1. Home & Garden

Discuss in my forum

Home Styles Guide

Residential Architecture in a Nutshell

By , About.com Guide

"Neo" House Styles

Photo of a "McMansion"Colonial windows combine with a Queen Anne turret in this Neoeclectic home. Photo © Jackie Craven
1965-present
Neo means new. Many new homes borrow details from historic styles and combine them with modern features.
  • Neoeclectic House Style
  • Neocolonial House Style
  • Neo-Mediterranean House Style
  • Neo-Victorian House Style
  • McMansion
  • Spanish and Mediterranean

    Mission style houseThis early 20th century home is modeled after an old Spanish Mission. Photo: Jupiter Images
    1600s - present
    Spanish settlers in Florida and the American Southwest brought a rich heritage of architectural traditions and combined them with ideas borrowed from Hopi and Pueblo Indians. Modern day "Spanish" style homes tend to be Mediterranean in flavor, incorporating details Italy, Portugal, Africa, Greece, and other countries. Spanish inspired styles include Pueblo Revival, Mission, and Neo-Mediterranean.
  • Spanish Colonial Revival (Spanish Eclectic) House Style
  • French Styles

    This grand stone mansion combines a variety of French stylesThis grand stone mansion combines a variety of French styles. Photo: ClipArt.com
    1700s - present
    Spanish, African, Native American, and other heritages combined to create a unique blend of housing styles in America's French colonies. Two hundred years later, soldiers returning from World War I brought a keen interest in French housing styles.
  • French Colonial House Style
  • Tidewater House Style
  • French Creole Cottages
  • French Normandy House Style
  • French Provincial House Style
  • French Eclectic House Style
  • Earth Houses

    Homes in Loreto Bay, MexicoColorful homes in Loreto Bay, Mexico are made with compressed earth blocks. Photo © Jackie Craven
    Prehistoric - present
    Architects and engineers are taking an new look at man's earliest building material: practical, affordable, energy-efficient earth.
  • Adobe Houses
  • Rammed Earth Houses
  • Cob Houses
  • Compressed Earth Block Houses
  • Straw Bale Houses
  • Earth Sheltered Houses
  • Prefab Houses

    Original Prototype of a Lustron Home Original Prototype of a Lustron Home. Publicity image courtesy KDN Films, Inc
    1906 - Present
    Factory-made modular and prefabricated houses have been popular since the early 1900s when Sears, Aladdin, and other mail order companies shipped house kits to far corners of the United States. Today, "prefabs" are gaining new respect as architects experiment with bold new forms.
  • Sears Catalog Houses
  • Lustron Homes
  • Log Homes
  • Katrina Cottages
  • Manufactured Houses
  • Modular Houses
  • Dome Homes

    Geodesic Dome HomeGeodesic Domes are economical and energy-efficient. Photo © VisionsofAmerica, Joe Sohm/Getty Images
    1954 - Present
    The idea of constructing dome-shaped structures dates back to prehistoric times, but the 20th century brought exciting new approaches to dome design.
  • Geodesic Domes
  • Monolithic Domes
  • ©2012 About.com. All rights reserved.

    A part of The New York Times Company.