The Venerable Victorian House
With their signature turrets, ornate and asymmetrical exteriors, wraparound porches, and stained glass windows, Victorian homes endure as head-turning icons of architectural elegance. We’ve curated a half-dozen exceptional examples, spanning the relative simplicity of Folk Victorian to the elaborate Italianate — each adorned with intricate trim and brimming with centuries-old character alongside modern comforts like chef’s kitchens and spa-inspired baths.
1190 North Avenue, Beacon, NY | c.1890
Owned by just three families since it was built, the Florence House is a pink shingled wonder in the Hudson Valley city of Beacon. Fully renovated, the home’s interiors have been wonderfully reimagined into a four-bedroom, three-bath (plus two-powder room) layout that marries historic splendor with modern conveniences. Original details include parquet white oak floors, in the living and dining rooms, and a clawfoot tub in the main bath. In the turret, you’ll find a duo of bonus spaces that can be used as home offices, playrooms, or just as a place to unwind. The primary bedroom has its own alcove, accessed through an archway with plaster details and a walk-in closet. The house is available furnished, if desired, for true turnkey living.
Listed By: Yves Samuel Bouzaglo and Stephanie Bogdan of Corcoran Country Living.
222 E. Gwinnett Street, Savannah, GA | c.1884
This sweet Southern belle sits in the heart of Savannah’s Historic District, delighting from the curb with its gingerbread bracketing, running trim, and turret. The primary residence boasts four en suite bedrooms and multiple formal reception areas, with multiple fireplaces offering crackling warmth in the dining room, living room, and three of the bedrooms. Other details include bay windows — one, in the bedroom, has a built-in window seat — elaborate chandeliers, crown moulding, and a carved finial on the staircase. There’s also a separate carriage house, with two additional units; a side porch; a walled garden; and off-street parking. The house is just a couple of blocks from Forsyth Park, great dining, and the rest of the Historic District.
Listed By: Andrew Cosey of Corcoran Austin Hill.
Unusually for San Francisco, where tall and narrow Painted Ladies march up and down the fog-covered hills, this duplex is a wide, flat-roofed variant of the city’s iconic Victorian architecture. The façade is decorated with gaily painted corbels, metallic medallions, and fretwork spandrels over the doorway, with stained-glass windows incorporated into each unit’s front door. There’s a three-bedroom, one-bathroom flat on the lower level, and a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment on the upper level. Both units have access to the garden via the back, with the second floor descending down an exterior spiral staircase. Interior details include coffered ceilings, a built-in window seat, and an ornate fireplace. The property also includes a garden with a koi pond and an art studio with an attached greenhouse.
Listed By: Michael Salstein of Corcoran Icon Properties.
111 S. 4th Street, Wilmington, NC | c.1849/1870
Set on one of the most coveted — and one way! — streets in Wilmington’s Historic District, the Jones-Mitchell house appears as the central bloom in a bouquet, surrounded by a profusion of seasonal blooms, including magnolia trees and colorful azaleas. Originally built in the 1840s, the four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom house was remodeled in the Italianate style in the 1870s, offering a welcoming front porch where you can sit for a spell, and interiors that include a formal parlor with a fireplace, a dining room with a gold leaf ceiling, a den, a solarium, a sunroom, and a bright, cheerful kitchen with three walls of windows. Unusually for a Victorian, this house boasts an elevator, which services all floors, as well as a sweeping staircase and multiple fireplaces in both common and private spaces.
320 East 18th Street, Brooklyn, NY | c.1899
Victorian Flatbush — especially Ditmas Park — is where you’ll (appropriately) find New York City’s largest collection of Victorian houses, a land of large and historic single-family homes in an architectural landscape that’s dramatically different than brownstones and skyscrapers. This 4,000-square-foot Brooklyn charmer has five bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms, including a primary suite with vaulted, skylit ceilings and a spa-style bathroom, and was completely reimagined for modern life, while retaining its historic details. There are fireplaces in the foyer, dining room, and living room, and a majestic set of stairs with stained-glass bay windows. In a true rarity for New York City, there’s not only a wraparound porch, but also a two-bay garage and a private driveway.
Listed By: Karen Talbott, Kyle Talbott, and Scott Sternberg of Corcoran’s Park Slope Union office.
174 Cherry Street, Commerce, GA | c.1843/1870
Listed on the National Historic Registry and believed to be the oldest home in town, the Seaborn M. Shankle House began as a modest two-room cabin in 1843, later transformed into its current Italianate form during an 1870 reconstruction. Today, it stands as a quintessential example of Folk Victorian architecture — more restrained than its Queen Anne or Eastlake counterparts — defined by its two-story profile and a single-story front porch adorned with detailed spindlework. This historic five-bedroom, three-bathroom residence has an additional claim to fame, as it was the childhood home of Olive Ann Burns, author of best-seller Cold Sassy Tree, a novel based on her own experience growing up in Commerce and renamed Cold Sassy in her fictional depiction. Out back, there’s a pool, newly added hardscaping, perennial plantings, and an irrigation system — modern conveniences that only add to the property’s winsome ways. Commerce is an hour to Atlanta or under a half hour drive to downtown Athens.
Listed By: Jarrett Martin of Corcoran Classic Living.
