When it comes to modifying your home, giving it more curb appeal, or adding a second floor, knowing your home’s style can help you create an effective plan. In addition, you’ll have a better understanding of how your home was constructed and designed.
Log Home Style
In the 1600s, log homes were more commonly known as small cabins. Initially, they only contained one room and were built without the use of nails. Nowadays, log homes are famous for being luxurious getaway houses due to their unique style and design. They can be constructed anywhere, but they are usually more fit in rural settings with their exterior. Always note the climate because the type of wood to be used will depend on it to make the house more durable.
Cape Cod Style
Like log homes, the 1600s were also the time they build Cape Cod homes. They’re designed to withstand cold winters of the Northeastern, thus the steep roofs and large chimneys. Britain’s thatched cottages were what inspired Cape Cod homes. The style that makes it look more beautiful includes cedar shingles, up-top dormer windows, and windows that flank the front door.
A stone address marker would perfectly match a Cape Cod home, given its exterior design. These houses were also the first style used in housing developments that had a modest price after World War II.
Contemporary Style
Some people tend to think that contemporary and modern architecture are similar. The difference between them is that, even though contemporary style describes building forms, they usually focus on using eco-friendly materials. This entails utilizing energy efficiency by using sustainable and non-toxic materials that are recycled and using natural light as power sources.
Dutch Colonial Style
Like most styles, Dutch Colonial also started in the early 1600s for Americans as only one room. The style features its great broad gambrel roof, along with its dormers, an alluring hood above the entryway, and flaring eaves that extend towards the porch. The house may also include a door called the Dutch double doorway that keeps pets from getting inside while also allowing fresh air to flow through the home. Additionally, its style has such a striking similarity to a barn that it’s sometimes called a “barn house.”
Craftsman Style Homes
Otherwise known as Arts and Crafts, the Craftsman home was a prevalent house style from 1905 until the 1930s, and it is making a comeback now. It is characterized by considerable carpentry in the interior, such as built-in shelves and seating.
Outside, Craftsman-style houses frequently have low-pitched rooftops with large ornamental beams, exposed roof rafters, wide eave overhangs or bracing under gables, and tapered square columns that frame porches. There is typically unfinished space in the attic of Craftsman bungalows that can be renovated but still usable.
French Country Style Homes
It was in the 18th century when country French-style residences first appeared in the United States. While France controlled large portions of eastern North America, towns were distributed around the major waterways, such as the Mississippi valleys, Great lakes, and St. Lawrence. After President Thomas Jefferson bought Louisiana in the early 1800s, French building practices began to disappear. Still, this house design stayed famous in New Orleans and other locations for the next half-century.
Half of the frames made of wood, stucco walls, steeply pitched roofs (side-gabled or hipped), paired shutters, and narrow windows are standard features of country French dwellings. As a result, a lot of attention is paid to curb appeal and often has breathtaking landscape designs and driveways.
Mediterranean-Style Houses
In the 1920s to the 1930s, Mediterranean architectural styles such as Spanish eclectic (also called Spanish colonial revival or Spanish farmhouse) blossomed in Southern California after a notable debut at the 1915’s Panama-California Exposition.
Houses of this type are often built with adobe or stucco exteriors and have low-pitched red tile roofs, grillwork, and arches. The conventional U-shape Mediterranean floor design revolves around a central fountain in a courtyard to make the garden an expansion of the living area. Each room has a window that looks out onto the courtyard, allowing for fresh air flow and cross-ventilation.
The Cottage Style Home
Plenty of American architects were attracted to the medieval designs of the English countryside to construct the attractive and warm cottage-style residences popular today. When it came to American fashion from the 1920s to the 1930s, this design was especially prominent.
It is typical to see cross gables and steep roof pitches on cottage-style home plans as well as small-paned glass casement windows and arched doors. These house designs also typically use stucco, stone, or brick siding.
Many diverse architectural house styles can be found in American cities and suburbs. However, a lot of antique houses still have their own unique charm. For those interested in incorporating old-house magic into a newer home, it’s essential to understand what makes each style unique.
