The Armour-Stiner Octagon House 45 West Clinton Avenue Irvington, NY 10533

The Armour-Stiner Octagon House at Christmas in 2025:

The formal Dining Room

The Second Floor Christmas tree

The first floor Reception Room

The history of the Armour-Stiner Octagon House with the Irvington Historical Society

The Spring Garden Tour in June 2026:

The house the day of the Garden Tour

Walking in front of the formal gardens

The formal gardens on the Spring of 2026

The fountain in the center of the gardens

The beds were in full bloom when we toured the gardens

The colors of the flowers were patriotic red, white and blue

In between the hedges, there was elegant statuary and potted urns with colorful flowers blooming with bright hues.

The urns were filled with bright colors of the season

Statuary representing the arts and music lined the hedges

The flowers were so brilliant that afternoon

I enjoyed looking at the statuary

The gardens were so beautiful with the house in the background

As we left the gardens, I admired the ornate Fox and the Glove gate on the way out

We then crossed the lawn to tour the greenhouse, where many of the flowers were and still are grown for decorating the house both inside and out.

The landscaping has a romantic spin on it as the property was planted to accent not just the property but the house as well giving it a natural but balanced look to it.

Touring the formal greenhouse

Even the working greenhouse had a romanticized look about it that reflected the house

The inside of the greenhouse. Each side of the counters seasonal flowers are grown for the property. This greenhouse is used all year long supplying the house with a steady stream of flowers.

In the middle of the greenhouse was a beautiful Victorian aquarium that was lined with more flowers. There were no fish at this time.

I loved the beautiful flowers that lined the counters

The Spring colors were breathtaking

We then started the tour of the house starting with the outside veranda that held more urns and planters of fresh flowers

The beautiful veranda lines the entire house

The beautiful colors from the potted and hanging plants

The veranda decorated for the upcoming ‘250th Anniversary of the United States

The hanging plants

The potted plants

We even admired the birdhouse that matched the house

We then went inside to tour the house. It would be interesting to see the house without all the Christmas decorations that I saw the last time I toured the house.

The triangle room off the foyer once used as the Receiving Room

The beautiful foyer to the second floor

The main Parlor/Living Room used for entertaining

The formal Dining Room

The decorative sideboard

The other decorative sideboard

The Dining Room table set for a Spring dinner

We then started the tour of the second floor which started in the game room at the top of there landing. I remember the big Christmas tree being here when the house was decorated for the holidays.

I liked the room was the way it is here

Then we toured the bedrooms which were not that elaborate but functional and comfortable as they are today.

One of several bedrooms on the second floor

The bathroom which is considered normal today was ahead of its time with flushing toilets and hot and cold running water

The office off the side in one of the Octagon corners

The Egyptian Room was the height of fashion with travel and new discovers in Egypt at the time.

The ceiling and decorations of Egyptian Room

The decor of the Egypt

The beautiful porcelain in the room

Then we toured the Curio Room. I thought the room was a lot of fun with small objects that people would have collected from their journeys at that time.

The shelves, counters and walls were filled with all sorts of interesting objects

Many types of object’s

The Victorian Terrarium that was becoming fashionable at the time

The fold out desk with small objects in each slot

A Victrola and Terrarium

The last part of the tour was of the newly renovated kitchen. The shelves were lined with a collection of shiny pots and pans.

The ‘modern’ Victorian kitchen

The modern oven and stove

When the tour was over, I visited the gift shop and looked over the kitchen once more. It is interesting to see how ‘modern’ back then is ‘contemporary’ today. Victorians set the tone for the modern American home of today and the expectations of the American dream.

Before I left the grounds, I visited the gardens once more. It was such perfect weather to walk around and I enjoyed the beauty of these gardens. Mother Nature creates this all this.

Walking around the grounds of the home

I enjoyed walking around the gardens that day

I found this tour one of the most relaxing I have taken in a long time. The beauty of both the house and the gardens was wonderful. Just sitting on the veranda and looking over the grounds was the perfect way to spend the afternoon.