Classic & Traditional Houses Archives

The Most Popular & Iconic Home Design Styles Over The Years

You have probably heard of a Tudor or Georgian style home, but maybe never knew how to identify one on sight. Our guide to the most popular & iconic home design styles over the years shows how dwellings in England, Italy, and France influenced the way we build our houses today in North America. This guide is a must-read for any real estate buff who prides themselves on their knowledge of architecture.

By reading our guide, you will learn how to identify homes based on their facade, style and amount of windows, roof, and siding. Not only is this helpful on a practical level, as it will increase your real estate knowledge, but it also serves as an interesting history lesson. Home styles have always been influenced by socioeconomic factors of the times they are conceived; watch how the period of Victorian opulence morphs into the Craftsman style during leaner times.

If you are actively in the process of preparing to search for a home, read this guide to help develop your preference for a few different home styles!

Tudor House Design Style.

Cape Code House Design Style and Georgian Design Style.

Greek Revival Style & Colonial House Building Style.

Gothic Style (Victorian) & Italianate House Style

Stick Eastlake Style & Second Empire Style

Queen Anne House Design & Shingle Style Design

Dutch Colonial Style & Neo Classical Design.

Craftsman Design & Cottage Style

French Colonial Design Style & Mediterranean Style

Mid Century Modern Design & Traditional Ranch Style

Contemporary Design Style

Credit for Infographics to Part Select

Country Cottages & Farm Houses

Stunning classical white country farm house with beautiful veranda and post and rail fence.

Beautiful blue Victorian two storey house on a bright day during Fall.

Amazing expansive Kentucky horse ranch with two storey mansion set amidst lush green fields and post and rail fencing.

Quaint two level country style wooden house surrounded by lush green lawn.

Large scale red farm house with adjoining barns and out buildings in the summer

Simplistic barn-like farm cottages with horses and post and rail fencing

Lonely looking farm house in the country-side beside a passing road and surrounded by an abundance of grass and trees.

Modern rural stone exterior farmhouse in the country side with amazing rural views

Old two storeyed white farm house in the country and surrounded by trees

Simplistic old farm house on a warm evening surrounded by pasture and fencing

Rustic old country house with rustic picket fence.

Picture perfect small house in the country with the most amazing backdrop of emerald green trees

Big farm house with large shingle driveway, garaging and a bush backdrop

Personable country cottage with adjoining garage wing and a lush green front lawn in the country

Beautifully expansive large scale two storey farm house with front veranda, dormer windows, nearby barns and sheds and a stunning spacious rural outlook.

Cute country side farm house with veranda and a stunning autumn colored backdrop of trees

Classical Victorian style country House with ornate features and beautiful veranda

Autumn country house in the woods

Stunning older style classic north American style farmhouse.

Front Entrance Steps to Houses

Beautiful Victorian home with blue painted wooden front entrance steps.

The entrance to any home whether it is a small cute cottage or a large two level home is important. One of the aspects of the front of the house that we often disregard is the porch steps, or the front steps leading up to the front door.

They are often viewed as a very functional aspect of the home and we don’t think of them as having an aesthetic quality. If we view the porch steps as not only functional but that they can contribute to the beauty of our home overall, we will all start to plan and think about them in a different way.

The above image shows a lovely set of steps at the entrance of a luxury house.

Imagine you have just designed your dream home and you have spent many hours meticulously pouring over every detail inside and outside your home. Now look at what you have as your front steps. This is an amazing opportunity to really make some kind of statement. You can design steps that compliment your style of home, something that has great kerb appeal and adds a decorative detail to your home.

Remember that if you do have the opportunity to build and design your front entrance steps, you can really make some clever design choices such as if your porch is a small porch then you could build wide stairs to give the illusion that it is bigger than it seems. You could build in planter boxes up the side of the steps to always have a splash of color with clever planting.

Elegant front steps at the entrance to a luxury house.

Front steps do not have to be boring. If you want to use a natural material such as slate, or stone, this not only looks stunning but it is very hardwearing which means reduced maintenance in the long term. There are numerous colours in slate and stone which means it adds not only a touch of colour but has the advantage of adding an interesting texture to the finished product. This can look stunning in most exterior surroundings. Stamped concrete is used very effectively for front paths and porch steps and this finish often looks very streamlined and smart.

Small Victorian home in Carson City Nevada with simple entrance steps.

