Hemingway House - Key West, Florida

Hemingway House - Victorian style home 1851

It was Ernest Hemingway's friend, John Dos Pasos, who first suggested Florida as a place to live. That was in Paris. The year was 1928. He'd recently married journalist Pauline Pfeiffer who wanted to return to the USA.

So off they went, to Key West. But life still had some curve balls to throw before they could settle down. Pauline suffered a difficult pregnancy and the birth of their son Patrick took its toll on her health. Hemingway fictionalized this in A Farewell to Arms. His own burgeoning career also kept him on the road, not the least of which was a trip to Spain for research on Death in the Afternoon.

Hemingway House - Key West, Florida

But it all came together in 1931 when he, Pauline, their cherished collection of European art and antiques collected in Paris, and several local cats, all settled into the spacious, two-story home in Key West, with its filigree of ironwork porches wrapping around all four sides, and shuttered french doors, flung open to allow the Caribbean breezes to waft through.

The Hemingways' bedroom, with a chandelier brought back from Europe

Asa Tift, marine engineer and salvage wrecker, built the home in 1851, using limestone from the site. It featured such luxuries as indoor plumbing and the first swimming pool in Key West. Very sturdily built, it survived many hurricanes in which nearby homes were destroyed.

Hemingway House - First Floor Plan

With every room having multiple exposures and opening onto shaded balconies, the home takes full advantage of the balmy local climate. Breezes keep it cool on the hottest days, while it shelters under its broad roof overhangs.

Drawings for this Hemingway House 1851 are available at Historic American Homes.

The porch is double story, so the bedrooms on the second floor benefit from its shelter as well. Virtually every room has doors opening out onto it, providing communion with the lush surrounding landscape.

Hemingway House - Second Floor Plan

Hemingway and Pauline Pfeiffer lived in the home until 1939, after which they separated and later divorced. Though Hemingway spent little time in the home after that he retained ownership up until his death in 1961.

After his death the home was turned into a museum honoring him and his work. The descendants of his cats continue to live there today and are a major attraction.

This beautiful home, built along simple and substantial lines, is a model for homes in warm-humid climates. The wrap-around porches and rooms with multiple exposures capture local breezes while keeping rooms shaded. The generous depth of the balconies encourages outdoor living and enjoyment of the surrounding nature.

With a ceiling height of around 12' on the ground floor the rooms feel spacious and almost grand, if it weren't for way the french doors, porches and terraces foster an informal and relaxed lifestyle.

Drawings for this Hemingway House 1851 are available at Historic American Homes.

Forks of Cypress - a Florence, Alabama Plantation

Classic Southern Style Home Plan

At the confluence of the Big Cypress and Little Cypress creeks stand 36 brick columns, all that is left of the magnificent Forks of Cypress Plantation.

James Jackson, an Irish immigrant who came to the USA and made good, built this magnificent mansion in 1830, as the center of his plantation. He died a decade later but his wife Sarah continued to manage the estate up until the Civil War. Author Alex Haley's slave ancestors once worked on this estate and Union forces used the property as a base camp. Forks of Cypress stands in the heart of its time and place, a perfect image of its most gracious and saddest qualities.

Passing through various owners after the war, it slowly fell into disrepair. Then in the mid-20th century it was miraculously restored to its former beauty, only to be struck by lightning in 1966. It burned to the ground. All that stands today are its brick columns, like soldiers standing guard at an honored grave.

With its porch wrapping around all four sides this mansion is the epitome of Antebellum style. Front and back halls are joined by a wide arch, effectively making one room that stretches the full depth of the house. This encourages cross ventilation throughout the house, an effective cooling strategy for the local warm-humid climate.

Double height columns and the broad porch also protect the walls from the direct rays of hot summer sunshine, helping to keep the place cool.

The house was built with brick and wood. Brick was used for the columns, fireplaces, and chimneys. The columns had stone bases and the brick shafts were plastered to appear as stone. Wood framing with poplar siding was used for the walls and the roof.

The interior fittings demonstrated a high level of design and craftsmanship and the detailed drawings prepared by the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) in the 1930s fortunately preserved many of these details, including its elegant staircase.

Years after its destruction in the tragic fire of 1966 a replica was built in Florence, Alabama, serving as a small office building. It gives a hint of what the mansion might have looked like in its heighday.

Drawings for this southern style home can be found in the collection of Historic American Homes.

Is This the Original Tiny House? - 1832, Alexander Campbell Study

I recently had the pleasure of running across the drawings for this delightful building at the Historic American Building Survey. It's a small garden pavilion built as a haven for quiet contemplation and study.

Is this the original tiny house?

It was built by Alexander Campbell in 1832 in Bethany, West Virginia.

Alexander Campbell and his father Thomas where the influential founders of the Disciples of Christ, one of the earliest homegrown denominations to emerge in the young United States of America. Thomas Campbell built a simple and spacious home in Bethany, West Virginia. Over the years Alexander added to this and eventually built the lovely Tudor/Gothic style hexagonal study in the garden. It is a simple, geometric and light-filled structure of whitewashed brick, with Gothic style pointed arches and buttresses.

The main hexagon space is lined with bookcases and is top lit by a cupola. Opposite the entrance an alcove opens off the back, almost like a church altar opposite the entrance. With a cozy fireplace as a focal point this becomes a spot to sit and enjoy a book taken from the overflowing bookshelves.

If I were using this as a model for a new design, I might consider replacing one bookshelf with a Murphy style, drop down bed, which could then be lifted out of the way during the day to keep the floor space clear. For fun I might wallpaper the underside of the bed with old book bindings so that when it was in the upright position it hid among the bookcases.

