Southwest House Plans

Southwest house plans represent the predominant architectural styles in the southwestern United States. Southwest home plan design takes the environment in which it is built into great consideration, as the architectural themes tend to blend into the landscape.

 

Architecturally, two basic categorizations are used when defining the Southwestern style: Monterrey and Pueblo.

 

The Monterrey architectural style was quite popular in Northern California from the 1930s to the 50s. These house plans combined colonial home plans of New England and Spanish architecture. The designs are usually two stories in height with shallow-pitched gable or hip roofs. Roofs are generally covered with wood shakes and sometimes clay tiles. The exteriors typically have a smooth surface, light stucco, and sometimes brick. Windows are often tall and in pairs with false shutters.

 

Pueblo designs have been popular in Arizona and New Mexico since about 1910. These homes blend into their landscape, as they are often earth-toned exteriors with flat roofs. Exterior surfaces are often irregular with rounded corners and parapets around the top of the roof. Ornamental trim is often done with logs, copper, or other earthen materials. This house plan style incorporates Native American themes found in pueblos of Arizona and New Mexico.

 

Southwestern architecture represents beautiful, distinctive styles that are a definite change from other types of architecture most commonly found.