Rather, it is a celebration of the ornamental excess made possible by power tools and mass produced decorative trim work. Queen Anne buildings usually have an unbalanced or asymmetrical arrangement of building parts. Roof lines are steeply pitched and alive with many gables, tall decorative chimneys, dormers and towers. The surfaces are never flat. Clapboard siding is interrupted by fishscale wooden trim.
Buildings feature bays, and bay windows.
Porches with turned posts and many turned spindles fill in corners and wrap around houses. Balconies and turrets are often found. Above is the Henry Hoch house of 1903. Note the use of slates of contrasting shapes and colors to create a design in the roof. Mass production made profuse ornamentation affordable for people of average means.