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Whether we’re out shopping for shoes or a new car, we’ve been trained to think beyond the utility of our stuff and consider how each purchase fits our personal style. And this extends to the most fundamental of possessions: Our homes. Most people have specific tastes when it comes to purchasing a home, and watching HGTV can be a dizzying experience of discovering just how many types of houses there are in this country. Americans have always been enthusiastic importers of ideas, and our architecture reflects that willingness to steal a good roofline or floor plan.
If you’ve ever wondered how real estate professionals can so confidently glance at a house and know exactly what style it is, here’s a rundown of the fundamental house styles in the U.S. and how to identify them.
Ranch
The Ranch-style house is one of the most popular and easily identifiable. The Ranch house was designed in the 1930s but came into its own after World War II as a way of mass-producing housing for a whole generation of Americans back from the war with low-interest loans in hand.
Features:
- Typically one-story
- Low-pitched roof
- A bit of sprawl like the Western ranches that inspired it
- Front-facing garage
Saltbox
Most Saltbox-style homes are old; the style goes back to the 17th century. The homes were named after a common storage container for salt back in those days. These houses typically have two stories in the front and slope down to one in the rear, and they tend to have a pretty straightforward floor plan and a lot of old-school charm.
Features:
- Square front
- Dramatically sloping roof that goes from two- to one-story
- Centered brick chimney
Cape Cod
If you’ve ever been to a beach town in the Northeastern U.S., you’ve seen a Cape Cod-style house. These houses go back to the first European settlers in North America, and the style was dictated by survival: These houses were originally designed to shelter folks during the harsh winters of the region.
Features:
- Central chimneys
- Small rooms
- Low ceilings
- Steep-pitched roof with side gables
- Dormers
Additionally, the number of windows on the front determines whether you’re dealing with a half-Cape (two windows to one side of the door), three-quarter Cape (two windows on one side of the door, one on the other), or full Cape (two windows on each side of the door).
Shotgun
The term “Shotgun house” is often explained by the idea that if you fired a shotgun through the front door the blast would travel unobstructed all the way to the back of the house. These narrow (usually no more than 12 feet wide) wooden houses originated in the New Orleans area due to new fire codes introduced in the 18th century that required wooden houses to be narrow enough to leave space between them to reduce fire spread.
Features:
- Single story
- One room wide
- Kitchen in rear of house
Colonials
“Colonial” is a broad umbrella term for a variety of house styles that date back to the days when the U.S. was a bunch of squabbling colonies. Some consider the style to include Cape Cods and Saltbox houses, but these have become distinct house style unto themselves. Still, any reference to a “Colonial-style” house could mean Georgian, Dutch Colonial, Spanish Colonial (notable for the inclusion of a central courtyard), Colonial Revival, French Colonial, and a few other variants.
Features:
- Rectangular shape
- Symmetrical facade with central door
- Formal entryway with central, grand stairway
- Bedrooms typically on second floor
- Lack of exterior embellishment
Greek Revival
Does the house in question have so many columns it seems impossible? It was probably built in the Greek Revival style. This was one of the United States’ first independent architectural movements, one that sought to establish the U.S. as a continuation of the democratic traditions of Ancient Greece. And since we’re Americans, we took that very literally.
Features:
- Columns? Yes, please, usually supporting a covered porch or portico
- Symmetrical facade, traditionally in white
- Low-pitched, gabled roof with triangular pediment
- Lots of decoration, including friezes, trim, and other flourishes
Victorian
“Victorian” is another umbrella term for a grouping of house styles, but this term refers to the time period during which these houses were initially popular, not their specific look. If the house you’re looking at reminds you of a doll house (or a classic haunted house), it’s probably Victorian. The two main styles of Victorian homes are defined by their simplicity: Italianate-style Victorians are simpler and less gaudy, Queen Anne-style Victorians are the opposite of simple and less gaudy.
