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- Flat planes and clean lines
- Monochromatic brickwork
- Asymmetrical home layouts
- Nature-inspired interior
- Interior level shifts between rooms
- Asymmetrical exterior
- Clean lines
- Open floor plan layout
- Geometry highlighted in its structure
- Sustainable building materials and features
- Rounded corners and irregular shapes
- Earth tones that reflect the desert colors
- Stepped effects with higher floors becoming smaller
- Flat roofs with parapet trim
- Exposed roof beams extending past the walls
- A low-pitched roof with overhanging eaves
- A covered porch
- Woodwork including exposed beams and built-in features like shelving
- Natural tones to complement the warmth from woodworking
- A layout built around a central hall
- An elliptical fanlight and two flanking lights (windows) around the door
- Paladin or tripartite windows
- Stucco walls painted white or brown
- Classic red tile roofs
- Arched doorways and windows
- Ornamentation including wrought iron, heavy doors, and decorative tiles
- A side-gabled roof
- Two floors
- A centered front door
- Symmetrical windows on either side of the door
- Steeply pitched gable roofs
- Exposed and decorative half-timbering with stucco exterior
- Mixed-material brick or stone walls
- Casement windows in groups or with diamond shapes
- Uniquely shaped Mansard Roof
- Decorative window framing and dormers
- Decorative rails or balustrades around terraces and staircases
- Iron roof crest and eaves with support brackets
- Belvederes for natural light and airflow
- Overhanging eaves with decorative support brackets
- Tall and narrow or pedimented windows with rounded crowns
- Cast iron detailing and decor
- Rectangular floor plan
- Large front porches
- Natural wood and stone materials
- Few and small windows
- Formal front rooms separated from family rooms
Mid-century Modern designs are nothing new and have influenced interior design, graphic art, and house styles. Mid-century Modern homes are designed to embrace minimalism and nature. They’re also often modeled to appeal to a futuristic or abstract concept.
Mid-century Modern homes can be identified by their:
Mid-century architecture is still widely popular today, as are Mid-century Modern interior design and furniture trends.
Contemporary homes resemble the modern homes of the mid-20th century with a renewed emphasis on sustainability. Current contemporary styles are rooted in minimalism, which you can see in these key features:
Contemporary homes aim to find beauty in a simple and appealing design with ties to nature and more warmth than modern home styles offer.
The Pueblo Revival was inspired by the indigenous Pueblo people’s architecture in the Southwestern US. Pueblo homes were made of adobe or stucco and designed to handle the extreme temperatures of the desert.
Architects in California began to explore the Pueblo style in the late 19th century and the Pueblo Revival style spread across New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado.
The Pueblo Revival hit its peak in the 1930s in Santa Fe, and these Pueblo-style elements are still popular in the Southwest:
The Pueblo Revival style is also commonly called Adobe or Santa Fe style architecture.
There was a renewed interest in handcrafted art and design following the industrial revolution. This became the “Arts and Crafts” era and paved the way for the Craftsman home, or “arts and crafts” home.
Craftsman homes focus on simplicity to counter the ornate stylings of Victorian homes. They’re also designed to highlight the craftsmanship of its builders and include:
Craftsman homes are favored for their character and are another versatile style that may borrow common elements from other home styles.
Federal-style homes became popular after the American Revolution and were a refined upgrade to the popular Georgian house style. They have the same recurring shape and symmetry as other Colonial house styles, but their delicate ornamentation sets them apart.
Federal Colonial homes often feature:
The elliptical fanlights and paladin windows are key distinguishing features from Georgian-style homes.
Mediterranean home styles are made of stucco, so they’re most common in warm climate states like Arizona and California. These homes grew in popularity in the 1920s and ‘30s after being featured as homes for the rich and famous on the silver screen.
Mediterranean-style homes include Spanish and Italian architectural elements. These key features make them easy to spot:
Mediterranean homes still carry the feelings of class and luxury they were built with over 100 years ago, with an added element of history and charm.
Colonial-style houses are simple rectangular homes that became popular in the 1600s as colonists settled the East Coast. These homes have many variations due to the fact that new communities all over the world built Colonial-style homes to suit their culture.
British Colonial style is the most common and recognizable Colonial home. Its key features include:
The rectangular shape and interest in symmetry are seen in other Colonial house styles, too. Materials and decorative features can vary by region, as some Colonial houses sport brick exteriors and ornate trim, while others showcase shingle siding and simple shutters.
These are also some of the cheapest types of houses to build.
Modern Tudor homes are inspired by Medieval European Tudor homes and often have a charming cottage aesthetic. They’re popular on the East Coast and in parts of the Midwest.
Tudor homes are an easy style to identify. They feature:
The Tudor Revival reached peak popularity in the 1920s and is still widely popular today.
Second Empire homes were a modern Victorian-era style that started in France before spreading through the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. Second Empire architecture features similar ornate Victorian trends, though generally offers a simplified Victorian aesthetic.
These elements help identify a Second Empire home:
Second Empire homes are also easy to identify since they’re the only Victorian-era style that often features a symmetrical, rectangular floor plan.
Italianate architecture continues the trend of asymmetrical design, romanticism, and Medieval influence — this time borrowing features from Medieval Italy. Italianate style is common up and down the East Coast and peaked in popularity between 1850 and 1880.
Italianate architecture features:
Pattern books were becoming a popular way for craftsmen to build homes in different styles. This flexibility meant Italianate features were accessible for a variety of homes including large estates and urban townhouses.
The American Farmhouse is a simple and timeless style. Farmhouses are designed to be practical first and foremost. They’re common across the US and often showcase regional variations, like wrap-around porches in the South.
Farmhouses have evolved with time and location, but often feature these elements:
Of course, the easiest way to identify a farmhouse is that they’ll often be situated on a large plot of farmland.