30 Popular Architectural Home Styles
Published by HGTV, Written by Jacquelyn McGilvray
30 popular architectural home styles
Jacquelyn has been with HGTV.com since 2008, in that time she’s seen lifestyle trends come and go and come back again. She is a master gardener who enjoys the constant experimentation and learning that gardening brings.
From art deco to Victorian, learn about the history and key elements of the most popular home styles.
Art Deco
Art Deco comes from various influences including ancient Egypt, Hollywood and French decorative arts. The art deco movement became popular in the 1920s as part of the modernist trend and jazz era that influenced music, fashion and art. The look took off in New York City where skyscrapers being built at that time such as The Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building were all about art deco style. They were constructed with shiny steel to give them a futuristic look. Clean lines and patterns like zigzags, chevrons and crown-like shapes were also used to add a sophisticated vibe. Art deco took on different looks as it crossed the country, many variations were constructed of terra cotta and stucco with colorful and ornate patterns, curved corners and tall windows. The colorful structure pictured above is located in Miami’s South Beach. The area is famous for its art deco architecture where homes and apartment buildings boast geometric patterns, rounded corners and bold tropical colors. Art Deco style is also referred to as art nouveau, bauhaus or cubism.
Barndominium
Barnomiumin is a relatively new type of architectural style. The term is a portmanteau formed from barn and condominium; barn for the style, and condominium for the large divided space. People have been converting barns into homes for years, but what is new is the trend of building a new structure that is large enough to house a living area and an attached utilitarian space such as a workshop, warehouse or multi-car garage for a work-play lifestyle. The utilitarian space — made for either commercial or recreation use — can be as big as or even bigger than the living space, thus sometimes called a “shouse” — shop + house. Also called “barndos,” these large structures are most often found in rural areas and building plans are easy to come by and customizable to fit on any plot of land. A barndominium home doesn’t necessarily have any distinctive architectural features, they can have the traditional barn-style gambrel roof, clerestory or metal roof and be constructed from steel or wood. On the inside, barndominiums commonly have an open floor plan with rustic and industrial touches.
Cape Cod
The first Cape Cod homes were built in the 1600s by Colonial settlers. They were inspired by Britain's thatched cottages, but built with steeper roofs and larger chimneys to withstand the cold New England winters. Windows flanking the front door, dormer windows on the second floor and cedar shingles are typical of the style. Most of today's Cape Cods were built in the 1930s and '40s. They were also the first home style used in modestly priced housing developments that popped up across the country after World War II. Even though their origins are in the Northeast, Cape Cod-style homes can be found across the country like this adorable home in Kalamazoo, Michigan, that was built in 1938.
Contemporary
Some may consider contemporary and modern architecture to be essentially the same thing. However, contemporary refers to today's building styles, which can vary in design and appearance. Modern architecture refers to design inspired by the historical art movement of modernism that started in the early 1900s. Both styles are similar in that they look to connect indoors and outdoors, but contemporary homes tend to emphasize energy efficiency, sustainable materials, lots of natural light and the use of recycled non-toxic materials. Case-in-point: HGTV’s Smart Home 2024. The 1980s house was renovated using green and recycled materials, and the new design features huge windows and skylights to let in tons of natural light, an interior living garden and plenty of outdoor living spaces.
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Cottage
Cottages originate from the word "cotters." Cotters were European peasant farmers in the Middle Ages who lived in this style of home. Back then a cottage-style house was a small structure made of stone or wood siding with a thatched roof. Today's English cottage-style homes, like the one pictured here, often evoke a fairytale vibe with their steep but flared roofline, elaborate entryway, asymmetrical design and free-flowing garden. Cottage-style homes can borrow from other architectural styles, most commonly the Tudor style with its timber and stucco siding, casement windows with several mullions and stain-glassed sections. Today’s cottage style doesn't necessarily mean small as seen in this charming Minnesota home. The style is more about feeling quaint, cozy and casual.
