On the other hand, there's a great old house on US 1 between Vero Beach and Fort Pierce (FL) that I'm told was once a winter home for Gloria Swanson sometime during the 1950s or '60s. Prior to that, I believe it was a brothel for servicemen during WWII. Last time I drove by, it was an antique emporium. If I can find some pics, I'll post them. (It would make a great "Old House"--that's why I mentioned it.)
Sounds really intriguing. I'd love to see it so I hope you can find those pics.
Actually, your post got me to thinking what might the Old House actually look like if it was accurate to the period and built in a "purely American" 17th-to-very-early-18th century design and had not been an amazing precursor to Greek Revival (like the Old House in the original (I love how in Ep #475 Stokes says something to the effect that the Old House is Greek Revival before they got it right.
)) or not based on the design of the Collinwood in England (as was the case in the '91 revival). Two styles come to mind - one that's appropriate but not very practical or likely, and another which could prove quite nice. The first is:
First-Period English Style (1600-1700)
- 1) Massive chimney
- 2) Steeply pitched roof
- 3) One-room depth
- 4) No eave overhang or cornice detailing
- 5) Small casement windows with many small panes
One of the possible problems with this design, though, is feature #3 - the one room depth. However, some examples, like the Iron Works House in Saugus, Massachesetts (an almost perfect location when one considers that Maine was still part of MA during this period), had additions built after the intial construction, making those examples large enough to encompass what most of us would envision as the Old House:
The back facade
But its biggest problem is VERY low ceilings. Check out this picture of the
the second story chamber (which would have been used for receiving honored guests). Would we really want to have Barnabas living in an environment such as this? I wouldn't. Which leads me to the second design possibility:
Georgian Style (1700-1780)
- 1) Paneled door with decorative crown
- 2) Cornice emphasized with toothlike or dentils or other decorative molding
- 3) Windows with double-hung sashes, typically with six to twelve small panes per sash
- 4) windows in symmetrical vertical rows around central door
Yes, this is very similar to Federal, and that should be no surprise because Federal evolved out of Georgian. And, yes, Georgian does feature a front facade with a symmetrical arrangement of windows around a central door, which is BORING in my opinion. (Sorry, Rainey, but "soothing" just doesn't do it for me. I much prefer bold and daring, and something that completely captivates my attention because when I look at it from different angles it can look almost completely different.
) But the nice thing about Georgian is, as exemplified by Lee House (click
here for a shot taken from above and to the house's right side), which is located in Marblehead, Massachusetts (another almost perfect location), it isn't always entirely symmetrical on all sides:
The back facade
and the interiors are often quite wonderful. Check out:
The Main Hall, with its lavish use of spiral balusters, and large expanses of hand-painted scenic wallpapers, which allow Lee House to be considered one of the grandest Georgian spaces in all of New England (the open two-story design and the way the second floor railing overlooks the first are somewhat reminiscent of the design of the '91 series' great hall)
The stairway landingThe Great Chamber, featuring scenes of classical ruins, each surrounded by an elaborate painted "frame"
and
the Great Room, which is completely paneled in pine, features an elaborate chimneypiece whose design was taken from an English pattern book.
I can easily picture the Collins family, and Barnabas in particular, inhabiting any of these rooms.
And truthfully, Georgian looks very much like the design for the Spratt house, minus the surrounding colonnade and porch.