Looks like a Victorian or a Queen Anne.

Here is a design firm for this type of architecture in Australia: Homes. They could replicate it for you.

Thanks but not looking to replicate, it is my own house, simply seeking origins of its design

You get an architect, you build it, or you search for another thirty years. If it IS your home, and you've been in it for thirty years............what does it matter the origin? Or am I confused by the question?

Consult the Historical Society/Preservation board in Melbourne, if you have one.

What do you want ? So you have a unique house get on with living in it I do not understand the need to find another that might never happen

The info in site below is very informative in regards to evolution of styles. If you haven’t already approached the historically society, this info could help with your query

It might be from a Sears kit? With some extra frou frou? The bones of it (e.g. the roofline) look like a Sears house we've seen on here kinda recently.

You could look at beams etc. and see if there are numbers or names on them.

Have you tried some old Southern towns like Galveston, outside of Savannah, Marion Alabama, Natchez Mississippi? This is a modified Queen Anne cottage with what looks like a Craftsman influence. Australian architecture is a bit of a hodgepodge. I would date this to the turn of the 20th century. The only thing that makes me not say "Queen Anne 100%" is the roofline. Its more Craftsman with some fun balconies and gingerbread.

Old southern cities have a lot of interesting housing stock. You can probably find something similar in a place like that. Try the newsletter "Old House Dreams"-- they post houses for sale daily and you may see something like it.

Well the reason you have never found one like it is because the original builder or subsequent owners modified it. End of story. I don't think any two homes are identical, there are usually modifications made by builders/owners to make them different.

@Angel 18432..not sure that I agree that no two homes are identical. I have seen a whole lot of suburban mass developer new build construction...

Not sure why people are piling on the OP. It seems an innocent enough question. I don't think he's bragging, I think he's just curious and hoping some house-loving enthusiasts will be able to shed some light onto his home's unique look. That is what I gleaned from it at least.

Very cool house.

It's an innocent question of thirty years. : ) If you are curious enough..........you find an architect in the area well versed in the history of Melbourne. Or you go to the library with a mask, and do a search, after you show the head librarian what you are looking for. The internet is not always the answer to everything. Depends the level of the curiosity?

Or.....you could just love the house you have, and the fact that you CAN'T find another like it. Curiosity can kill joy. Call it the TMI syndrome

I'd have fun and tell myself I have the Thornbirds house. Drogheda. First mock up

I would venture to say lots of things have changed over that length of time..finding a pic from that time period will be the only way to know what the changes have been implemented over tome

I hadn't read your post but immediately thought "Australia" when I saw it the pic. How would you feel if you found an identical one? Maybe not the thrill you're seeking!

Just me, but I would be more interested in the people who lived in the house, not the house itself. People have stories - and you perhaps could learn how/when/why it was built.

I would suggest looking at homes in Galveston Texas as well, there's a lot of victorian/craftsmans that look similar and painted to look adorable. Just look at them on realtor.com or another property search site.

To be honest it isnt fair to blame posters when ,you could have offered all your added info in the beginning-..., another intriguing comment from you is that you think another would be found in the USA....how about a hint why you think that ?..

How interesting that you have all the information on the history of the house.

I'm impressed. How interesting. I guess they just built the home the way they

wanted it, be it good or bad architecture, it was what they wanted, that's probably

why you haven't been able to find something similar in 30 years.

It does seem Iike the original would have porch railings ?...

The belief that the doppleganger if it exists may be in the USA, is due to the particular architectural style being "Queen Anne revival, West coast American influence" a real mouthful but the very qualified historian architect who advised us many years ago felt that this house was built 10 years too early here in Melbourne. We know it was built in 1896 and that style ( our federation style ) really did not appear here until later. There is one train of thought that the design was brought to Australia from USA where that style was in construction in the late 1800's

A further aside on the history ( which Angel will love ) was that the house was built for the son of a western district ( Victoria ) farming family for his Scottish bride, - who never arrived, and the son never lived in it, which is why the Trustee Company managed the property until the 1950's. We have personally inspected those papers and no clue exists as the construction / design.

