A look at an Italianate Design

American Italianate homes were loosely modeled after the villas of Italy. The design is defined more by the ornamentation than by the structure itself. Basically, it's a simple box with a lot of ornamentation with respect to cornices, windows, porches and doorways. The key elements include:

•    Rectangular - It is usually a plain shape with a tight symmetrical floor plan.

•    Sloping Roofs - They usually have a slightly sloping roof with deep overhanging eaves, supported by a row of decorative brackets. 

•    Building Materials - Generally the homes were brick, stone or stucco.

•    Tall Windows - The windows are always tall and slim and most often rounded on the top.

•    Columned Entryway - A single story column supported porch protects the entrance way.

Square tower or Cupola - Most homes have a centrally places square cupola just above the roof line. 

Our home is in the Center Street Historic District in Henderson, KY. It is a four block long neighborhood, which reflects the evolution of late 19^th century domestic architecture. It is a large two-story brick home and according to documents developed for the Kentucky Heritage Council it is the best vernacular Italianate house in the district.

The details at the top of our home.

The arch detail above the windows.

The Kentucky Heritage Council documentation continues: “It is simple in form and detail, it employs a side passage plan with setback addition. The window openings are capped by segmental arches and the main entrance element is topped by a flat lintel. This element is reminiscent of the Greek Revival movement with the opening topped by a large glass transom and flanked by sidelights.

“The Italianate influence can be seen in the deep cornice elements with its elaborate, paired brackets, and in the flat roof. The structures location and setting do much to give it a feeling of prominence. Standing at the southwest corner of Center and Alvasia, the Brown House was constructed on a raised lot which sets it physically above the surrounding homes.”

But our home is small and very plain in comparison to one of the most famous Italianate homes in America, The Breakers, in Newport RI. We visited the Breakers a couple of years ago and it is amazing. I have included a little history and a few pictures here just so you can see the romance of the era.

The Breakers is the grandest of Newport's summer "cottages" and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family's social and financial preeminence in turn of the century America.

Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) established the family fortune in steamships and later in the New York Central Railroad, which was a pivotal development in the industrial growth of the nation during the late 19th century. 

The Commodore's grandson, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, became Chairman and President of the New York Central Railroad system in 1885, and purchased a wooden house called The Breakers in Newport during that same year. In 1893, he commissioned architect Richard Morris Hunt to design a villa to replace the earlier wood-framed house which was destroyed by fire the previous year. Hunt directed an international team of craftsmen and artisans to create a 70 room Italian Renaissance- style palazzo inspired by the 16th century palaces of Genoa and Turin. Allard and Sons of Paris assisted Hunt with furnishings and fixtures, Austro-American sculptor Karl Bitter designed relief sculpture, and Boston architect Ogden Codman decorated the family quarters. 

The Vanderbilts had seven children. Their youngest daughter, Gladys, who married Count Laszlo Szechenyi of Hungary, inherited the house on her mother's death in 1934. An ardent supporter of The Preservation Society of Newport County, she opened The Breakers in 1948 to raise funds for the Society. In 1972, the Preservation Society purchased the house from her heirs. Today, the house is designated a National Historic Landmark.

Hiring an Architect

Horace and I had spent enough time dreaming about a new kitchen that we felt like we could do it ourselves. But we had never done a project like this  so we decided we needed an architect. I had never thought about hiring an architect before so I wasn't sure who to talk to.    And then one day I was telling my brother about our idea and he reminded me that a friend of his from high school was now an architect in Henderson, but more importantly, he had done an old house project right after school and currently lived in an old house. So I gave Tim Townsend a call. I knew immediately he was going to be a good fit. We spent an hour talking about how important maintaining the original design integrity of the house was. Basically, we wanted an addition that would look like it had always been there.

So I invited Tim over to the house for a tour. He took a lot of measurements and we talked about everything we would want to include in the addition. We explained that we wanted to square up the house, have a kitchen and sitting/entertaining area. It seemed simple. But a few weeks later Tim sent back a drawing that had the basic idea with a couple of extras. Tim explained that to get everything we wanted in the addition we would need a little more room so he added a hearth room. Horace was certain that the additional section was not in keeping with the style of the house. But I knew Tim was right about one thing, we needed the extra space. So we let the plans lay for awhile. Three or four months later we started talking about the plans again, but this time we did a little more homework. Turns out Tim had added a standard feature (with a twist) of an Italianate home that we were missing. Our house didn't have the tower, cupola or bay window. Tim's addition, actually made the house more authentic rather than less. With that settled, Horace was ready to talk to Tim again.

We were still struggling with the way the bay area of the house was situated. We have a wonderful side garden and we didn't want to loose anymore of the garden than we absolutely had too. So we talked to Tim and he came up with a few more ideas.

Planning the Expansion

Owning an old home is great, that is if you like always having a project. And in a home that is over 160 years old there is usually more than one project going at a time. Over the past twelve years we've done several do it yourself projects, including refinishing floors, adding a bathroom, remodeling a bathroom, repairing leaky roofs and more. This old house has seen a lot of changes since we moved in. Some of the changes have happened simply because a house this old needs a lot of ongoing maintenance, but most of the changes happen because we were adapting the house to accommodate how we live.

To be honest, in a house with 13 inch solid brick walls from the cellar to the attic you aren't going to dramatically change the structure of the house. You won't be knocking down a wall to open up a space or add a closet. The layout of the house hasn't changed much at all in 160 years. Originally the house probably didn't have an indoor kitchen. Today the kitchen is tucked away in the back of the house, far away from the main entertaining area of the house. And while we have painted, wallpapered, repaired plaster, refinished the floors, etc., we have never been able to fix the fact that the house was laid out for a very different style of living. So about two or three years ago Horace and I started dreaming about an addition. Every now again, usually after a family gathering or a party we would casually discuss what we imagined an addition look like.

The living room and dining room are in the original double parlors off of a large main hall. With over a 1000 square feet of space there is certainly enough room for entertaining. Unfortunately, everyone wants to be in the kitchen that barely has 250 square feet. The house is build on an L design and an addition was put on probably sometime in the 1940's. That side addition was once a large open area with a side door that served as the main entrance to the house. Over the past twelve years we have divided the space to accommodate the laundry area, a pantry closet, junk room and a slightly upgraded entrance area. The only problem is the area has old windows, a roof that won't stop leaking and rotten siding. At some point it needs to be torn down and replaced. And that's where the vision for the addition started.

If we tore the already deteriorated area down and replaced it with an addition that squared up the house we could have a modern great room. A modern great room with modern (interpret that to mean new and working) features. Wow! This would change everything. Certainly the existing house at 4500 square feet has plenty of space, but a new kitchen with enough space to allow for modern entertaining would be my greatest dream for this house.

So now and again, Horace and I would start talking about how we would lay this new room out and what we would want if we could start from scratch. The best part about tearing the 1940's addition off and basically squaring up the L section of the house is that it would be a straight shot into the existing dining room and living room. All we would have to do is take out two windows and create double doors into the area. It was a simple idea. And sometimes those are the best.