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.