10 Popular House Styles Explained

If you're searching for a home or considering remodeling, it's best to know what style of house you're looking for or living in. There are so many different styles that it can be overwhelming to try narrowing it down. Knowing the style of your house, however, can help you create a successful plan.

Here are the top 10 most popular house styles and the key differentiators between each of their architectural styles:

Cape Cod

The Cape Cod style has been popular since 1675 and was an extremely popular build in the 1930s. Typically one to one & a half stories, the Cape Cod-style home features a steep roofline, wood siding, multi-pane windows and hardwood floors. These houses are fairly small and usually have dormer windows.

French Country

French Country-style homes date back to the 18th century when France occupied most of eastern North America. They are often one story with many narrow windows paired with shutters, steeply pitched roofs, stucco walls, and a half-timbered frame. They typically have stunning driveways and landscape designs.

Colonial

The Colonial-style dates back to 1876 and is one of the most popular home styles in the United States. They usually have two or three stories and fireplaces. The kitchen and family rooms are typically located on the first floor, with bedrooms on the second.

Victorian

Several styles of houses, such as a the Queen Anne, fall within the Victorian Era (1860-1900). Homes were romantic, distinctive, and abundant with detail. They feature a steeply pitched roof, a dominant front-facing gable, patterned-shingles, cutaway bay windows, and an asymmetrical facade with a partial or full-width front porch.

Tudor

Tudor-style houses are modern-day re-inventions based on a variety of late Medieval English homes. They usually feature a steeply pitched roof, prominent cross gables, decorative half-timbering, and tall, narrow windows with small windowpanes.

Craftsman

The Craftsman-style was very popular in the early 1900's and is making a comeback today. The interior features a large amount of woodwork, such as built-in shelving and seating. The exterior often has low-pitched roofs with wide eave overhangs, exposed roof rafters, decorative beams or braces and porches framed by tapered square columns.

Cottage

Inspired by medieval styles of the English countryside, cottage-style house are often very charming and cozy. They usually feature steep roof pitches and cross gables, arched doors, casement windows with small panes, and brick, stone, or stucco siding.

Mediterranean

Mediterranean styles, such as Spanish colonial revival, flourished in Southern California during the 1920s and 1930s. They often feature a low-pitched red tile roof, arches, grillwork, and a stucco or adobe exterior. The floor plan revolves around a central courtyard and fountain, making the garden an extension of the living space.

Traditional Ranch

Traditional Ranch-style homes are usually very simple. It was one of the most poular styles back in the home-building boom of the 1950s-60s. Ranch homes usually have one floor, however, they've evolved into bi-level and tri-level.

Contemporary

Contemporary-style houses feature a very simple aesthetic with geometric lines. They feature a lot of glass, open floor plans and inventive designs, but tend to shy away from unnecessary detail. The exterior usually features a dynamic mix of contrasting materials and textures, exposed roof beams, and flat or low-pitched roofs.

You will often see elements of different styles combined into one home. It's a product of one era moving into another while retaining some features of the previous build. Many architects are able to seamlessly integrate two different styles with the proper planning and knowledge.

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