The original design has a second door off the alcove. I consider that unnecessary in such a small space. So I would eliminate that and put a small kitchenette against that wall. The back alcove would extend 3 feet beyond the fireplace and I would tuck a shower and toilet back there.

The plans in the image above are available at my Historic American Homes store. Please drop by and browse around. No pressure to buy anything to take home. But if you do I'd be thrilled.

Tayloe Office - the Original Tiny House

Among the outbuildings typically surrounding a Colonial Williamsburg home, offices are not uncommon. However, the Tayloe Office, with its ogee shaped roof and curved, vaulted ceiling inside, is unique, and beautiful. Built sometime in the 18th century, it was later remodeled to include a small bath and kitchenette. In the 19th century it was moved to its present location.

The Tayloe Office, Colonial Williamsburg

The ogee roof is certainly not a common feature in colonial architecture, but it is not without precedent.The Elizabethan era Montacute House, in Somerset, Great Britain, would have been known to many at the time. It is famous partly for its pair of garden pavilions with ogee roofs.

Pavilion at Montacute House, Photo by Eileen C. Walker

The framing of ogee roofs was also included in popular architectural treatises from the 18th through early 20th centuries. Books such as Radford's Cyclopedia gave builders even in relatively remote frontier locations access to the latest stylistic and technical ideas.

Radford's Cyclopedia of Construction, Vol. 8, 1909

William Pain - "The Builder's Companion, Second Edition", London, 1765

The Tayloe Office, Williamsburg, Virginia, was built in the 18th century, as a doctor's office, adjacent to the doctor's own home but providing privacy for patients. Other Colonial and early Federal era homes contained offices as well. These offices were used for a variety of professional purposes, such as law, or for the administering of estates.

Howard Dearstyne - "The Architectural Report: The Tayloe House Block 28 - Colonial Lots 262 and 231"

The Tayloe Office would have been one of a group of  outbuildings, including such things as kitchens and laundries. The office originally was a single room. During its 1950-51 restoration it was divided up inside to provide a bath and kitchen, a full living space suitable for a guest.

From the 1978 Historic American Building survey

Measuring only 16' on each side, and yet containing complete bathing and cooking facilities, the Tayloe Office, if not the first tiny house, certainly qualifies as a very early and highly stylish example.

From the 1978 Historic American Building survey

The drawings above are snippets from a beautiful set that was prepared by the Historic American Building Survey in 1978. High quality reprints of the full drawing set are available here for purchase.

From the 1978 Historic American Building survey

Some Colonial Williamsburg Homes

The Brafferton, Williamsburg, VA - 1723

The Brafferton is not a house in the typical sense. It began its life, in 1723, as the Indian School for the College of William & Mary. As such, however, it served as both school and dormitory. In its later history it also served as housing for professors.

The plan is a classic foursquare house plan with the exception of the 2 rooms on one side of the hall being expanded into a single, larger room. The central hall, extending clear through from the front to the rear of the house, is a typical climate adaptation found all across the South. It encourages through ventilation of the hall and cross ventilation of the rooms on either side. This air movement is an effective strategy for providing cooling in the hot-humid southern climate.

The Brafferton - basement

The Brafferton - first floor

The Brafferton - second floor

The brickwork, main entry door and cornice are particularly fine and well proportioned examples of the time, models for anybody wishing to build a Colonial Style home today.

The Brafferton - front elevation

The Brafferton - side elevation and entry detail

The Griffin House, (1760s) is a smaller adaptation of the same foursquare type plan. Nominally a single story house, it has kitchens in the full basement and bedrooms in the attic.

Griffin House, Williamsburg, VA - 1760s

The entry hall, like in The Brafferton, stretches from the front to the back of the house. However, small anterooms at each end appear to enclose the hall. Despite this, the hall still serves its ventilation purpose very well. Not only can the anteroom doors be left open on warmer days, the middle dormer at the rear of the build actually lights the staircase landing, providing an excellent location for hot, rising air to be exhausted from the hall.

Griffin House - basement

Griffin House - first floor

Griffin House - attic

This beautifully drawn section through the hall illustrates both the surprisingly grand stair in this "single story" house and the effective use of the dormer at the stair landing.

Griffin House - section through stair hall

The Griffin House boasts some very fine interior wood detailing, admirably captured in these drawings. Its woodwork embodies the serene proportions of the best Palladian inspired Colonial architecture. The existing entry porch is a Victorian addition.

Griffin House - mantelpiece

The George Wythe House, (1750s), was built by Richard Talliaferro, father-in-law of George Wythe, who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Wythe House, Williamsburg, VA, 1750s

The Wythe House is the perfect example of the foursquare plan. The basement contains the services. The plan of central entry hall, flanked by 2 rooms on each side, is repeated on the upper level. Each room contains its fireplace and windows in 2 walls, allowing for effective warmth in winter and cross ventilation in summer.

Wythe House - basement

Wythe House - first floor

Wythe House - second floor

The woodwork throughout is superb, with windows set deeply into the brick walls so that interior shutters integrate with the window trim. The stairway, with its accelerating rhythm of panel, tread and baluster, links the first and second floor halls into a continuous flow of space. Moldings throughout are classically proportioned.

Wythe House - window details

Wythe House - stair details

Wythe House - moldings

 Exterior elevations of brick and white painted wood trim exemplify the simplicity of the best Colonial work.

Wythe House - entry elevation

Wythe House - side elevation

All the drawings above are from the Historic American Building Survey. Large format prints are available for purchase at www.historichomeplans.net.