A new kind of exterior wall construction known as “balloon framing” enabled the house builders before and after the Civil War to craft taller, more ornate dwellings. Italianate houses drew from the domestic estates of the hilly Tuscan region near Florence, Italy. Tall windows with ample draped trims, wide bracketed eaves, wooden textures mimicking stone and double front doors with elaborate exterior vestibules were staple features of the period.
