Home Architecture Guide

The first true A-frame house was built in 1957. Since then, it has become a popular style for cottages, particularly in cold regions with a lot of snow.
The distinctive roof with its steep slope make it well suited for snowy climates. However, the roof shape makes the interior fairly small, so the style isn’t well [...]

Bungalow style architecture has many offshoots. This style developed in the early 20th century and was heavily influenced by the architecture found in Indian summer homes.
The Bungalow is defined as a small home, one and a half stories tall, with an affordable and efficient floor plan. Design wise, it can be influenced by almost any [...]

Tudor Revival homes first gained popularity in the late 1800s and are still commonly built today.
Because it integrates many medieval elements, the style is sometimes called Medieval Revival. It’s also sometimes called Tudorbethan or Mock Tudor.
Tudor Revival homes may be small in size like a medieval cottage or grand structures reminiscent of a medieval castle.
They [...]

Colonial Revival homes gained popularity in the late 1800s and remained popular through the mid 1900s.
Colonial Revival architecture was heavily influenced by earlier Georgian Colonials and Federal style homes.
This style is distinguished from the original Georgian Colonials by the elaborate front door, clustering of windows into groups, and addition of sun rooms or porches on [...]

Shingle Style homes were popular from the late 1800s into the early 1900s.
These homes were much more streamlined than the popular Victorians of that period.
Shingle Style borrows elements from a variety of architectural styles, including Queen Anne Victorian, Colonial Revival, Tudor, Gothic, and Stick.
Shingle Style homes integrate these elements into an informal and casual house [...]

Starting in the mid 1800s and continuing into the early 1900s, a fascination with Renaissance style spurred Renaissance Revival architecture in North America.
This style borrows heavily from the architecture found in Renaissance French and Italian homes and is sometimes called Neo-Renaissance.
Renaissance Revival homes became increasingly ornate: homes built after 1900 were particularly elaborate.
These structures are [...]

Pueblo Revival homes are a seamless mix of Contemporary design and the original Pueblo homes built in the Southwest.
Since they’re usually built with adobe, they’re sometimes called Adobe homes. Pueblo Revival homes incorporate elements of native architectures of American southwest pueblos such as the famous Taos Pueblo, as well as features brought to the US [...]

Contemporary homes first gained popularity in the mid to late 1900s and have become increasingly common since then.
This architectural category includes a lot of different house shapes and styles. Some Contemporary homes have Postmodern influences and others have Neoeclectic elements.
The key to identifying a true Contemporary home is the presence of many tall windows. These [...]

Ranch Style homes go by many names, including American Ranch, Western Ranch, and California Rambler.
These homes first gained popularity in the mid 1900s. Ranch Style is a direct descendant of the Prairie Box home design.
As with Prairie Box homes the stress in designing ranch style homes was on economical design and use of available building [...]

Inspired by the great Villas of Italy, in America the Italianate home architecture style has been a popularly used home design theme for more than a century.

The arts and crafts style of home architecture evolved in California during the early to mid 20th century and is heavily influenced by Asian design aesthetics.

Gothic Revival style homes became popular in American during the late 19th century and typically feature a flat roof, two or more stories tall and Gothic style parapets or battlements.

Timeless and elegant, the Georgian Colonial style of home architecture and design typically features window shutters, a low pitched hip roof and rectangular shape.

Low and angular, the prairie home style of architecture is credited to Frank Lloyd Wright and is influenced by Japanese design aesthetics.

Queen Anne home design, which is one of many offshoots of Victorian style, was most popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The advent of mass-production allowed for creation of fancy trims and woodwork at a reasonable price.
Queen Annes are multi-story, sometimes rising as large as two, three, or even four stories tall.
They’re usually irregular [...]