Craftsman
When it comes to architecture, the terms bungalow and Craftsman are often used interchangeably, but they mean two different things. A bungalow refers to a small house, which can be any style. Craftsman is a style born out of the Arts and Crafts movement which came about in the late 1800s. The two terms became confused because the original Craftsman homes were usually small, thus often called bungalows. Craftsman architectural style emphasizes natural materials — wood, stone and brick. Wide front porches, low-pitched roofs, earthy colors and tapered columns are typical as seen on this Craftsman-style home renovated by Ben and Erin Napier of Home Town. The key elements of the Craftsman style are still very popular today and can often be seen in new home builds, even large, non-bungalow-sized houses.
More About Arts + Crafts Style
Dutch Colonial
Originating in the early 1600s, the Dutch Colonial style of home originally had just one room for early American settlers. Easily recognized by the broad gambrel roof, the style typically features dormers, flared eaves extending over the porch and a decorative portico over the front entryway. The style also may feature a centered Dutch double doorway, originally used to keep animals from entering the home while still allowing fresh air to flow through the home. This house style is also known as a "barn house" because of its striking resemblance to a typical barn.
Federal Colonial
The Federal Colonial style, also known as the Adam style, is modeled after Roman classicism. Similar to the Georgian Colonial style, the Federal Colonial style differs because it has wings off to one or both sides of the original box shape and it tends to have more decorative embellishments than other Colonial styles. Federal-style homes are most often made of brick. The front façade screams wealth with its ornamentation, tall columns and grand curved steps that lead up to the entrance. An elliptical or fan-shaped window usually tops the door, with long rectangular windows placed symmetrically on both sides of the doorway. This 1877 federal style is the John Bertram House located in the historic city center of Salem, Massachusetts.
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French Country, Provincial or Chateau
This beautiful home is outside Atlanta, but if we told you it was in France, you’d probably believe us because its architecture has a lot of quintessential French provincial attributes. The terms French country, French provincial and French chateau are often used interchangeably, but they are somewhat different. French country or farmhouse is rustic and casual with a worn or distressed vibe. Provincial is associated with the Provence region of France and is a bit more formal than French country but also includes a lot of natural earth tones and rustic touches. French chateau is the most formal and luxurious of the three.
Inspired by estates of the French countryside, the provincial style came to the US after World War I when soldiers returning home brought the style with them. Today's newer suburban housing developments still use French provincial elements including symmetrical proportions, steep hipped roofs, stone façades, arched windows and painted wood shutters.
Georgian Colonial
Back in the 1600s when Colonial architecture originated, there were many variations of the style due to the diversity of early American settlers. Known for its symmetry and formality, Colonial architecture is most often characterized by evenly spaced shuttered windows, dormers, columns and chimneys. You may recognize the home pictured above. Located in Salem, Massachusetts, it is the home in the movie “Hocus Pocus” and it is a prime example of Georgian Colonial architecture. Its Roman and Greek influences are apparent in the decorative dentil molding along the roofline, twin columns flanking the door and ornate pediments above the dormer windows.
More About Colonial Architecture
Gothic Revival
Gothic architecture dates back to medieval times when it was the go-to style for large churches and cathedrals throughout Europe. Think Westminster Abbey in London, Notre Dame in Paris or even Hogwarts Castle. Gothic revival came about in the mid-19th century, and it was first used in public spaces such as churches, schools and libraries. The style then found its way into residential homes around the same time as Victorian architecture — aptly known as high Victorian Gothic. Gothic revival and Victorian home styles are similar in that both are shapely and showy with wings and bays in many directions, and they have steeply pitched roofs and ornate woodworking. Victorian homes have more curved lines and rounded corners, whereas Gothic is all about pointed arches and doorways. Victorians are often adorned with colorful palettes while Gothic homes are usually subdued in color.
Carpenter Gothic style is a variation of the Gothic revival that is more modest and was most often found in homes and small churches in rural areas. It has less ornamentation than its predecessors but still implements some classic Gothic elements including pointed arches, scroll woodwork details and board and batten siding. The famous painting "American Gothic" by Grant Wood depicts a classic carpenter Gothic home.
Greek Revival
Inspired by Greek architecture and democracy, the Greek Revival style flourished in America in the 1830s and 1940s. Tall columns and pediments, painted plaster siding, horizontal transoms, a symmetrical shape, ornate moldings and embellishments are all key to the style. Large and imposing, this style has historically been used for public buildings like banks, libraries and schools. Large estates and plantation homes in the South built during the 1800s were mostly Greek revivals (think: Scarlett O’Hara’s home in Gone With the Wind). The Greek Revival home pictured above is located in Rogers, Arkansas. Renovated top to bottom by Dave and Jenny Marrs of Fixer to Fabulous, the house features many of the typical elements of the style — two-story columns, transoms on the windows and doors and a hip roof with large eaves.
