Category: Historic Perservation

From train wreck to grand painted lady! I get to meet a lot of great houses with my occupation, but I also have the pleasure of meeting many wonderful homeowners. This is one such homeowner in Wilmette, Illinois. The beginning of their “once upon a time’ story was July 7, 1995, when Tim and his wife Pam took on a dilapidated Victorian built in 1893. The home had unfortunately been stripped of virtually all its charming Victorian “gingerbread” features. And like others who tackle such a herculean task, the couple battled through whatever was thrown at them to make their home beautiful once more – while bringing up a family at the same time. Here's how their home looked when they purchased it.  And now for the “happily ever after”…

Happy Birthday Queen Victoria! Today we celebrate the birthday of Queen Victoria, who was born on May 24, 1819.  She became queen at the tender age of 18 and gave the Victorian era its name. During her six-decade rule she was responsible for the creation of the British Empire, becoming one of Britain’s most famous monarchs. Description of Victorian Architecture Victorian architecture is an over-riding term that describes the many ornate architectural styles that came into being during Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837 to 1901. Likewise, the Victorian era of architecture includes several different styles, including Gothic Revival, Greek Revival, Shingle, Second Empire, Folk Victorian, Romanesque Revival, Queen Anne and Italianate style. The Victorian era is marked with decorative details and ornamentation, rejecting the practical simplicity of previous architectural eras.…

A trip through Columbus Ohio is never complete for my husband and me until we stop in and visit the charming town of German Village. It a historic neighborhood, situated just south of the city's downtown.  As the name suggests, it was settled by a large number of German immigrants in the early-to-mid-19th century.  At one time these immigrants totaled close to a third of the city's entire population. I am now well into a series of house portraits depicting some of my favorite homes in the area, as part of a series of 50 paintings of homes and historic buildings I have now created within the greater Columbus area. The city of Columbus has a fascinating history, but in this article I am concentrating on the earliest residential area in the…