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jocastad20 Joined: 12 Nov 2008 Posts: 2	Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 1:40 pm    Post subject: Perplexed about style My husband and I recently purchased a two story home. It has a hipped roof, fireplace with built-ins surrounding it in the living room and a wall of built-in drawers between two built in cabinets in the dining room. There are wood beams on the ceilings of the living room and the dining room and thick trim around the floors and windows. There are also french doors off of the dining room into a very small room we're using as a den. The style of the built ins is craftsman looking to me..straight lines, solid construction. It appears that before the house was partially remodeled there was a back stair into the kitchen in addition to one going to the living room. The banister and newel(?) post were removed but when we took out the wall that replaced them you can see that the post was square. There is no attic nor a porch (at least at this time) so it doesn't appear to have some of the key characteristics of a foursquare. It is however similar in other respects. Also, as I mentioned the interior is reminiscent of a craftsman style but again lacks some of the key exterior elements. We'd like to begin restoring this house but need to know in what direction to go. Can anyone tell me what style this house is?    Filesize:  46.33 KB  Filename:  our house.jpeg  Viewed:  121 Time(s)
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csintexas millennium club Joined: 06 Feb 2006 Posts: 2174 Location: USA	Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 7:32 am    Post subject: I would say that is a fairly typical foursquare _________________ -Chris Stewart http://bcshdb.blogspot.com > The B/CS Home Design Blog
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phansford Joined: 18 Apr 2004 Posts: 832 Location: SW Ohio	Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 9:27 am    Post subject: Nice house..... congrats on your new home. To be clear, a "four square" is not a style, but rather a common shape (or form) found in houses built from 1890 - 1930 (roughly speaking). Using the McAlester's "A Field Guide to American Houses" , your house would be best classified as a vernacular prairie or craftsman. Vernacular typically means it was not designed by an architect, but rather comes out of the the local traditions of the Carpenter/Builder. By the mid-19th century, many carpenter/builders were using pattern books and other guides to help them design and build houses. By the time your house was built, there were plan and detail books that a builder could purchase with a lot of details for built-ins and the like. I have a few of these in my library and they were typically published by magazines such as "Building Age" or "National Builder". Pencil Points also published these types of books for the builder and the draftsman. (You can find them in rare and collectible book shops - they are excellent for historic preservation - restoration project)
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jocastad20 Joined: 12 Nov 2008 Posts: 2	Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 11:02 am    Post subject: Thanks Thank you for your help. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question. Now the fun of restoring can really begin in earnest!!
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