According to Richard B. Harrington of the Rhode Island State Historical Preservation Commission, "There remain anywhere very few very formally and more monumentally treated durable masonry examples of the 'Italian (Tuscan) Villa style.

The house is constructed in the Italian Villa style, which emerged in the United States in the 1840s; the structure is thus slightly retardataire.

Corliss' second wife, Emily Shaw, suffered from an illness for which a doctor recommended she spend her winters in Bermuda.

Other unconventional technologies Corliss integrated into the structure include a hydraulic elevator and concealed insect screens.

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