You could consider painting your own tile design again in the same color palette for a real impact. You really are limited only by your own imagination. You could number your steps, paint them a simple color and then number them as you step onto each step. This gives a lovely playfulness to the entrance to your home and really it would be difficult not to smile walking up these steps. You could stencil on a ‘Welcome ‘sign at the bottom step or anything else that appeals to you as a greeting or paint your house number on the underside of the top step so it can be seen clearly from the road.

Large brick home with lush vegetation, white columns and extensive steps to the front door.

The most important tip to consider when building your front entrance steps is be generous when you design them. Make them as wide as you possibly can, this will give a more luxurious look to the front of the home and will also make the entrance porch seem larger.

Porch steps also don’t necessarily need to be straight. You could make the steps curved on the edges going from wide at the bottom to slightly narrower at the top. Consider all the possibilities of color choices, materials and design and how they will fit with your home and its environment.

Classical Victorian styled home in Carson City Nevada with elegant front steps

A Victorian era mansion with wraparound porch on Main Street

The front steps of a Victorian home in Harbor Springs, Michigan

Small Harbor Springs Home with a grand set of wooden front steps

Stunning plantation home from the South states with amazing pillars and grand front entrance steps

Old blue house that has been renovated & turned into a duplex with twin front entrances and steps

Modern ornate detailed entrance steps to house with beautiful landscaping.

If you are a creative person and you want to make a statement on your steps you could consider a mosaic finish. You could collect patterned tiles in one particular color and then tile the front steps displaying all the different patterns in similar tones of the same colour. This looks stunning on an older style home adding loads of character.

Lovely bricked front entrance steps to the entrance of a house in Vancouver.

If you like the look of recycled bricks, you could build your steps out of these. (like in the above photo) There’s nothing better than recycling if you can and to use a material that is reasonably priced and gives such a fantastic finished look. They will usually compliment beautifully a classic cottage style property with a look of old world charm and these are of course also very practical and sturdy.

Front entrance wooden steps to a Victorian home with ornate handrail in Benicia, California.

Another very popular material used for porch steps is wood. Wooden front porch steps add a lovely softness and elegance to any home and they have the benefit of also being able to be designed in a style to compliment your home.

Wooden steps can be stained or painted in colors that suit (or match your house color or exterior). You can paint the steps in the same colour as your porch and use a different colour on the balustrading. Or you can make the steps a feature and paint or stain them a contrasting colour to compliment the exterior of your home. Planter boxes can be built into the sides of the steps to add a touch of old world charm.

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Log Cabins and Log Homes

Great looking log house with twin storeys and front veranda covered in fresh snow

The above is a great looking log cabin home with twin storeys and front veranda covered in fresh snow.

Everyone loves a log cabin home, don’t they? Sure they do! Log homes conjure up in the mind, relaxation nights by the open fire, snow piled up outside, and a cosy warm atmosphere surrounded by all that wood.

What is a log home or a log cabin to be exact? According to Wikipedia a log cabin “…is a dwelling constructed of logs, especially a less finished or architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers.”

So, it kind of goes without saying that most log homes and cabins to be found are likely to be in the countryside, in the mountains and in the wilderness.

Wooden house in the woods with a place for barbeque

The history of log homes in the USA dates back to around the mid 17th Century. According to Wikipedia, “Historians believe that the first log cabins built in North America were in the Swedish colony of Nya Sverige (New Sweden) in the Delaware River and Brandywine River valleys. Many of its colonists were actually Forest Finns, because Finland was an integrated part of Sweden at that time.”

Wooden Cottage Of Stained Timber in the Snowy Woods In Winter surrounded by a wooden picket fence

Log cabins historically were crafted primarily from long straight tree trunks that are laid horizontally on top of each other side by side. They were connected by interlocking the ends with notches, although some were simply nailed and not built with notches. The nailing option wasn’t as structurally sound as the notching method.

Wooden house made from pine wood logs and surrounded in snow

In frontier, pioneering days, the building site was the most important part of building for a log cabin. It was essential that the site provided adequate sunlight as well as drainage. Frontier life was brutal, and these homes had to provide the very best quality of life possible within such a harsh environment.

Snow covered country house in the winter

The choice of trees from which the logs for these cabin homes were made, were typically old-growth trees with as fewer limbs as possible and ideally straight up and down with minimal taper.

Compact Log House on the banks of a River.

“Careful notching minimized the size of the gap between the logs and reduced the amount of chinking (sticks or rocks) or daubing (mud) needed to fill the gap. The length of one log was generally the length of one wall, although this was not a limitation for most good cabin builders.” Wikipedia tells us.

