My husband and I are buying an old house in a victorian neighborhood. The house needs a lot of work and I am trying to find out more about what the original intentions of the architects... but am getting stumped in trying to identify the style. It was built in 1902, has stained shingles, an odd roofline...

Here are photos of the exterior:

{broken images}

I've heard it described as four-sqaure, gothic, and shingle.

Thoughts?


Thanks in advance.

One of the first things we need to have done is a complete tear-off of the roof. I want to make sure the new roof is the right color shingle.

Disclaimer:
This will be our first house... and actually the first "house" I will have lived in since leaving home for college well over a decade ago. I had been living in large cities (nyc, s.f., minneapolis) before getting engaged and moving in with my husband in Toledo, Ohio. We are in a loft downtown... neither of us have any experience with restoration.

I am a graphic designer with good color skills but in true fashion to graphic design I would like to know the "rules" before I even begin to consider breaking them. My husband is pushing me to "use whatever colors you like", but I am very aware of the difference between a printed piece of paper and a house... and feel completely lost at this moment.

By-the-way, this house is in the historic Old West End district of Toledo ("THE LARGEST NEIGHBORHOOD OF LATE VICTORIAN, EDWARDIAN, AND ARTS & CRAFTS HOMES... EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI according to Historic Old West End of Toledo)

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would anyone happen to know if there is a another forum somewhere better suited to these questions?

If I had to guess, I would say it looks like a Foursquare with a Gothic Revival style roof

I agree with Dave.

It is more gothic than Tudor. And it does look like the overall design of a Foursquare. This means that it has a true second story on it unlike the bungalow. Therefore, you get more square footage and a real attic for storage.

Why not try a copper roof on your porch? It should turn a nice, warn brown. There are lots of neat textures/styles these days. The upscale A & C houses often had slate roofs but those can be very expensive.

Also, some of the papers you got with the house should record the year it was built and/or who built it or designed it.

Bev.