1893 Stick Victorian

Hi everyone, Enjoying your website.  This is our home in Trenton, Tn. Its a custom design by George F. Barber. We moved in two year ago and are trying to restore it ourselves, A long term project by all means. Now in the process of removing vinyl siding and restoring the original. It is a two part house, the front Barber design built in 1893 onto an 1846 home owned by the same family. Descendants of the original family lived here till 1979 when a local doctor bought it. We bought it from the doctor in 2006. I feel very lucky to have found such a house that hasn`t been totaly ruinavated and with a lot of history to go with it.

Beautiful home!  What else can I say.  Congratulations on acquiring such a find and thanks for sharing the pics!  Charles.

Why do sellers want to tell tall tales? You always get unbelieveable stories about how important something is or how old it is. I went to a tag sale last week and found an old coffee table. OK we know coffe tables aren`t that old so I think its 1950s, but its been marked down and I thought it would work in several places in our home so it was as good as sold, when the owners brother (politician, by the way) vollunteered and told us it had to be at least 150yr old. I`m non-confrontational so I just ignored it and bought it anyway. Justy a rant on my part but if they tell these kind of stories on cheap stuff how big do the tales get on a real antique. Part of the weeding process I guess. I took a pic of it in the home tour we did last week, with all the work going on here it may not be this clean again for some time.

You have a beautiful home. The second pic reminds me of my homes interior. I to have art on every wall. The wall in the background with 4 or 5 paintings is me for sure. I do like the painting on the landing as well.I can't go to a auction without leaving with either a victorian sofa or art, my Doctor tells me there's no meds for this. My poor wife I feel for her. John

I hear ya man! I love chairs and we have about 8 sofas and settees. Wife collects paintings and I collect early prints, so theres plenty of art and places to sit and look at it.  ::)  :D

This has been fun!

I have a quick technical question for you. 

What is the actual thickness of your "barge boards" (the gingerbread hanging under your roof line in front of the gables)?  Is it a full 2 inches?...1.5 inches?...something else? 

Please don't go up on a ladder to answer this...I'm just wondering if you happen to know.

Thank you,

Jason

The barg boards are a litle over 3/4 thick and are not in this photo It was so tight I decided to take them off to get the three coats of apint underneath before I put them and the crown moulding back. The trimwork is all different the brackets are 1 1/2 and the pieces with the rectangles are made up of three peices of 1/2" for a three demensional look. This house had a red stain on everything we stripped and only the places it had wore off had any rot.

This is very helpful...thank you!  Just to confirm, the thickness of the barge boards up in the 2nd-story gables is the same thickness as those on your porch gable?...around 3/4"?

A few years ago I made up replacement gingerbread (barge boards), but I haven't got around to putting it up and, over the years, I have come to wonder if using 3/4" material (actual thickness) is too thin (granted, I layer it up with some other 1/2" & 3/4" material in places for a total of 2.0"). 

Thank you so much. 

- Jason

We love the flea market at Nashville Tn. Actually thats where we met so its always special when we can take a day off and go. This weekend was one of those that you find all kinds of things but only have a pickup to haul trhem back in, and believe me it was full when we left. I just wanted to show the peice of stained glass we found for our rear stairway. also got a coridinating window for the room below. They told me it was a Chicago made window, It didn`t matter because I fell in love with the web! These really cleaned up nicely and have great colors that tie in with the golds and cranberrys in our other windows.  :)