Tallman’s elegant Italianate residence, now a museum, set the standard for houses of Janesville’s well-to-do. Barnes, a local builder, erected cream brick walls with stone quoins at the corners and limestone trim. The slender paired columns that support the one-story portico have unusual spindled bases, fluted shafts, and Corinthian capitals. The columns support a foliate frieze, and a turned-spindle balustrade bounds the porch roof deck. The first-story windows have elaborate brackets supporting hoods topped by foliated cresting, whereas on the second story, stone hood molds embrace double-arched openings. A wide frieze below the eaves features octagonal attic windows and raised panels alternating with carved brackets. Capping the composition is an elegant belvedere, glazed with narrow arched windows and surmounted by an ornate finial. Inside, the house had such modern conveniences as large walk-in closets, an indoor water system and privy, and central heating. Gas lighting was installed in 1870.
The horse barn at the rear is also architecturally distinctive and matches the house in style, with a cupola above the gabled roof, brackets under the eaves, and decorated arched openings.