I am crazy-go-nuts about Storybook Style architecture. Crazy. Go. Nuts. I was crazy about it before I knew it was a style, because Louisville, Kentucky, where I grew up, is rich with Storybook houses, neighborhoods, and elements.
Then I got a copy of Storybook Style: America’s Whimsical Homes of the Twenties by Arrol Gellner at a half-price book store and the obsession began.
Storybook Style began when the boys came home from Europe after World War One. They were full of memories of the architecture of the countryside and villages, and translated those memories — sometimes faithfully, sometimes whimsically — with an American accent. Some of the architecture they copied was already what’s known as “vernacular”, meaning specific to the customs of a particular place or the preferences of a particular owner/builder.
In this area (we call it Kentuckiana, meaning northern Kentucky and southern Indiana), a lot of fairly ordinary houses have Storybook elements: round-topped doors, often surrounded by a different material than the rest of the wall, doors at angles, and “cat slide” roofs, which are steep and come down lower than necessary, often with a flip at the end.
Here are three such houses in the neighborhood where one of my brothers-in-law and his wife live.
A very Storybook house, with half-timbered bits, stone construction, a roof that goes off into all angles, a rounded door, and an arched opening off the porch. A classic!
Two cat slide roofs! Note the round and rounded windows with the stone accents, and the stone around the door.
This one just seems to have the Storybook bits stuck on, although it’s more likely that there’s been some ham-handed updating, instead. I particularly like the little arrow-shooting window next to the front door, and the occasional lighter-colored stone mixed in with the dark brick. A very Storybook touch.
My friend Jane took me on a driving tour of a Storybook neighborhood, and I snapped so many pictures, but I can’t find them at the moment.
[revision: I forgot to say this is part of Norm Frampton’s Thursday Door series! Go see Norm’s post and follow the links to the other participants. If you want to join, you have until Saturday to post your link.]
Are there any Storybook houses around you?
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character tries to recreate a house they used to know.
MA
Dan
November 5, 2015 at 7:37amThese are wonderful Marian!
Marian Allen
November 5, 2015 at 7:49amEVERYBODY GO OVER TO DAN’S BLOG AND LOOK AT HIS GRACE CHURCH PHOTOS — Wonderful stuff!
Thanks for the comment, Dan; I do love Storybook Style. If I can dig up those other pictures, I’ll do another post on them. 🙂
Dan
November 5, 2015 at 7:54amThanks for that shout out – and I do mean Shout!
norm2.0
November 5, 2015 at 8:47amSome beautiful choices this week. I like the mix of brick, stone, and siding on that last one. Thanks for sharing them 🙂
Marian Allen
November 5, 2015 at 9:45amI’m always happy to share Storybook Style. 🙂
Jane
November 5, 2015 at 10:47amOr, you can snap some more pix next week. 😉
jan
November 5, 2015 at 2:41pmThese houses remind me of the two years I spent in Evanston Illinois – a town filled with storybook houses!
Marian Allen
November 5, 2015 at 3:01pmEvanston sounds like a good place to visit, then!
A.C. Flory
November 5, 2015 at 6:56pmThank you, thank you! I’ve always loved this style as well, without knowing it had a name. We have an artists colony near where I live that’s open to the public and it has architecture very similar to some of the examples shown. If you’re interested it’s called Montsalvat and it’s like a village of weird and wonderful houses. From the same vintage too, I think.
Marian Allen
November 6, 2015 at 10:11amAnother item on my imaginary bucket list! Thanks, Meeka — love the pictures!!
janet
November 6, 2015 at 8:44pmI just learned something new. Thanks for the beautiful lesson.
janet
Marian Allen
November 7, 2015 at 8:30amThanks for coming by, Janet! I do love Storybook Style, and I’m always SO glad when other people like it, too. 🙂