Tall steeply pitched hipped roof (occasionally gabled in towered subtype) without dominate front-facing cross gable; eaves commonly flared upward at roof-wall junction; brick, stone, or stucco wall cladding, sometimes with decorative half-timbering. Based upon precedents provided by many centuries of French domestic architecture, the style shows great variety in form and detailing but is united by the characteristic roof. The use of half-timbering with variety of different wall materials, as well as roofs of flat tile, slate, stone, or thatch, are common to both. As a result, French Eclectic houses often resemble the contemporaneous Tudor style based on related English precedent.
Identifying Features (according to Antique Home):
- “Tall, steeply pitched, hipped roof
- Eaves commonly flared upward
- Masonry wall cladding of stone or brick; often stucco
- Rounded Norman towers are common
- Massive chimneys
- Range of architectural detail including quoins, pediments, pilasters
- Windows may be casement or double hung and French doors are used”
Sources:
Virginia McAlester, Lee McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses, French Eclectic; New York: Knopf, 1984.
Antique Home, French Eclectic, http://www.antiquehome.org/Architectural-Style/french-eclectic.htm (May 23 2010)
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