Historic Home Tour: An 1880 Victorian Mansion, Beautiful & Bright

I subscribe to several “old house” websites featuring information about historic homes available for purchase.  Though I doubt I’ll ever own an historic home, I do love to tour them pretty much every chance I get.  I drool over their large windows, deep moldings, high ceilings and rich history.  If there’s a ghost story attached, it’s all the better.

But this post isn’t about ghosts, instead it’s a tour of a beautiful historic home, an 1880 “Victorian Mansion” located in Madison, Florida.  The listing states, “Located in the historic section of the City of Madison is the Victorian Mansion that was built in the 1880s for Major William H. Dial. The home is one of the finest examples of the Italianate style in north Florida.”

The listing also states, “The home features bay windows, a roof cupola, and an unusual bow porch on the main facade. It is lavishly decorate with bracketed cornices, window pediments, and other distinctive late 19th century mill work. The house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.  The historic home has 4 bedrooms with their own private bathroom, a library, parlor, dining room, kitchen, and enclosed porch for a total of 3773 square feet.”

Let’s take the tour!  (All photos are from OldHousesdotcom)

 

Beautiful, large entry with a wonderful chandelier.  Look how deep the baseboards are.  Wonder if it’s still called a baseboard when the molding is this deep.  When I go on historic home tours, I sometimes almost miss the furnishings from oohing and ahhing over the heavy moldings and architecture of the room.

Historic Victorian Mansion Home Tour

 

Not sure if this is the parlor or the library.  Love window seats in bay windows.  What a gorgeous mirror!  Notice all the plantation shutters throughout the home…my favorite window treatment in the world.  I love them layered with draperies…not heavy draperies…gotta have lots of light.  But I do love the look of the plantation shutters, both from the inside of the home and from the outside/curbside.

Historic Victorian Mansion Home Tour

 

All the draperies in the home were custom made.  Guess this would be called the Billiards room.  There are lots of wonderful old mirrors throughout the home.  In this room we see a beautiful Federal mirror.

Historic Victorian Mansion Home Tour

 

Perhaps this is the parlor.  Love the yellow walls.  The color reminds me of my fave yellow paint, Duron, Sugar Cookie.  Again we see a delightful bay window complete with window seating.  Love!

Historic Victorian Mansion Home Tour

 

Large dining room with more custom drapery and another gorgeous mirror.  Notice the collection of ironstone on the wall.  Really looks beautiful displayed against the salmon/coral wall color.  This wall color would be beautiful with an antique rug since they often have this color in them.  Notice all the symmetry in the room: the candlesticks on the table, the lamps on the buffet/sideboard, the plates/wall shelves on either side of the mirror.

Historic Victorian Mansion Home Tour

 

The kitchen…I wonder if the kitchen is this small or if we’re only seeing a section of it?

Historic Victorian Mansion Home Tour

 

Fabulous bed, reminds me of a Henredon bed I used to really like.   There is just something special about sleeping under a canopy.  Look!  There’s a garden seat in the bathroom!  In our garden seat posts HERE and HERE a few folks mentioned they were great in baths for holding towels or in large showers.

Historic Victorian Mansion Home Tour

 

This bedroom has a sink right in the room.  Great coverlet/bedspread.  Notice the ball and claw feet on the bed…love that look!  There are two more bedrooms in this home but these are the only two featured in the listing.

Historic Victorian Mansion Home Tour

 

This is a sweet little play house.   Spanish moss hanging from the trees…such a romantic, dreamy look.  Even the play house has a cupola!

 

There’s also a guest cottage on the property.

 

I think this is the front porch of the guest cottage, looking back toward the main house.

 

Inside the guest cottage…

 

Love all the built in bookshelves.  This guest cottage even has a full kitchen.

 

What a beautiful neighborhood!  Look at those great balusters on the porch…love the design.

 

Wouldn’t this be wonderful to see from your front porch…a gazebo in Town Center Park.  Awesome view!  You can read more about this house HERE.

 

Love historic home tours?  Just click on the “Home Tours” category and scroll down for links to many beautiful historic homes.

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Comments

  1. Michele @ The Nest at Finch Rest says

    OH. MY. GOSH! If that isn’t a DREAM Bed and Breakfast- all ready to go – wow. WOW WOW WOW, that is stunning! Thanks, Susan – that was really fun to see and “dream” about owning!

  2. Be still my heart, what a beautiful home! I checked the price and think it is so reasonable, it would fetch twice the price here and it even has a cottage and an adorable playhouse. Something brought back a happy memory, the fire guard fender, am assuming it is brass, but there was one very similar in my Grandmother’s home in Scotland. I also liked the light fixture in the kitchen, it would suit an island. I knew you would admire the mirrors Susan. Thank you for letting us peep!! 🙂

  3. crystal woolever says

    Such a beautiful charming old house…love it!!! I love how bright it is, a lot of old homes have that very dark look, but not this one. Thank you for sharing. 🙂

  4. Susan, I meant to add that I hope they have light music playing in the bandstand on a Sunday afternoon. How delightful it would be to sit on that porch and listen whilst drinking tea!!

  5. martinealison says

    Une propriété extraordinaire… Quoi dire de plus, si seulement rêver et encore rêver. Gros bisous et merci pour cet excellent partage.

  6. Miss Char says

    I was surprised at the price too, I was expecting in the million dollar range. It sure shows beautifully. Thanks for the tour.

  7. Hi Susan, What an amazing house!! I like everything about it. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!! Thank you for showing us. God Bless Barb from Australia

  8. heritagestitchery says

    Oh my goodness….someone truly loved and preserved this property..Priced more than right… Decorating is sumptuous, yet restrained…Agree with you, Susan, about the mirrors..and the symetry.

