How to Research Historic Houses

Interior versus Exterior Appearance

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Traditionally, the exterior appearance of a building has been seen as the most important element in judging its historical significance. And as the face that a building puts to the street and to society, exterior appearance does matter. For instance, the mansions of the rich projected a sense of success, permanence and tradition that reflected both their owners’ social and economic status and their aspirations. By contrast, the single storey and one and-a-half storey bungalows, so popular in Alberta between about 1910 and 1930, used designs such as a low profile, wide eaves and natural materials like brick, stucco, and shingles to promote a particular ideal of "hominess" and the value of the family.

The interior arrangement of space and its decoration are also a significant part of the history of any building, but they are especially important in houses. Indeed, the significance of a house often lies as much in its interior design as in its exterior appearance. Kitchen design, for instance, was related directly to contemporary understanding of sanitation and to beliefs and attitudes about the role of women in the home. For example, by about 1910, the idea that homemaking was a "profession" led to smaller kitchens which imitated the efficient layout of a factory. Similarly, living rooms reflected a particular view of the family and the way in which it spent its leisure hours and its time together. The use of beamed ceilings and fireplaces in these rooms, for example, was believed to demonstrate and encourage family togetherness and stability.

Given these concerns, a bungalow from the 1920s, for example, with original fixtures and appliances, and with its original layout and decoration unchanged, might as well be a significant structure. Original fixtures have often been replaced (especially in kitchens and bathrooms, with good reason). When they are present, however, along with the original layout and decoration, the whole can reveal how social priorities and assumptions found expression and shaped the design of houses.

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