5 Architectural Styles

The Prairie School of Architecture was a late 19th and early 20th century style of home design.  It has its roots in the Midwestern United States, but its influence was felt around the world. This style is usually marked by its integration with the surrounding landscape, horizontal lines, hipped roofs with broad eaves, windows assembled in horizontal bands, craftsmanship, and restraint in the use of decoration. Like many turn of the century styles, this architectural style shares a desire for simplicity and function. The style attracted many young designers of the period, the best known among them being Louis H. Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Shingle Style Homes burst onto the scene in the late 1800s with roots in New England, and later in some west coastal areas, primarily as vacation homes for the wealthy. Traditional shingle style homes are rare and are still very coveted today. While Shingle style homes can be designed with different features, there are many characteristics they usually have in common. In contrast to the other Victorian-era styles, Shingle homes de-emphasized applied decoration and detailing, in favor of complex shapes wrapped in cedar shingles. Designs included porches, balconies, and large windows that encouraged a tactile interaction with the outdoors. Complex roof forms were common, with asymmetrical roof lines that often created a sense of depth and organic shape.  Homes often feature apposing Dutch gables and roof sections of different pitch, wings, turrets and bays.  

Modern Architecture is rooted in early 20th-century designs that broke with traditional architecture. Many modern projects embody the ideals of the machine age: an absence of ornament, structures of steel or concrete, large expanses of glass, a whitewash, minimal exterior expression, and open floor plans. Modern/Urban Architecture is possibly the broadest of any architectural style, and thus is the most difficult to describe. Examples do not necessarily have similar or easily recognizable features, because the "style" is really quite varied and has a number of different influences.   Even though a precise definition of the term is difficult to articulate, modern homes typically include an irregular or unusually shaped frame, eye-catching roof designs, oversized windows with natural light, and the use of "sustainable" and repurposed components.  Such homes also often have an organic design, fitting into the surrounding space and meeting an immediate need in the area.  Modern buildings tend to be highly functional and may push the limits of what can be defined as contemporary architecture.

The Modern Farmhouse Style is a more recent trend that is very popular in North American architecture. Far from being about living on a farm, the modern movement is about minimalist styles, while maximizing function and sustainability. This design seeks to capture comfort, and that family centered, folksy aesthetic from a simpler time. There are several obvious extension traits, the most defining is a large covered front entrance porch. Crisp, lean and simple pain colors are often used; black, white and natural wood are the most common. Other features include metal accent shed roofs, tall gables, angled soffit and many large openings or windows. Vertical siding or thin horizontal profiles are prevalent.