So, we still seek someone who knows of a similar design somewhere, most likely USA, preceding the construction date of our house..

I don't think so. There were probably no regs about railings then and it is so low to the ground that the danger of falling off the porch was never even considered back when...

This group might be able to help:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Old_House

Contact site:

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/pages/contact-us

Re the porch railings, yes it may have had them and there was some indication on the RHS of some form of baluster and rail to match the upper balconies and lookout, but nothing evident on the other verandah posts. and yes, the regs were different then, when we bought it in 1987, the balconies most verandahs and lookout were gone and it was a slab sided weatherboard wall facing the street. from a period photo it was all recreated by us, noting connection points from the past as we uncovered the bones. Special permission was needed to rebuild the handrails lower that the standard that applied 100 years later.

What a said story on the construction of the house. I wonder if the son had any influence on the design (perhaps having gone to the usa) or maybe his parents?

Here is photo taken in 1950 approx

sorry pushed wrong button

And this is what happens some time later when maintenance becomes a burden

Now you have me thinking, seeing as I'm a genealogy nut, have you looked into the genealogy of the "farming family" maybe some clues there.

Suezbell, I will indeed follow up "this old house"

Many thanks

phil

Re genealology, we are also active in that field and have got nowhere with that avenue

I would say that it is a one off designed by “a talented architect” back in the day before the term became a thing on Houzz! Enjoy all it’s charm.

So glad you restored the house. What a difference!

How about a Queenslander? Would you say it has Gothic features?

Here is an interesting pamphlet: What House is That

What an interesting hobby to trace the origins of your house style. I apologize for the rude, unhelpful comments of other Americans who posted above. Sadly, you are not the first person to receive such vitriol.

graywings, no problem, the conversation has since become useful and supportive so .... onwards and upwards. in my search

houssan, the house actually had an arched "gothic" window in a service section which was in very poor condition and yes, it is much like a queenslander in many respects, but again, nothing similar in design has been found to date.

suezbell, i have sent a message and photos to This Old House, lets see if they respond

Following on this thread, I am posting photos of what appears to be quite unique timberwork on our house. Has anyone seen similar ??

Fretwork at verandah posts

Balusters

Eaves brackets

Some years on, still looking. Maybe a new group of users may assist Thanks Phil

I think you are missing the forest for the trees.

I've read some mid-19th century American design books, and one of the striking things about them is how unspecific they can be. They predate zoning, of course, and also seem to predate a fair number of 'best practice' standards. So the idea is you grab Joe Builder, tell him what you want, and he builds it. End of story. If you are really, really on top of things, you may actually have *photographs* to show him, or a book of ornamental designs, like sample balusters. Or they could be ideas the owner or builder made up on their own.

Which brings up the question of why you can't just accept that the house is probably a one-off? Built by someone who maybe had been to California, and liked certain houses there, or maybe had just seen pictures of them.

Consider it a house version of this:

a pot holder based on a 16th century German design. To the best of my knowledge, it is the only one on planet Earth. Yes, there are similar things, but this is very much the unique product of several threads coming together.

Link to Historic Homes

The knowledge of these homes is in Australia not the US. Post this on HOUZZ Australia.

Since AU is a land of mostly immigrants, styles from GB were likely brought to AU and adapted to the climate extremes you experience.

Mad Gallica, it is indeed my prerogative to continue the research and do whatever I can to locate the design history of my house. I don't need to be told to "back off"

Thanks

phil

Beverly, the origins of this design are actually in the USA. According to several architecural historians here in Melbourne Australia. My search is best conducted in East coast of USA

Thanks

Phil

Well it has the markings of Queen Anne / Victorian

We have houses similar to these in Northern California..where I grew up…some much more ornate and lovely ..and some that are declared historical and are much more elaborate..the reason they still exist is that they were constructed of redwood which grows locally in the damp moderate climate…

They are gorgeous

Looks like a Queenslander and very specific to Australia . Maybe close would be a nice Victorain in the US

Not all are this elaborate,of course,….these were built by the people got wealthy by nearly wiping out the redwoods ..

which are now protected…but sadly way too late…

There are many ..less ornate throughout the city,…that look more like your examples..