the paint in some unobtrusive place, you should turn up the original paint colors. Until fairly recent house paint contained lead, so you might consult a painting contractor if you decide to scrap the house before painting. There are bound to be places that need sanding or repair and you don't want to spread lead around. But you probably already know this…..The book I suggested contains a chart of the colors and the equivalents in four different paint lines. Do you want the house to fit in with the neighboring structures or to stand out? Are you in an historic district with paint color requirements? Lots to think about before painting. But appropriate colors are available. Good luck.
    • Bryan Bryan on Oct 18, 2014
      @MJ Thanks so much for all the information. I'm saving a copy of your post, and I'll get my hands on the book you suggested. My house is on about an acre, occupying about half of a block. There are no similar houses, so blending isn't really an option. I just need to decide if I'm going to keep the wood or if I would be content with steel replacement that looks like wood.
  • Ruth Wolery Ruth Wolery on Oct 16, 2014
    This house is a keeper. It has character and tons of beauty.
  • Linda Linda on Apr 05, 2020

    I am no expert on history of homes but I did take History of Interiors in Interior Design school. Based off of when it was built and looking at the details I think it might be the Victorian period which was late 1800s and early 1900s.