Victorian or Craftsman home:

Published 5:00 pm Thursday, July 31, 2008

The range of older home styles available in Astoria can be a bit perplexing. The two main subtypes are Victorian and Craftsman.

But how do you tell the difference?

Broker Debra Bowe of Windermere Pacific Land Company in Astoria said the city has many Queen Anne style Victorians, characterized on the outside by their ornately carved and painted wood trim (called gingerbread), steeply sloped roofs and wrap-around porches.

“Victorian era homes generally have a narrow footprint, and a series of smaller rooms that may be connected through a series of hallways,” Bowe said.

Small room size made them easier to heat, but may not be optimal today for buyers looking for open space inside. Victorian homes tended to have a formal “parlor” and sometimes a smaller parlor for family use.

Victorians also tend to have windows that are narrow and tall.

Bowe said with time the Queen Anne Victorian style in Astoria morphed into a “farmhouse” Victorian, featuring bigger and boxier rooms and a less elaborate exterior.

Then came the Craftsman.

“The Craftsman home was a transition to a more geometric shape,” Bowe said. “You’ll see boxes instead of curves.

Craftsman or bungalow style homes tend to be broader and wider than Victorians, with larger rooms inside and more open space.

Windows are characteristically wider than on a Victorian, lending the house a more horizontal appearance. Craftsman houses also have porches, but they tend to be broader than the norm on a Victorian home.