Features:
- Multiple stories
- Asymmetrical layout and facade
- Lavish decoration
- Italianate homes are typically more rectangular with nearly flat roofs; Queen Annes tend to have complex rooflines
- Queen Annes typically have wrap-around porches and “gingerbread” decoration
- Optional tower
Tudor
Technically, any Tudor-style house in the United States is a “Tudor Revival” house, as this house style originated in England in the 16th century. The revival period began in the late 19th century here, and you’ll find most of them in the northern part of the country—unsurprisingly for a house style developed in England, they’re ideal for cold, grim climates.
Features:
- Decorative half-timbering (the timber framing is partially exposed)
- Tall windows
- Steeply pitched roofs with gables
- Patterned stone or stucco exteriors
Craftsman
The Craftsman-style house was a reaction to the gaudy Victorian-style houses and the introduction of mass-produced housing. They were inspired by the “Arts and Crafts” movement that began in England, which stressed a love of decoration and hand-crafted objects. As a result, the Craftsman-style house has a small-scale “handmade” feel to it even if it wasn’t, in fact, handmade.
Features:
- Low-pitched roof overhanging a porch
- Tapered columns
- Typically one-story
- Interiors featuring many hand-crafted details
Foursquare
Another simple reaction to the busy Victorian-style homes of the late 19th century, the Foursquare (sometimes called the American Foursquare) is an efficient design that was often sold as a kit for a DIY build, and became very popular in the rising suburbs of the 20th century. If the house you’re looking at is essentially a cube with a few dormers, it might be a Foursquare.
Features:
- Cube shape
- Hipped roof (which looks like a truncated pyramid, with four sides), usually with dormers in the attic space
- Typically two stories
- Overhanging eaves over a full- or half-length porch
Split-Level
Originally a variation of the Ranch, the Split-Level house takes the Ranch style, adds a second floor, and makes it a bit more compact so it can fit on a smaller lot. It’s essentially a way of making the Ranch-style house work in a more densely populated area.
Features:
- Sunken, front-facing garage
- Low-pitch roof
- A split entryway that leads to a common area, down to a basement, and up to the bedrooms
Cottage
Cottage-style houses resemble American Foursquare homes but only have one story. This style of house originated in Europe and made its way to the U.S. from England in the 19th century. They’re typically fairly small (real estate professionals will use the code word “cozy”) and are usually pretty unique in their visual style.
Features:
- Steep, gabled roofs
- Central dormer, typically over the front door
- Front or wrap-around porch area
- Asymmetrical layout
Mediterranean
Sometimes referred to as “Spanish-style,” these micro-villas are actually a blend of Spanish and Italian architectural designs that became popular in the warmer areas of the U.S. in the 1920s. If the house you’re looking at could be a small villa in Tuscany or a silent movie star’s house, you’re likely in a Mediterranean-style house.
Features:
- Terra cotta roof
- Stucco exterior
- Iron and other metal details
- Arched windows and doors
- Open floor plans with an emphasis on indoor/outdoor living
- High ceilings
Pueblo Revival
Inspired by the ancient homes built by Pueblo Indians in the American Southwest and heavily influenced by Spanish architecture, these houses are popular in places like Arizona and New Mexico and often look like they were sculpted right out of the ground around them.
Features:
- Adobe (or cement or stucco made to resemble adobe) exterior
- Rounded edges
- Exposed and projecting wood beams
- Heavy, large front doors
- Flat roofs
- Typically sports an interior courtyard
Federal
Dating back to the 17th century, Federal-style houses (sometimes called Adam-style after the Adam Brothers, who popularized it with their Italian-inspired designs) are mostly found on the East Coast of the U.S., since they drifted out of style by the time the country expanded westward.
Features:
- Square or rectangular shape
- Symmetrical facade
- Semicircular window over entry door
- Multistory
- Simple exterior of clapboard or brick
- Hipped roof
There are, of course, endless variations of these basic home styles, outlier styles you don’t see often, and houses that have been renovated and modified until they no longer conform to a specific style. But now at least you can glance at a house and speak confidently about what kind of house you’re looking at.
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