1840-1880: Gothic Revival 
Carpenter Gothic
The term Carpenter Gothic refers to craftsmen who experimented with elaborate forms with jig saw details. The invention of the steam powered scroll saw allowed them the ability to create these intricate cutouts and decorative features.
Some identifying features of Wooden Gothic Revival:
Steeply pitched roof
Steep cross gablesWindows with pointed arches
Vertical board and batten siding
One-story porch
Source About.Com
1840-1855 : Italianate Period.
Inspired by the great villas of Italy, America created its own fanciful and whimsical interpretation. Due to its beautiful and graceful lines it became the most popular style of Victorian home in America.
Heavily Molded Double Doors
Some identifying features of Italianate:
Low-pitched or flat roof with overhanging eaves
Balanced, symmetrical rectangular shape
Tall appearance, with 2, 3, or 4 stories
Wide, overhanging eaves with brackets and cornices
Square cupola
Porch topped with balustrade balconies
Tall, narrow, double-paned windows with hood moldings
Side bay window
Heavily molded double doors
Roman or segmented arches above windows and doors
Source About.com
Windows With Hooded Moldings
Stacked Double Side Bay Windows
1870-1900 Queen AnneShapes are varied but usually have a prominent forward facing gable. Cross gabled versions are frequently seen.
Roof pitch may be quite steep with many irregular planes.
Towers and turrets are common.
Double-hung windows are relatively long and narrow. Ornate stained glass windows are not uncommon.
Highly ornamented with spindle work, finials, roof cresting, corner brackets on porches and cutouts.
Siding may range from half timbering and stucco to patterned shingle and clapboards. Combinations are often fanciful.
Parapets and brickwork are often variably colored and patterned and highly decorative.
Covered porches often wrap from the front and around a side and are decorated with spindle work and friezes.
Chimneys may be patterned masonry and are sometimes seen with chimney pots.
Source Antique Home
Porches were an extension of the living space, often filled with wicker furniture.
Queen Anne
1860 - 1880 Italiante - Second Empire Mansard roof
Dormer windows, sometimes a square (not round) tower
Decorative brackets
Molded cornice, similar to Italianate detail on windows, doors
Source Architectural Styles of America
It was a great afternoon to snap a few photos and I met a few of the friendly home owners on my walking tour.
I am providing the link to the Romeo Historical Society so if you are interested in learning more about this amazing historical town you can do further reading!I am joining Julia at Hooked on Houses for her weekly Friday event. I am definitely Hooked on these Victorian Homes and admire their beauty.
I appreciate lovely historical towns like this and also want to share it with Melissa at The Inspired Room's for A Beautiful Life.
To view more participants be sure and visit Julia and Melissa's sites when you are finished here.
62 Comments. *Click to leave a comment*:
That was fun... My sister lives in Romeo...She's a Fine Artist, It is a great little town , thanks...Kathy@ Sweet Up-North Mornings...
Great post Cathy - thanks for sharing those beautiful pictures. I have always had a fondness for Victorian homes and now I know more about them thanks to you!
Kim
I love these old homes.....I can't wait to pop back in and read and look, look, look! Your photos are great Cathy!
Those are beautiful houses! It looks like a great place to visit!
Oh my, those front porches look divine! Especially the one housing a swing because just how sweet and romantic is that?! I love front porches because they are meant for a family to lounge in just when the sun is about to set on a languid sweet summer day. Just conjuring up the image gives me such a warm tingly feeling. Thank you for the lovely treat dear! And come back to visit me any time because I adore visitors. =)
Wow! I loved all those. I think I like the Italianate the best. So pretty! I wish I lived in a home like that.
All the best,
Allison
Cathy the Victorian homes are amazing with so much elegance and character. I really enjoyed the photos. Thank you showing us.
Have a wonderful day.
~Melissa :)
They are gorgeous! We have a plethora of old homes in Mobile too, and I love visiting them
Hi Cathy,
Thank you for the tour of these elegant homes! I so appreciate good architecture! I love everything about them; their grace, romance, and history. Thanks for sharing and it's very nice to 'meet' you.
Blessings,
Sandi
Cathy,
These homes are just exquisite! I can just imagine how awesome they must look on the inside. Thanks for your comment about the horsehair pottery. Someday I need to buy one for myself, I love how interesting they look.