More on Greek Revival Architecture
Italianate
Built more out of a desire for ornamentation than functionality, the Italianate style is loosely modeled after the villas of Italy. Most of the homes were built between the mid-to-late-1800s. Decorative corbels with deep eaves, cornice-topped windows and doorways and single-story porches can easily identify an Italianate home, as can tall, rounded windows and columned entryways. Italianate homes are most often made of brick with wrought-iron railings and hardware.
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Log Home
Log homes can be simple one-room cabins or grand waterfront mansions. Many people think log homes came about in the 1600s with early American settlers, but there is evidence that this method of building was in Europe centuries earlier. Traditional log-home construction is comprised of stacked logs with interlocking joints that are held together with chinking, a type of flexible mortar. Back then the timber and stone used to build the home were taken directly from the build site. Today’s log cabins are most often constructed from a variety of species including cedar, cypress, pine or oak. Log cabin construction is often associated with the Adirondack Mountains in New York state. In the late 1800s, the wealthy from New York City built luxury log cabins in these mountains as summer homes. They took the architectural style from simplistic one-room cabins to posh modern retreats.
Explore More Rustic Log Cabins
Mediterranean
Influenced by the area from which it's named, this style became extremely popular in the US from the 1920s to 1940s and is still popular today. Mediterranean style is modeled after the hacienda style. The most common characteristics were originally developed to keep these houses cool in the hot Mediterranean sun. The semi-circle roof tiles shed water easily and the air pockets in the semi-circle allow airflow so the roof doesn't get too hot. The white stucco siding protects exterior wall surfaces from sunlight and hot temperatures. The arches provide shade to the interior and still allow cool breezes to reach inside. Heavy wood beams and doors, as well as ornate wood carvings and wrought-iron accents, were historically used to add a touch of luxury. The Mediterranean-style villa pictured above was designed by legendary architect Paul Williams in 1930. The Los Angeles home was beautifully restored in the last few years.
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Midcentury Modern
Constructed out of new ideas, mindsets and a forward-thinking style, midcentury modern architecture flourished from 1945 to the 1980s and has experienced a recent resurgence. Characterized by flat roofs with wide overhangs, large glass windows and open space, the style focused on simplistic design and seamless integration of nature. World War II brought new materials such as steel, concrete and plywood to home building and helped to enlighten new ways of thinking about residential living. Midcentury modern homes can be found throughout the US, but Palm Springs, California, is renowned for the style. Back in the 1950s and '60s, Palm Springs was a playground for Hollywood’s elite; they embraced the futuristic style making it a trend not only in architecture but also in interior design, automobiles and fashion.
What is Midcentury Modern Style
Modern
Modern and contemporary styles tend to get confused. Modern architecture refers to design inspired by the historical art movement of modernism, whereas contemporary is about what’s popular at the moment. Most classic examples of modern architecture are more than 60 years old, which makes it a little easier to tell a modern-style home from a contemporary-style home. Modernism was a rebellion against classic architectural traditions. It also produced some giants in the architecture pantheon: American Frank Lloyd Wright, German Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Swiss-born Le Corbusier. Key elements of the style include open living spaces, clean, geometric lines and the use of steel, concrete and glass.
Modern Farmhouse
The term "farmhouse" doesn't refer to style, but rather to location and function. They were originally built on rural land with an emphasis on an agrarian lifestyle. Many early farmhouses were modeled after popular architectural styles of the time such as Victorian, Gothic and Colonial. However, in recent years "modern farmhouse" has become a very popular home style in rural and suburban areas. The new modern farmhouses have a lot of the same attributes as their ancestors — large front porches, white façades, steep gables, triangular rooflines and dormers. The commonly used board and batten siding and steep roofline give it a touch of Gothic style while the addition of natural woods lends a rustic, Scandinavian vibe.
