50's revival?

From this picture the mixture of rooflines seems like a Cottage style Victorian

I'm not sure. It's at least 100 years old. The home is in Illinois if that help.

Thanks guys. I'll try to take more pictures when I get to the job site next week. I thought it was Victorian, but wasn't sure which one. I think folk victoria as palimpsest suggested is very likely since that city does have a historic district which consists with mostly Victorian and bungalow.

From what we can see, "Folk Victorian" is a pretty good guess.

From Wiki: "...Folk And Vernacular Victorian. Folk Victorian refers to a style of American home that is relatively plain in its construction but embellished with decorative trim. Folk Victorians were built from "plan books," provided by architectural companies and in circulation from the mid 1800s into the early 1900s..."

Yeah for sure folk/vernacular Victorian, probably 1880s or 1890s.

House has a nice form factor, so it would look great dressed up with some cute fancy trim or dressed down with simple siding and unadorned trim. Look at historical pics of these Victorians for inspiration - some got pretty fancy, others stayed very simple. They always look best when you play into the intended design and original era rather than try to make it into something else. Keep window sizes the same, etc, and you'll have a very nice house.

During construction, it looks like the builder changed their mind about installing a bay window on the first floor. See below, which includes a distracting porch addition to the left that should be scrapped.

Folk Victorian 517 8th Ave SE, Minneapolis, Minn.

Folk Victorian would have been my guess too.

See below, which includes a distracting porch addition to the left that should be scrapped.

And roof returns that should be chopped off. You know, while we're axing stuff, anyway. :-D

To the original poster, that Victorian has so much potential! What color is she going to be?

roof returns that should be chopped off

Another 20th C. "improvement" no doubt.

Source: Builder On-Line
I was tempted to mention it. (But I did one house and didn't notice till too late that that's what my carpenters had done, ignoring the architect's drawings.)

Modern Farmhouse. It has walls and a roof, it has to be Modern Farmhouse.

The local design guidelines refer to that style as Homestead or Gable Front, often called folk victorian. If you need more info, the city has a historic preservation specialist or reach out to Dan Miller or Rebecca Hunter...pm me for assistance if you wish

That area was platted in 1891 and the tax records show 1891 as the year built

How do you know where the home is located, Lyndee Lee? Did I not see something?

@sammy That house is in my local area. We have a wide variety of housing styles and a very active historic preservation group

Hi One Devoted Dame. I'm not sure. My company is rehabbing this house as part of the Habitat for Humanity project. I don't think this home is registered as historic, so I doubt that we'll go all out and restore it to its original. Sadly, I think it will be gutted out completely. As a historian, this breaks my heart.

Lyndee Lee, I'm only volunteering. I personally love old homes, particularly Queen Ann and Eastlake. We almost bought a 100 years old Queen Ann in Des Plaines but it turned out to be in a flood zone. Plus it would cost so much to restore it.

Eh, not all old house interiors are salvageable. One of the old houses across from ours is being flipped and heavily remodeled within after being a rental triplex for decades - very little was salvageable, just the main stairs, remaining mantelpieces, and pocket doors. It's a high end flip, so the flipper was able to indulge and strip and restore the stairs and mantelpieces and repair the pocket doors (easy when the walls are studs). Otherwise, new upstairs layout (might as well add a bathroom while it's gutted), new hardwood floors (original ones were utterly trashed), and new finishes throughout. The OP's house looks to be in pretty rough shape. I doubt there's much to work with inside (still, putting in some extra time and effort to preserve at least a couple original features, if any remain, would go a long way to adding tons of charm to this cute house).

Habitat for Humanity's organizational focus is safe and affordable housing. Lead based paint remediation is very expensive and removal of original painted trim is often the most affordable approach. To the extent that it is practical, the features will honor the era of the home. Some of the funding for the homes has specific guidelines so the newer windows and walls that closed in the front porch have been removed in favor of an open front porch, typical of the era. It is a nice benefit to the neighborhood when deteriorated homes which have been converted into small apartments get restored to single family status.

Ohh... i didnt know that they converted these into small apartments. They ready look small as is.

I love this house.

I do understand that it is likely a gut job and probably won't resemble its past... but at least the exterior will remain (a lovely appearance), and at least a family will find affordable housing in it when Habitat for Humanity renos are done.