If you are thinking about purchasing a home of your own, you may also want to consider building one. Understanding what styles are the most popular today can be greatly beneficial. Houses that were once popular decades ago now look archaic and old. You will want to choose a house design that is going to not only be contemporary but will likely be popular for the foreseeable future. Here is a brief overview of the most popular house styles that are recommended today for people that are purchasing homes or individuals that would prefer building a new one for their family.
What Exactly Is A House Style?
The style of the house refers to several aspects of these structures. For example, is it a single story or two-story home? Does it have an interesting layout inside? Does the house have a lot of windows? What is the pitch of the roof? All these answers can relate to what many people consider to be the style of the home. There are also different architectural constructs built into homes that are made today that may not have been available or popular years ago. By understanding what these styles are, you can then incorporate the entirety of a particular design, or bits and pieces of many of them, to create your own unique style for the house that you want.
Cape Cod Homes
To determine what your style is, you may want to consider one of the oldest styles in existence today. In fact, despite having started hundreds of years ago, it is still an extremely popular concept. These typically have dormer windows, are two-story homes, and are likely going to have multiple windows facing forward at the top level.
Colonial Style Homes
This is another type of home style that was created centuries ago. It is called a colonialist referencing the period from which it originated. These are typically exceptionally large homes, sometimes two or three stories high, often including a brick exterior, one or more fireplaces, yet modern ones typically have siding. There are numerous windows, and a surrounding porch, giving the appearance of being much larger than they are.
Victorian Houses
These originate from the time of Queen Anne in England. They are designed to present an abundant, distinctive, or even romantic appearance. They have many traditional characteristics including a very steep pitched roof, cutaway bay windows, and will often be constructed with patterned shingles. These are also homing that can be a couple of stories high.
Country French Style Homes
If you think about fancy homes in the United States, back during the time of Thomas Jefferson, these are the types of homes that were often seen. You may be able to see many older homes from this era, in places like Louisiana, which have these multiple narrow windows, steeply pitched roofs, complete with gables, stucco walls, and the use of timbers as frames.
Tudor Style Houses
Tudor references the royal family in England that was so prominent during the 16th century. This type of house is representative of what some people call medieval English prototypes, and they have tall narrow windows, small windowpanes, steeply pitched roofs, cross cables, and are often constructed with a brick layout in front.
Modern House Styles
Most of the homes that have been mentioned were originally conceived centuries ago. However, there are many today that are much more contemporary. For example, the craftsman houses have been around for nearly 100 years. Part of their distinction has to do with built-in shelving, interior woodwork, and they will have distinctly low-pitched roofs. Another component of these homes is the exposed roof rafters, as well as decorative beams that will often permeate lower levels of the house. You can also add cottage-style homes, Mediterranean-style houses, and the ever-popular traditional ranch homes that so many people build today.
Which Is the Most Popular Today?
If you have the money, you will likely construct something that leans more toward old-style construction ideas. You may have a combination of the steep gabled roofs, combined with wide full porches that surround the home, along with the decorative beams that will be on the lower levels of your household. In general, cookie-cutter homes are typically built with the traditional ranch style simply because they are much easier to build. It is also easier to put a roof on these homes because of the low angled pitch. By combining these factors, you could easily craft a unique design that will combine old-style and contemporary styles together.
The most popular house style today is the Colonial, despite the ease of construction associated with more modern designs. Even if your budget is limited, you can still create one of these masterpieces, even incorporating modern concepts if you want. Once you are done, you will see how the influence of prior home designs has influenced the one that you have built. It’s always good to create something that you will enjoy, and this will likely include many of the styles that have been presented.
