About the style

Carpenter Gothic became possible with the development of power saws. Although the name of the style conjures visions of carpenters whipping out elaborate trim in their home workshops, it was actually a style fueled by readily available mass-produced trims. While Gothic Revival is usually the style of churches and universities -- Yale is Gothic Revival, as is the Emma Willard School that has appeared in many movies -- Carpenter Gothic was the style of middle-class cottages. It was popularized by Andrew Jackson Davis' Rural Residences and Andrew Jackson Downing's Architecture of Country Houses.

Lots of description and photos can be found online:

• Old House Web
• Architecture at About.com
• Local architecture from Buffalo, New York
• Examples on Webshots
• Examples on Flickr

I'm a little nervous about recommending a book I haven't read, but Linda Osment's Victorian Gothic House Style at least has a pretty cover.

What color shall we paint it?

You may have noticed that the houses in the photos tend to be light-colored, with white or light trim. It's difficult to know when white is truly the right choice, as the fashion in the early twentieth century was to paint all "old houses" white. However, as Moss and Winkler point out in Victorian Exterior Decoration, writers in the 1840s lamented how readily people painted houses white.

The palettes suggested by paint companies were generally pale-colored, emphasizing stone and putty tones. Old House Web's research agrees that authentic colors should mimic other natural materials. While later Victorian color schemes emphasize deep colors, pale ochres and grays are indeed right for Carpenter Gothic.

What about the interior?

Dark, rich Victorian interior color schemes were still in the future: interiors were likely to be painted in light colors, with matching woodwork, at least in Buffalo. If that seems unVictorian, remember that we're still in the era of candles and oil lamps: interiors needed to be designed to maximize the interior light.

Wallpaper was still block-printed and thus expensive, so it wouldn't have been commonplace in a cottage, though you might find a wallpaper border. Doors might be faux-grained to resemble more expensive walnut or mahogany.

Can I carpet?

Not only can you, you should. Authentic floors were softwood and were intended to be covered with strips of carpet. Brussels carpet was reserved for the parlor. The bedrooms were more likely to get rag rugs or even straw mats, while the kitchen floor would be covered with an oil cloth if it wasn't simply scrubbed every day.

How do I furnish?

Although there's a Gothic Revival furniture style, it wasn't all that popular for suburban cottage living. This sort of furniture was deemed more appropriate for churches and for home libraries.

The hot-hot style was Rococo Revival, made fashionable by John Henry Belter. The furniture was curvy, ornately carved, and ornamented with grapes or flowers, as these examples show. Most of these examples have been upholstered or reupholstered in velveteens, but horsehair (black, shiny, with a flat canvas-like weave) was a common low-cost alternative. Furniture was small-scaled and still relatively easy to arrange. As in Colonial times, seating was rearranged often, to take advantage of available light.

What about utilities?

Your most authentic option for heat is a Franklin stove, which gradually replaced open fireplaces. If you use an open fireplace, it should be a tall, narrow Rumford fireplace. Cooking also takes place on an iron stove, fueled by wood or coal.

The 1840s marks the beginning of pressurized plumbing -- in cities, at least -- so your cottage may have a toilet, a kitchen sink, and even a bath tub. Though it's tempting to use a porcelain clawfoot tub, a more authentic approach is wood covered with tin, resulting in a shallower, more angular tub. The toilet is simply a lead bowl, with its hole sealed by a copper pan.

Where can I see homes from this era?

Carpenter Gothic interiors are surprisingly difficult to find, possibly because so many of these houses were relatively humble and therefore weren't preserved as museums. Two helpful sources are:

• The Lovejoy Homestead (Princeton, Illinois): note that the parlor furniture is the Empire Revival that first became popular 20 years earlier.
• Bayberry Inn (Cape May, New Jersey) shows Carpenter Gothic style from the 1850s.

Of course, you may not want your Carpenter Gothic house to be furnished at the earliest point in the period. If you prefer it to date from a later decade, simply follow the decorating norms of the time you choose.