  9. What a beautiful home. I could live there =) To me, the bed looks like a king size bed, so my guess is a remake of an antique style?? I noticed there was a garden seat in the bathroom! All the rooms were decorated so nicely with cheerful colors; not stuffy at all! I liked the yellow room too. When I see homes like this I want to redecorate. Thanks for the fun tour.

  10. This tour was to die for. What an incredible home and even the guest house had me wanting to move in. What a perfect location too, across from the park. Gretchen

  11. This home is awesome. Most Victorians are so dark. I love all the color and lightness of this home. What a great estate!

  12. Shirley@Hospitality Designs says

    That is a gorgeous home…stunning interiors and architecture…Madison is a lovely, quaint town…So many wonderful charming, quaint towns to visit in Northern Florida…Thanks for presenting this wonderful home….loved the tour!

  13. FABBY'S LIVING says

    What a gorgeous house tour Susan, thanks for sharing, I just love this, with so many inspiration in decor ideas. I also love the bay windows with seats, my fav! Enjoy your weekend. FABBY

  14. FABBY'S LIVING says

    Oh, The entrance chandy is just like ours, antique Italian! Loved the tour. FABBY

  15. Great post. Love historic houses, and have always fantasized about restoring one, but it probably is best left as a dream. Hard labor and lots of money needed! Thanks for taking us on the tour. Nice way to start my Saturday. ~CJ

  16. the misfit says

    I too adore looking at historic house listings. Even better than houzz.com (since it focuses me right on the historic ones and I don’t have to sort) – I can look at things that are magnificently beautiful, and then say to myself, “How did THEY arrange their elements? You love that wallpaper, don’t you? I guess you could’ve gotten away with a really big, colorful print after all – too bad Pierre Deux has closed!!!!” I’m still stumped on window treatments for my living room – I used two curtain panels apiece for all the other rooms, and they’re OKAY but no better. But if my curtain judgment is still only in the B- range, I’m not springing for super-expensive custom drapes. So now I have a question: what about that wood slatted blinds with swag on top look in the bedroom photo? Would that work in a living room, or too casual?

  17. WHAT an amazing home! And the price???? The guest house alone would go for that price up here in Northern Jersey!!!!! I love all the brick work outside and that huge porch. I was wondering if it had AC?? Can’t imagine living in the south without it, but didn’t see any duct work… Thanks for sharing… I’m off to peruse that whole site! gena

  18. Ooo charming! That porch makes me want a glass of ice tea! And I am loving all their blue and white plates displayed so nicely on the walls.

  19. Anonymous says

    Hubby & I stayed at a B&B like this in Madison yrs ago!

  20. HI SUSAN !!!!LOVE ,LOVE OLDER HOMES ,YOU JUST WANT TO MOVE RIGHT IN ,IF WE WERE TO GO TOGETHER ON THESE TOURS ,THEY WOULD HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING US TO LEAVE AND STOP DREAMING !! HA,HA ,ANYWAY THE CORAL DINNING ROOM IS BEAUTIFUL AND I HAVE THE SAME ON MY OWN WALLS WITH THE WHITE TRIM ,IT IS BY (MARTHA STEWARD ) ITS NAME IS ( OLD BRICK ) AND I LOVE IT ,FOR (10 ) YEARS NOW !! HA,HA I HAVE NO PLANS TO CHANGE IT ,IN THE DAY OR IN THE EVENING ITS BEAUTIFUL AND PLANTATION BLINDS AS WELL , LOVE WENDY ! FROM CANADA ,B.C.

  21. Tiffany @ Savor Home says

    Hi! It was so nice to meet you, too! You have a GREAT blog!!

  22. I wonder what the inside of the playhouse looks like?? LOL Beautiful home!

  23. Loads of charm, and great sunlight for an older home. Lovely.

  24. Swings, cupolas, gazebo, OH MY! All my favs! franki

  25. Hello from the kansas prairie! Susan, I enjoyed this post sooooooo much! I could just move right in to this outstanding mansion. I love this traditional look in decorating and know deep down in my heart that this is the decorating style that turns my crank! ha. Glad you shared with us on your delightful blog. All the property surrounding this lovely and stately home would be such a bonus. In the ‘big house’ the bedroom with the blue curtains has a sink on the left side of the room in the pic. This would be a plus that I would enjoy in my bedroom. You have a lovely day, d

  26. I know you must hear this many, many times but I so enjoy your efforts on what you put on your blog. As a blogger, I understand the dedication and time. Your content is relevant and interesting. It’s always a joy to come to your site and view, read, comment and learn…and even join in on a party you are hosting. I just wanted you to know that you are appreciated.

  27. ❁Velma ~Down Our Country Road❁ says

    Oh my goodness! I’ve been very lax in reading your posts and am so glad that I’ve been able to get back to them. This home is absolutely stunning!! Did you notice the small child-size wing back chair in one bedroom and the fainting sofa in the other? Too cute!! I could live in the guest cottage with no problem by the way!! 😉

  28. What a wonderful journey! Thank you for taking me with you. I love Victorian houses, old furniture and old – vintage cars. You are blessed to have a “job” that enables you to see the inside of Mansions as the above one. Beautiful photos!
    The kitchen? Maybe …… it is that small – ……I think rich people go out to dine or order food . Love the sink in the bedroom.

  29. pam ~ crumpety cottage says

    Susan, just looking through some old posts. Say, in that picture of the bedroom with the sink … notice that tiny chaise at the foot of the bed. Isn’t that adorable? I don’t remember noticing it before. What is up with that though — it’s so tiny. I can’t imagine someone sitting there to put on their shoes, lol. Unless they were a very tiny someone. 🙂

  30. really beautiful house. i think many people would love to live there!

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