I love all the styles of Victorian homes. I would love to live in one someday. But most likely not going to happen since there aren't a lot here in southern California.
O.k once I pick my jaw up off the floor I will be fine!!!!! What stunning homes, we have nothing like those here, lovely post!!! All the best,Chrissy
wow! those homes are so charming and lovely! I'd love to peek inside them :)
You got some great pictures of them!
Fabulous tour Cathy! Having been raised in SF I became accustomed to seeing beautiful victorians on city street settings, shoulder to shoulder. It is wonderful to see their magnificence with their porches and beautiful landscaped surroundings.
I enjoy the tour very much! Thanks you.
Tina
You have just shown the main reason that earlier
times were friendlier times, the front porch
on any home invites neighbors to stop and
say hello while on an evening stroll. Modern
homes do not have that particular warmth.
Thank you for a reall tutorial about Victorian
era home. Hugs, Myke
I love, love, love, love these!! I really covet a lot of houses here in the East---I wish that I could find my own painted lady...
By the way---I gave you some little bloggy bling over on my site---you deserve it!!
My, Cathy, those are gorgeous cutwork and architecture! Love the colors as well! Romeo, Michigan sure was lucky to have you illustrate the beauty of their town! ;-)
Wow, thanks for this tour..., I think I have seen one of these house in Newport RI, could that be!?
Oh Cathy, What a great vacation you must have been on! I just love looking at Victorian houses and all of the intricate details.
At one of my other houses, I put some of this trim work around the front porch, it just made it feel special.
I must try and get up to Romeo, MI, it looks exquisite.
Have you ever been to Cape May, NJ. It is a Victorian town setting, located on the the ocean front. It is getting alittle commercialized, but I still like to pop over and visit.
Thanks for sharing!
Crystal
One of our favorite things to do is visit older towns and take walking tours. I love the different styles of architecture. I enjoyed all of the details you included about each style of house. It was just like reading a travel brochure of a walking tour as we went along. Thank you,
Mama Bear
Ha, ha Cathy, you so get me when you connected the white flowers with the tablescape. You deserve a hug for that. So put a smile on my face. Thanks! :-D
Thanks for the tour.
Glenda
What wonderful homes! Your photos and the information you have provided us are priceless. Thank you for sharing both with us. Have a wonderful day.
Ahh. love that yellow home. Oh my dream...
What beautiful homes and I appreciate the information your provided for each type. Thanks for sharing your pics and knowledge.
Christi
things were so much prettier back then, thanks for the gorgeuous post
Cathy.. Thanks for stopping and giving me a heads up on my site freezing up. It's crazy.. It's freezing up when I'm on it too occasionally. When I want to enter your blog I get a warning sometimes and just have to over ride it and try again...I don't understand what's happening...Please let me know if it continues... Oh I sent your post to my niece who lives in Romeo too, she loved it, xoxo~Kathy @ Sweet Up-North Mornings...
Beautiful homes. Thank you for the tour!
Hi Cathy! These homes are just beautiful! I used to live in a little old Victorian that we worked hard to restore. Nothing else like it! Have a great rest of the week...Debbie
These girls are all so beautiful!
Hi Cathy! Thank you so much for your visit and for your nice commemt! Your blog is faboulous!!! You show so many beautiful homes!
Nice to meet you!
Warm greetings
Vale
Hi Cathy!
Thanks for stopping by Country Wings in Phoenix. I so enjoyed your tour of the homes. I especially loved the one that was trimmed in the green porch posts. It looked so magical. Thanks so much for sharing. Victorian homes always seem to be so magical. I will be stopping back by again. "Country Hugs", Sherry
Hi Cathy,
These are beautiful homes! I'm sure the interiors are as spectacular as the exteriors! You have such a wonderful blog here. Thank you for your nice comment on my blog and I look forward to reading more of your posts. Deborah
Queen Anne and the victorian looking yellow one with the porch ... YES' I would like both! beautiful pictures of beautiful dreamy homes!
Hi Cathy,
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I am very impressed by yours! What an education you presented on home styles....and they were so pretty!
~Patti
Lovely houses. Thanks for sharing and tour.
