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| Buying a Home in The 21st Century-Chapter 4 |
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| Claudette Millette |
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| Buying a Home in The 21st Century-Chapter 4 |
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By |
| Claudette Millette |
|
Broker, Owner -- The Buyers' Counsel |
| Exclusive Buyer Brokerage |
| 508-881-6230 |
Architectural Styles
The Cape Cod is one of America's oldest house styles. It was a popular style through the 1840s and later experienced a revival when mass production techniques allowed builders to fill developments with capes after World War II.
The cape is usually symmetrical in design. The roof is a steep gable type covered with shingles. Originally, capes were small in scale. Now, there are many large capes with additional wings and dormers to increase their useable space.
New England Colonial
The colonial is the most popular architectural style in the United States. It was developed in the 18th century which is considered the "Colonial" period.
The original colonials were symmetrical with four equal sized rooms on the first floor and four rooms above. The basic colonial still has two windows on either side of a central doorway and five windows across the second floor.
The floor plan for the standard colonial is a central hall with stairs, a living room to the left that is two rooms deep, a dining room on the opposite side with the kitchen behind it. All bedrooms are located upstairs.
Colonial With Hip Roof, Portico and Palladian Window
The portico is the covered, balconied entrance with columns on either side. Porticos were taken from Greek architecture and were characteristic of the Georgian houses that were fashionable in the English colonies throughout most of the 18th Century.
The Palladian window is named for Andrea Palladio, a Renaissance Italian architect whose work revolutionized Western architecture. The modern look of this style encompasses a triple window effect with a circle head window above.
The gambrel has a ridged roof with two slopes on each side, the lower slope having the steeper pitch. The shape of the structure allows for a maximum of attic storage while still providing a weather tight roof. Because of the efficiency of storage the gambrel roof is often found on agricultural buildings as well as residential.
The gambrel is thought to be attributable to the Dutch since Dutch colonials have a similar roof style.
It is widely-thought that the garrison colonial's style was influenced by colonial block houses that were used for protection against unfriendly Indians. The overhang section was there to provide a good vantage point from which to safeguard the house from intruders.
Other historians dispute this and say that the style was taken from the popular Elizabethan townhouses of the period that were being built in the overcrowded cities of England. This was due to the fact that the overhang area created additional living space on the upper floors.
Original garrisons had four carved, acorn shaped pendants ornamentally attached to the front of house.
In 17th Century New England, adding a single-story lean-to shed to the back of a house was a clever way of increasing space. By the 18th Century, the lean-to was being built into the original construction.
The hallmark of a Saltbox is the sharply sloping gable roof that resembles boxes which were used for storing salt in old country stores. The front of the house is a two-story structure while the back slopes down until it becomes one story.
This house gained popularity in America in the 1900s. Its center entrance, symmetrical style features a broad gambrel roof with flaring eaves. The structure is typically a moderate size with 2 to 2 1/2 stories.
Original Dutch colonials had central Dutch doors which were divided horizontally to allow light and air into the home through the top portion while the bottom was kept closed to deter the livestock from entering.
Characteristics of this style include double-hung sash windows with small panes of glass, two to three dormers with shed-like overhangs and an attached breezeway or garage.
The most distinctive feature of the Tudor house is called half-timbering. In this type of construction the actual framework of the house is left exposed and the space between the timbers is filled with brickwork or white stucco. This presents the appearance of what has sometimes been referred to as a "black and white house." Modern Tudor houses are often created using decorative woodwork that is, actually, false half-timbering.
Other characteristics of the Tudor style are diamond-pane windows, steeply pitched roofs, Tudor arches and bay windows.
When Tudors came to America they were a Medieval Revival Style based on English Renaissance buildings of the 16th century. By the 1920's the existence of numerous Tudor mansions gave rise to the term "Stockbroker's Tudor."
These decorative and striking houses remain popular.
Contemporary style homes were first designed between 1950 and 1970. The photo above is but one of many variations on this style, which usually consists of an open interior with high, and often, cathedral ceilings. The exterior of the home is typically flat and neutral, utilizing tall windows and skylights.
The roof of the contemporary is either a one-pitch gable, flat roof or a series of flat roofs. Other characteristics include geometric forms, exposed beams, large amounts of glass, lofts and overhangs.
Many of these homes were originally designed to incorporate the surrounding landscaping into the overall style of the house.
The first ranch home was designed by Cliff May and was built in San Diego, California in 1932. This simple and informal style eventually spread to other parts of the country. During the 1940s and post-war boom of the 50s the ranch soared in popularity.
The ranch style embraces the ability to move freely about, all on one level, without steps and into private patios and back yards.
Today, many one-story homes are referred to as ranches.
The split level home originated in the 1950s and 1960s with the purpose of having a separation of the formal, informal and sleeping areas of the house.
The basic split level has the main living on the second level. This is where the living room, dining room and kitchen are. The bedrooms are located in a separate wing or, sometimes, level. It is standard to have the lower level function as a family room as well as additional recreation and storage areas.
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