Neoclassical
You may recognize this home — it is the most famous example of neoclassical architecture — it is Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home in Charlottesville, Virginia. With formal proportions and classic beauty, the neoclassical style reflects the architecture of Greece and Rome. In the early 20th century, government buildings and universities used the neoclassical concept in their design. Homes built in this style clearly exude wealth. Symmetry, tall columns, elaborate doorways and evenly spaced windows are all key elements of the style.
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Prairie
Developed in the Midwest by architectural trailblazer Frank Lloyd Wright, prairie-style homes were built based on the idea that a home should serve all practical needs without being overly embellished or showy. This home is the Arthur Heurtly House, one of 25 Wright-designed buildings located in Oak Park, Illinois. Prairie style was influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement and its interior features are very similar such as built-in furniture, simple materials and open floor plans. But on the exterior, prairie-style homes differ from Arts and Crafts in that they have flat, cantilever roofs, large rows of windows and clean, horizontal lines mixed with organic patterns.
All About Prairie Architecture
Pueblo Revival
Extremely popular in the Southwest, especially New Mexico, Pueblo revival (aka Sante Fe style) homes date back to the early 20th century. The style was influenced by the ancient Pueblo people's simple multifamily homes. Earthy materials such as adobe, concrete, stucco or mortar are used to construct the mostly terra cotta-colored cladding. Heavy doors, ceiling beams and porch posts are a striking counterpart to the smooth, rounded walls. The timbers used are called vigas, and they’re usually exposed at the ends. Enclosed courtyards and flat or sloping roofs with parapets are typical of the style.
Queen Anne
Queen Anne style is a variation of Victorian architecture. It has a lot of the same decorative detail and extravagant features and both styles became popular in the late 19th century. These sister styles flourished due to the new home-building techniques of the Industrial Revolution such as pre-built, factory-made components. You can identify a Queen Anne home by its asymmetrical exterior, large front porch and an irregular roofline that includes fanciful turrets, towers and gables topped with intricate finials and patterned roof shingles. Siding on a Queen Anne can be a mix of materials including clapboard, stucco, brick, stone and slate all laid out in various colors and patterns. The expansive porches are normally adorned with a variety of gingerbread details such as exaggerated pediments and shapely spindles, balustrades and columns.
Ranch
Truly an American innovation whose popularity grew exponentially, the ranch was first built in the 1930s, and by the 1950s, nearly every new home being built was a ranch. Post World War II, ranch homes were filling suburbs across America. These mass-produced homes were originally modeled after rural Western ranches, that were one-level, practical and unadorned. Ranch architecture resembles the modern style with open floor plans and sliding glass doors that allow for easy connections to the outdoors. Exterior details, size and style can vary greatly; ranches can be a straight line, L-shaped or U-shaped. And not all ranch homes are on one level. Raised ranches or split-level homes built in mass during the 1960s and ‘70s — often called splanches (ranch + split-level = splanch) — are also called ranches. Low-pitched roofs, a focus on the backyard instead of the front yard and attached garages are some of the main characteristics of a ranch home. Tour the rest of this home.
Saltbox
Built by European settlers starting in the 1600s, saltbox homes are most commonly found in New England. This practical homebuilding style endured for a couple hundred years after the Colonial period moved to other parts of the US. Saltbox homes are known for their unique shape — flat two stories in the front and sloping down the back to one story. They were called saltboxes because the shape resembled the common wood box that was used at that time to store salt. With snowy New England winters, the steeply pitched gabled rooflines were necessary to allow snow to slide off more easily. Saltbox homes were traditionally built around a center fireplace to heat the house; thus a large chimney can usually be found sticking out of the middle of the roof. Visit Massachusetts and you can tour many historic saltbox homes including the birthplace of President John Adams and the birthplace of his son, President John Quincy Adams. The home pictured above was built in the 1700s and restored to become a high-end estate on the east end of Long Island, New York.
Shingle Style
Shingle-style homes are most often associated with the Gilded Age’s historic mansions in posh resort areas like Cape Cod, the Hamptons or Newport, Rhode Island. If you want to be technical, shingle style is not really a style of architecture, shingle refers to the style’s wood-shake siding. The shingle siding was meant to be more rustic and relaxed than the Victorian homes that were popular at that time. The architectural features borrow from many other styles including Queen Anne turrets and large front porches as well as Colonial-style columns, railings and large windows. The rooflines on shingle-style homes are most often elaborate with many gables and dormers.
