When You See These Historic Home Exteriors, You’ll Fall in Love

Let’s take a little trip across the country today to see historic home exteriors in different areas. I think you’ll have fun learning a little history while enjoying all the curb appeal!

Let’s start in Florida with the Brokaw-McDougall house found in Tallahassee. Construction began in 1856 and took four years to complete. It now serves as the offices for the Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board. The home is painted in a beautiful shade of mustard yellow with complementary olive green trim. Live oaks dripping with Spanish moss create a romantic scene.

 

Over in Galveston, Texas, you’ll find this Queen Anne Victorian historic home that’s located in the Silk Stocking district. The neighborhood received its name from the fact that the wealthy people who lived here could afford to buy silk stockings. Take a moment to soak in all the architectural details of this magnificent beauty. Stunning!

 

This cheerful yellow beauty is also located in the Silk Stocking district of Galveston. I’m amazed by the intricate paint job of the second story. I think it would be fun to paint that trim in all those colors if it didn’t have to be done on a ladder.

 

You’ll find the next historic home on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. Known as the Pink Lady, its neighbor is the blue lady. The Pink Lady was built in 1889 and has been pink for decades. Even the trim on the roof is painted pink. It’s the same shade of pink as my house when I first bought it.

 

Next we’re heading to Isle of Hope, Georgia, which is located about 8 miles from downtown Savannah. This historic district took about 100 years to develop, beginning in the early 1800s. This house features a large wraparound porch and white picket fence.

 

Speaking of Savannah, here’s a typical street with stately homes. It’s been years since I last visited Savannah but I’ll never forget its ethereal vibe. There’s certainly no shortage of eye candy.

 

You might recognize this next historic home located in Pennsylvania. It’s the Isaac Potts house, which became George Washington’s headquarters in Valley Forge. I love the stone work on this house, along with the round window at the peak of the house.

 

Rural Virginia is home to this extremely well-preserved, circa 1809 brick house.

 

This charming Cape Cod in St. Michael’s Village of Maryland looks new, but it’s part of the historic district.

 

Have you ever visited Weir Farm in Connecticut? Weir House is painted a cheery red with green shutters. It was the home of impressionist artist, Julian Alden Weir. The original home was built around 1770 but Weir added onto it after moving there in the 1800s.

 

Heading over to New Hampshire, there’s no shortage of stunning homes in Portsmouth which I visited this past summer. Not only are there a range of architectural styles, but there’s a variety of paint colors, too.

 

You can walk around Portsmouth for hours and still not see all the beauty and history this bustling town has to offer.

 

This next yellow stately house is located in Salem, Massachusetts and features an old wrought iron fence.

 

A similar fence encircles this classic brick beauty, also in Salem.

 

If you’ve been to Springfield, Illinois, you might recognize this as Abe Lincoln’s home. All of my children have gone on school field trips to the town to learn a bit of our state history.

 

This brown Victorian is located in Kansas City. Rather than keep the porch posts all white, they’re wrapped in a band of green. I always enjoy seeing how homeowners paint the details of their Victorian homes.

 

Today’s collection of historic home exteriors is a teeny tiny sampling of the architecture in the U.S. If I ever get to Europe, I know I’ll be enamored with all the old homes there are to explore. That’s one thing we don’t get here – buildings that are hundreds and hundreds of years old!