Kingstown has many handsome Georgian buildings and two-storey gingerbread houses. Usually the ground floor is constructed in stone and cement masonry with decorative wrought iron balconies, or gingerbread fretwork dividing the living areas of the upper levels. These are always colorfully decorated with lozenges, hearts, rosettes and imaginative carvings, painted in rich colours. The stone buildings known as 'Great Houses' were the original estate houses in the outlying villages. The Orange Hill Great House has remained intact, whilst many others are now romantic ruins, devastated by hurricanes. The modest chattel house or salt box dwelling was a standard board house measuring 26 x 28 feet, divided into four rooms, with an outside kitchen, water closet and water tank. These were designed for maximum aeration with exquisite fretwork throughout, influenced by Victorian designs. Built on stilts, the houses were easily transportable. The estates usually had their own carpenters and ebenists, and the four poster beds, consoles and sofas were the hallmark of each island. Today many of the old bedposts have been relegated to fence posts and the population opts for modern furniture. The government encourages hurricane-proof cement block houses. The men are gifted masons using the local iron-stone and blue bitch, which is a small industry throughout the Grenadines. There are a number of quarries, where for a minimum wage, men, women and children chip stone. Shingle covered board houses were first built in the nineteenth century. The wooden tiles added strength and beauty to the plain structures. Wattle and daub huts can still be seen in the remoter villages, though the thatched roofs are now so rare that their preservation as part of our cultural heritage is urgent.

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