Shotgun
Shotgun houses are a staple of New Orleans architecture and other big US cities including Houston, Texas, Louisville, Kentucky, and Nashville. These homes are narrow side to side — sometimes only 10 to 12 feet wide — and are deep front to back. Its rooms run in a straight line from the front porch to the back door, with the kitchen normally being in the back of the house. Shotguns are often duplexes, attached side-by-side to another identical home. This style became popular in the late 1800s. Its compact size allowed builders to fit a home on a small lot, and in the pre-air-conditioning era, the cross breeze that ran from front to back helped cool the home. There are different theories on how the name shotgun came about, but the most common theory is that with its narrow layout, you can shoot a shotgun into the front door and it would go straight out the back door. In New Orleans, shotgun homes are also called Creole homes because of the Haitian immigrants who built these homes throughout the 1800s into the 1900s. However, there is a difference between a shotgun and a Creole home. A Creole home has a higher-pitched roof and more ornamentation given the Haitian’s Spanish and French influences.
Spanish and Mission Revival
Spanish and mission revival (aka Spanish Colonial or Spanish mission) originated in Southern California, based on the homes and churches built by Mexican settlers and Spanish missionaries in the late 1700s and early 1800s. In the early 1920s, the mission revival style was being used in new buildings but was given more ornamentation and detail. The mission and Spanish styles are very similar with their white stucco cladding, wrought-iron railings, large wood-carved doors and clay-tile roofs. However, the Spanish Colonial style is more decorative with its curved parapets (the wall extending above the roof line) and sometimes boast one or two bell towers, which is a nod to old Spanish churches built by the missionaries in the early 20th century. Mission revival homes may be less fancy, but they are still quite detailed with their arcaded porches and exterior corridors, square pillars and quatrefoil windows that resemble flowers. Spanish and mission are also very similar to Mediterranean styles, all started in warm weather climates so natural cooling was very important. Thick, light-colored stucco walls and red clay roof tiles reflect sunlight, not absorb it, while large eaves and covered porches shade windows and doorways.
More About Spanish Architecture
Townhouse
Townhouses, row houses and brownstones are similar, but not the same. A townhouse is attached to another house at least on one side, most often both sides. Row houses can be attached or unattached but lined up in rows with little space in between. A brownstone is a type of townhome constructed from brown sandstone. This style of home became popular in the early 19th century thanks to the limited space needed and the financial benefits for the builder. Homes built in this manner could go up fast and in a smaller area of land. Practicality dictates row-house design; they are typically two stories or more with a traditional layout, side hallways and minimal lawn space. Townhouses often borrow from other styles, Federal (like the one pictured above), Queen Anne, Greek revival, Italianate and Colonial revival. Townhouses can differ from condos in that the homeowner owns the exterior space of a townhome as well as the interior. With condos, the exterior spaces are owned by a corporation or homeowner association.
Tour HGTV's Brownstone Boys' Home
Tudor
Originating in England, the Tudor style is one of the most recognizable home styles. It is best known for its chunky half-timber framing against light stucco, decorative entryways and grouping of large windows that are often stained or made from leaded glass. The roof — usually comprised of slate tile — is a big part of a Tudor-style home; it's steep, has multiple gables and large chimneys with ornate brickwork. These steep-pitched roofs are perfect for rainy and snowy climates, which is why many of these homes can be found in the Midwest and Northeast. Large Tudor homes were popular among the ultra-wealthy from the late 1800s into the 1940s. With the suburban building boom of the 1950s, the Tudor style was incorporated into more modest homes.
Victorian
Victorian architecture emerged between 1830 and 1910 under the reign of Queen Victoria and includes sub-styles such as Gothic revival, Italianate, second empire, Queen Anne, stick style, Romanesque style and shingle style. Constructed more for beauty than functionality, Victorian homes tend to be complex in design with ornate trim, bright colors, large porches, asymmetrical shapes and multi-faceted rooflines. The ornate detail on a Victorian home is often called “gingerbread,” and colorful Victorians are called “painted ladies.” The Savannah, Georgia home pictured above was built in 1895. In 2016, its careful renovation won it the Historic Savannah Foundation Preservation Award.