Ornate details and crooked computer architecture combine to produce instantly placeable character .
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Queen Anne is one of the most prolifichousing vogue of the prudish geological era . From the narrowPainted Ladies of San Francisco(as see in theFull Housetitle succession ) to the sprawlingWinchester Mystery House , Queen Anne home both large and pocket-sized can be found throughout the United States . Mixing decorative point , colour , and architectural feature film like bay windowpane and towers , Queen Anne homes rejected plain , flat surfaces to create a style that is both prevalent and easy identified .
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A Brief History of Queen Anne Architecture
Despite what the name might suggest , Queen Anne style neither acquire during Queen Anne ’s reign in the 1700s , nor was it mostly a revivification of the style from that time menses . Instead , Queen Anne developed in England in the latter one-half of the 19th 100 , technically making it a type of straightlaced architecture . These base were made mostly of brick and stone , largely symmetrical , and moderately simple and monotone in their shapes .
After crossing the Atlantic Ocean , Queen Anne was no longer the same style . The American interpretation was less subdued and classical in its fashion , develop more ornamental detailing and architectural features . It also morphed into an asymmetrical layout with more shapely features , like turrets and embayment window .
TheWatts - Sherman house , built in Newport , Rhode Island by H. H. Richardson , in 1874 , is typically moot to be the first American example of the Queen Anne style . It was popular in the United States from about 1880 to 1910 , and is considered a subtype of strait-laced computer architecture , alongsideItalianate , Gothic Revival , andSecond Empire .
Credit:Getty Images / ARK NEYMAN
Getty Images / ARK NEYMAN
Key Features of a Queen Anne House
According to the bookA Field Guide to American Housesby Virginia Savage McAlester ( 2015 revise edition ) , there are four different Queen Anne styles in the United States .
The most common style is also the most iconic : theSpindled Queen Anne . McAlester estimates that 50 % of all Queen Anne houses in the U.S. are built in this highly detailed style . These homes have with child amounts of spindlework and other wooden ornament sometimes referred to as gingerbread detail .
The second most common style is calledfree classic . grant to McAlester , about 35 % of American Queen Annes bond to thismore curb versionthat educate later in the style ’s popularity . Features include a less cosmetic exterior , often using classical columns and simple railings for porch instead of spindlework .
Each of the remain two styles account for 5 % of American Queen Annes : thetimber style(example ) has a mix of timber detailing and grievous , turned wood dialect that feel like to Tudor architecture , while themasonry style(example ) is mostly model with brick and stone rather than wood .
Queen Anne homes are typically two or three history tall , and can be found on great mansions and heavyset townhouses alike . The features may vary depending on the exact style , but these are some of the most recognizable feature of Queen Anne houses .
1. Asymmetrical Design
An asymmetrical designcontributes to Queen Anne ’s character . Unlike the distinctly balanced symmetry of theGeorgian homespopular prior to the Victorian geological era , Queen Anne houses apply signature tune architectural elements — rounded or octagonalturrets , bay tree windows , gables , and wrapper - around porches — to attain the uneven facade .
The Queen Anne profile is not entirely angular but often incorporatesarches , curves , and rounded elementsfor contrast . As pick up on George Franklin Barber ’s Queen Anne home base likeThe Gables , theuneven roofis typically steep but may also have decorative shapes around gables or atop features like tug .
2. Assorted Textures and Materials
Texturelivens up Queen Anne surfaces . Multiple wood siding patterns , or brick in wide-ranging blueprint , are often used to give dissimilar stratum of the home their own distinct style . Specific features such as gables and gun turret may also be a positioning for an alternate , sales booth - outsiding pick . The roof is another surface that commonly contain texture .
3. Ornate Exteriors
Ornate outside detailsare iconic to Queen Anne homes , such asThe Pinc Lady . Porches , window , Gable , and rooflines were extremely decorate creating what we often consider of asgingerbread trim . Ornamentation run from top to bottom , including cap - top finial and valance , scrolled brackets , decorative arch , patterned frieze , and frail balustrades often boast lace , lattice , bead spindles , and other elaborate scroll - sawn accent .
4. Varied Colors
Colorwas commonly used to highlight the diverge texture and details on the home ’s outside , stress siding changes , levels of the home , or the intricate details of the spindlework . Palettes often lie of three or more colors . Unlike the sweet pastel colors insure today , Queen Annes often featured darker , richer hues in contrast colouring — shade of sloppy greens , Red River , and browns were popular both inside and out .
5. Embellished Windows
QueenAnne house typically sport many tall sash window , often constructed of large panes of glass border with smaller glassful square accents . Leaded glass and sully glass are also common detail used to supercharge interior and exterior style . Some smaller size and cosmetic shape may also feature in areas such as gables . Bay windowsand oriel windows further add architectural dimension inside and out .
6. Interior Architectural Details
Interior architectural accentsmimic the ornate exteriors of Queen Anne houses . Rich woodworkincludes molding , paneling , ornamentation around window and doors , decorated ceiling , as well as the iconic spindlework and lattice accenting areas like doorways and stairway . carpentry also features prominently in built - in article of furniture like grand open fireplace smother .
7. Patterns
The interiors of Queen Anne rest home are n’t thin yet they ’re not overly decorated . InThe Complete Home , published in 1879 , author Mrs. Julia McNair Wright advocated for tidiness and order , as well as the need to prevent overcrowding when decorating interiors . model wallpaper , artwork , and wakeless draperieswere cited to give fictional character to the wall . pattern floorsandrugswere common as well . Also indicated by McNair Wright ( as well as legion other house publications from the Victorian era),decorating with bookswas especially encouraged .
