Based on the ongoing “gothic” thread, it will probably not surprise you that I love gothic architecture.  However, although I naturally esteem the great stone edifices of Medieval Europe, I equally admire small houses manufactured in the nineteenth century Gothic Revival style.  As a first example of these lovely cottages, here is a stock design by Rodney Pfotenhauer, a contemporary architect (or possibly a magical being who lives in the forest).

Rodney Pfotenhauer's design for a Gothic Cottage

With its emphasis on elegant vertical lines, its charming fretwork decoration, and its noble finials, gothic revival architecture is a perfect expression of nineteenth century aesthetic values.  But I think the graceful style has a place in the future as well.  As the great recession finally begins to recede, it seems like builders will at last start picking up their tools to make some new houses.  Hopefully the burgeoning small house movement can look back towards gothic revival work for inspiration.  I’d like to see strange lovely gingerbread cottages sprouting up in place of the charmless Mcmansions which have been in vogue throughout the eighties, nineties, and ‘aughts (or whatever we are calling that crummy decade).

I am already fantasizing about parking my little robot car out front of my green gothic-revival mini house.  I can knock back a future drink (possibly into my regenerated liver) and wonder into my flower garden of glowing transgenic super roses and giant mutant aloes!  Come on already future innovators!  Don’t you guys dream about anything other than stupid PDAs?

Seriously, doesn't anyone get tired of reading about these things?

Oh well, the future will probably end up featuring underground concrete mazes or something equally dystopian (along with increasingly expensive and fragile PDAs hosted on defective AT&T networks).  In the mean time here are some other beautiful small gothic revival houses to help you while away the winter and pretend that dystopia isn’t drawing ever closer.

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