Ohhh my land!! I love the Queen Anne the best i think... WAIT... i will post then go look again!
Soooo great treats..thanks for the eye candy.
TTFN~~Claudia
ab fab, though i like the first best, cathy :)
Thank you for the lesson on architecture, it was wonderful. . .Love the detail on those houses, they look like something straight out of a storybook! Thanks for sharing. . .
Cathy, really enjoyed looking at these gorgeous old homes. What stories they could tell! I would move into the Queen Anne with green and red trim today!
Have a good day!
Eenie meanie minie moe, to decide which one I like best I don't know!!!
Ummm... okay the one with the porch swing!!
I just love Victorians! Thanks for the info on the different styles too!
Have a wonderful day Cathy!
Sherri:)
Sherri:)
Thanks for signing on as a reader - hope Idon't get to boring for you. :)
Glenda
What a lovely and informative post. I never knew there were so many different styles of Victorian homes. I enjoyed looking around your blog and liked your tutorial on wreaths too. I'll come back to visit often!
Nice job, Cathy! I live in New England and being a realtor I have much affection for older homes....Queen Anne & Second Empire those most. I've done a lot of business in a mill city that had a neighborhood full of the homes built by the mill owners in the late 1800's-early 1900's. I never get enough of the details of these lovely homes. You did a beautiful job identifying and describing them.
Such lovely homes. I love the Queen Anne style here. Oooolala. I would love to live in one of those. LOL!
You asked about what camera I used for my post...I have a Canon PowerShot A1000IS. It has 10.0 mega pixels with a 4x optical zoom. Hope that helps. We found it at Office Depot.
Thanks for visiting this week!!
Oh my holy cow! You have my heart going pitter-patter! This was just delightful!
Robin
All Things Heart and Home
Oh, my goodness. I loooove this post and these gorgeous houses you showed us! Makes me want to drive straight to Michigan and see them for myself. Thanks, Cathy!
Gorgeous homes! I love the detail work.
Beautiful pics of lovely homes. It truly transported me to another time. I am especially in love with the Queen Annes.
Hugs,
Stephanie
Angelic Accents
Thanks for these. I salute the owners for whom these are certainly expensive labors of love.
I live in Grand Rapids. Where is Romeo, MI from here? Is there quaint shopping there as well as all these lovely homes?
I just love Victorian homes. These look wonderful!
I iss Romeo. I always pop through after picking up at Blakes in the summer. I tfeels weird no have the fresh picked strawberries & longing for the homes.
Thanks.
Thanks for the walking tour. What lovely houses. I enjoyed seeing them!
Wow, those are some amazing homes. Thanks for the tour! We've vacationed in Michigan the past couple years, but never heard of Romeo. It looks quite charming.
Oh my goodness, what GORGEOUS homes!! I think the Queen Anne style is my favorite... but I love them all! I absolutely know what you mean with, "Bloom Where You Are Planted"...there are so many different beautiful areas of this country to live and, really, the most important ingredient anywhere is a loving family, good friends and a positive attitude. :) Thank you so much for joining in the town tour party... I thoroughly enjoyed these stunning Victorian homes! :)
Gorgeous homes. What an appropriately romantic name for this town.
Cathy,
I can't stop looking at the beautiful houses on your town tour today. I think if I had to pick just one to live in that it would be a hard choice:) Happy 4th of July!
Joyce
What beautiful homes! This looks like a wonderful place to visit, and I bet it is just gorgeous in the summer. I love Queen Anne architecture, but the Italianate really caught my eye also. Thanks for the tour. Kathy
What amazing homes. I love the detail.
Cheri
Oh my goodness! I just happened to link into to your website...I am a sign language interpreter for the deaf at a local high school. One class I am honored to interpret for is Interior Design with an amazing teacher. We went on a field trip downtown Long Beach to ID the kinds of homes you pictured...I hurried and sent her your website...LOVE IT!!!! BEAUTIFUL!!!
Ginny,
Thank you for taking the time to comment and pass along my website. I love all styles, but these charming Victorians hold a special place. SF is such a wonderful city and filled with so many vintage beauties. I enjoyed visiting a few times on vacations.
Cathy
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I love hearing from you and try to comment back when I can. Thank You! ~Cathy~