Trending Architectural Styles: What Homeowners Want Now

Popular Architectural Styles

What style is that house? If you’re considering buying or building a home and aren’t sure which style suits you best, join us on a “tour” of a few of our favorite and trending architectural styles that may help you decide.

A-Frame

A great style for vacation or second homes, the triangular A-frame is a simple but striking design with its dramatic and steep rooflines. Ideal for snowy areas – think Swiss chalet – as well as woodsy and lake locales, the style has been around for ages. Today’s versions of the A-frame include more bathrooms, bigger bedrooms, large closet space, and mudrooms.

Distinctive Characteristics: 

• The A-Frame’s walls usually start near the foundation and slope upward at a slant to form a triangle. 

• Open floor plans 

• High vaulted ceilings and large windows 

• Deep eaves and gables, and loft spaces 

 

 

Barndominium (Barndo)

The Barndominium style has become one of the most popular in recent years. These house plans combine a barn's functional elements with a modern home's style. With spacious open floor plans and very large garage areas, the barndominium is very versatile. Originally designed as a functioning barn with living quarters, the barndo has transcended into a popular architectural style that may not serve any farm or barn work purpose. 

Distinctive Characteristics: 

• Barndos are typically one or two stories

• Open floor plans and high ceilings

• Very spacious garage area 

• Many barndos are designed with steel frames and are shaped like barns

Bungalow

The country’s love affair with the bungalow design dates back to the early 1900s when families were spurred by the desire for simple, affordable, cozy homes that were typically one-story or one-and-a-half-story. This versatile style is great for a starter home, vacation home, or if you are downsizing. 

Distinctive Characteristics: 

• Most bungalows are one-story to one-and-a-half stories, but there are a number of two-story styles. 

• In keeping with the Arts and Crafts concept, they come with porches (sometimes a stoop)

• Exterior is typically clapboard, shingle, stone, brick, or concrete siding

• Low-pitched to medium and steeply-pitched roofs; overhanging eaves

• Open floor plans.

Cape Cod

With its simple, rectangular shape and aesthetic, the Cape Cod house plan style began as practical and mostly unadorned one-level homes with two or three rooms, a small porch, a prominent roofline extending across the house, a large central chimney, and a fireplace. As the Cape Cod gained popularity over the years, the homes were expanded to one-and-a-half-story structures.  

Distinctive Characteristics: 

• Front door flanked by multi-paned windows

• Steep gable roofs

• Two or more small dormers.

Craftsman

A stark contrast to the ornate and elaborate accents of the Victorian Era, the Craftsman style emphasized clean, simple, and elegant lines. The quintessential Craftsman design has a compact rectangular floor plan, low-slung gable roofs, a front porch with stone foundations supporting usually tapered columns, and wide overhanging eaves. Its more practical but charming style emphasizes harmony with nature and the surrounding landscape.

Distinctive Characteristics: 

• Low-pitched gable roof with deep overhanging eaves

• Exposed rafters and/or decorative brackets

• Front porch

• Short – sometimes tapered – columns that support the roof and sit on stone or brick pedestals

• Dormers

• Natural construction materials like wood, stone, and brick. 

French Country

Throughout the centuries, the elegance and stately charm of French-inspired homes have captivated home buyers and renovators across the country. However, the French Country-style home is most popular in the South, especially in Georgia and Louisiana, where the French colonists first landed.

Although designs vary – from the symmetrical proportions of the French Provencal to other asymmetrical exteriors – you can find these features in most French-inspired homes.

Distinctive Characteristics: 

• Usually, two stories with high rooflines, steep roof pitches

• Stucco, brick, or stone exteriors

• Large chimneys sloped at the base

• Curved arches and stonework on doorways and windows

• Multi-paned windows

• Some have round towers or dormers.

Mediterranean/Spanish Modern

A design that originated in Mediterranean countries with their warm climates and soft sea breezes (think Spain, France, Greece, and Italy), the Mediterranean style homes emerged in the 1920s and ‘30s.  Usually a one or two-story home, the Mediterranean (Spanish) style’s most recognizable element is a low-pitched roof with terra-cotta red tiles that keep the house cool during the hot weather.  

Distinctive Characteristics:

• Stucco walls in white or pastels

• Exposed wood beams, arched doors and windows, and columns 

• Extensive outdoor living spaces

• Wrought-iron gates

• Courtyards, balconies, decks, verandas, and patios.

Mid-Century Modern

Mid-century modern house plans originated in the mid-20th century (1940s-1960s) and are known for their distinctive architectural style. These designs often include open floor plans and large windows, which allow for a seamless blend with nature, as well as emphasizing simplicity and functionality. 

Distinctive Characteristics: 

• Clean, angled lines

• Low-pitched or flat rooflines

• Organic shapes, and many windows

Modern Farmhouse/Farmhouse

A modern farmhouse blends the rustic charm of traditional farmhouses with contemporary design elements and conveniences. Open floor plans, high ceilings, and large windows add to the farmhouse charm.

Typical interior features include hardwood floors, spacious kitchens with islands and walk-in pantries, and a mudroom. Modern farmhouses usually offer 1-story or 1.5-story living with a main-level owner’s suite.

Exterior features include rear-covered patios or porches for dining and entertaining and welcoming large front porches.

Distinctive Characteristics: 

• Classic white or neutral facade with black window frames

• Large windows to let in loads of natural light

• A metal roof or a combo of metal and shingles

• Spacious front porch. 

• Natural elements such as stone or wood add individuality and style

Prairie

A treasure of a design that originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Prairie style combines the functional with the beauty of the natural environment. Although most popular in the Midwest, with their flat prairie landscape, these homes – with their sweeping horizontal lines and open floor plans - have extended their appeal to other parts of the country. 

Distinctive Characteristics: 

• Open floor plans

• Boxed shapes at varying heights and depths

• Low-pitched, usually hip roofs, overhanging eaves

• Rows of small windows

• Porches with massive square supports

• Brick and clapboard siding, and in many cases, a central chimney.

 

 

Ranch

Ranch-style homes were first designed in the early to mid-19th century. A combination of modern elements with Spanish Colonial touches created the California Ranch. 

However, the first modern-day ranch did not come about until the Great Depression. Attractive and affordable, the style caught America’s middle-class imagination. From the late 1940s through the 1960s, the ranch style enjoyed a boom as it was adapted from coast to coast. 

Nowadays, ranch house plans are more popular than ever. One-story living is exceptionally popular, especially with older couples aging in place.

Distinctive Characteristics: 

• Single-story

• Long, low-pitched roof

• Asymmetrical, rectangular, L-shape or U-shape design

• Deep, overhanging eaves

• Open floor plans

• Sliding glass doors that open to a patio or back porch

• Large glass windows

• Mixed materials exteriors of stucco and brick, wood or stone, and simple and/or rustic exterior trim.

Duplex

Sometimes, a single-family home may not appeal to some buyers or they may need more space for an in-law or extended family situation. Often overlooked by today’s buyers, the duplex is fast becoming a hot choice because of its affordability and potential as an investment option. 

By definition, a duplex house plan is a multi-family home with two separate units and two separate entrances within the same structure. The units can be built side-by-side and separated by a wall – or they may be stacked, like apartments on two floors.  

Many plans come in various styles – Ranch, Craftsman, Contemporary – and typically feature mirror-image living spaces and equal square footage. In some duplexes, one unit may be bigger than the other to allow room for a growing family. 

 

As you consider building or buying a home, remember that the design of a home is just as important as its size and price. Be sure to choose an architectural style that you love and one that fits your needs and lifestyle. Which one is your favorite? Tell us in the comments below!