I am buying a house built in 1913. I want to restore it back to its original state. Should it be considered Art Deco or Vicorian? Thanks, Lisa

-- Lisa Strauch (lisaand trent@cs.com), June 26, 2001

Answers

Technically neither. Queen Victoria was long dead by then, so Victorian is probably a misnomer. The style lived on. The genesis for Art Deco is usually placed as 1925, from the Paris Exhibition of that year, but like all broad themes, precise beginning dates and ending dates are fairly arbitrary. However 1913 is likely to be far too early for an art deco makeover.

What does it look like? Do you have any early photos.

-- R Bradshaw (dstc47@indigo.ie), July 01, 2001.

Just a thought...you might want to consider craftsman design. You can find a lot of info online on craftsman bungalows and other craftsman designs.

-- charmaine m hammel (charmaine@hammel.com), January 03, 2002.

1913 was the peak period for Craftsman Bungalow style homes (I have one that's 1912). For a great resource on restoring to period, check out www.ambungalow.com

-- OA (oamaro@earthlink.net), May 20, 2002.

We have researched homes from this time period when looking to purchase. technically it is considered a craftsman style home not referring to the catalog models that were also purchased and built at the time. The craftsman style was from about 1890- 1930. Although it is still technically a victorian time period. During this time period almost all of the archetectural development for modern home and building design were formulated. Fran Loyd Wright has some fantastic out of this world designs from about 1916 on. But the american craftsman design style is probably best formulated with a spakling of art nouvou and victorian when looking to

-- Kim YoungShepherd (keys4art@aol.com), June 18, 2003.