Quaint log cabin in Ohio amidst the trees

In log cabin construction, there were decisions to be made as to what type of dwelling it was to be. Key considerations that had to be taken into account included, the likely size of the house, whether it would single or double storied, roofing type and where to place the doors and windows. Also, depending on the available sources of raw materials (trees, stone, labor, etc) there may be some limitation on the log cabin size and proportions.

Residential two storey house made of wooden logs

The log cabin homes of today have been adapted to modern building construction techniques through the use of squared logs with carefully hewn corner notching on the exterior. The insides are reflective of the needs of modern families with open plan living spaces and areas. Today’s log houses are often spacious and elegant when compared with their predecessors from the bygone era.

Log house covered in snow during the winter

Log House on a sunny winter day with blue sky and snow on the ground.

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Exterior House Colors

This is a feature picture gallery of exterior house colors.

The magic of exterior house colors & house color themes can be one of the single most effective means to bring a house or building to life.

The above image is of the well renown ‘Painted Ladies’ Victorian houses in close up view in San Francisco with each house showing off their stunning detail in the design and their color. Truly stunning.

When you are deciding what colors to paint your home, one of the things you need to take into account is that the exterior of your home needs to fit in within the existing environment you live in.

However, that doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t reflect your own personal style and you slavishly just follow the traditional heritage colors for your type of home.

The exterior of your home is your way of showing off your home and its unique attributes.

It would appear that homeowners have re-awakened to the use of color in not only their interiors but also on their exteriors and they are being a little more adventurous with color and moving away from common old beige.

It doesn’t mean that you can’t stick to a classical style that doesn’t date, however, classical style can be contemporary or more traditional depending on your tastes.

You can use color on most exterior parts of your house whether it is wood, rendered brick, windows, roof tiles or corrugated iron.

Be aware that using dark colors on your roof will absorb ultraviolet light and heat whereas a light colored roof will reflect it.

The surrounding structures on the outside of your house, like the fences, garden walls and decks and verandas can be painted as well to tone in or contrast with the exterior of your house.

This beautiful row of Victorian houses in a variety of colorfully painted themes.

The color combinations on the weatherboards and around the windows, frames, doors, and entranceways have been well thought out to create a stunning effect.

Matching your outdoor furniture to the tones of your deck/veranda will create visual cohesiveness.

Have fun with your colors and don’t be afraid to get sample pots from your local color stores and paint them on in test patches and sit with it for a period of time to view the color in different lights to see how it looks in your environment.

Or if you are really not sure where to begin, consider getting in a professional color consultant who will be able to give you some advice on different color options and how to combine two, three or even four colors on your exterior.

They will have advice on the latest trends and color mixes and perhaps suggest colors that you hadn’t even considered.

Think about the history of your house too, and whether you follow the more traditional color scheme for your period of house or whether you would like a more contemporary approach with color.

You do need to think about your surrounding environment outside of your immediate area and consider how this reflects on your neighborhood.

Don’t be afraid to use color in a non-traditional way as can be seen on the houses featured below.

A beautiful Victorian three level white and black house.

The windows are all painted in black and contrast superbly with the crisp white of the boards.

The trim on the barge boards is also painted black highlighting the gorgeous lines of this house.

Something to keep in mind when considering your paint color choices, if you pick dark colors, it sometimes will make a house recede and appear smaller in size whereas a lighter finish will sometimes make it appear larger.

If your home has gorgeous detail around the windows or verandas, these are some of the pieces that you can paint in a different color that will enhance and highlight the detail and beauty of them.

As seen in the gorgeous houses above and below, each house has its own look and feel about it.

There is really no right or wrong, however, each exterior has reflected its owner’s visions and tastes, and is usually supported by good landscaping and/or a gorgeous setting that enhances the home.

Also, a minor point, but check with your local City Council as some may have limitations or restrictions on what colors you can paint your house, particularly if you reside in a well known traditional character home suburb.

Pretty two story house finished in an earthy mustard exterior paint color and matched with stunning multi-colored stone front portico and a very high pitched tile roof and completed with shaped stone window frames.

A well-presented old Victorian home finished in a stunning light blue with white detail on the windows and the balustrading. A very pretty picture.

A new Victorian styled home with the traditional tower, porch, gables and pitched roof.

You can’t help but feel happy when you look at this house, the bright yellow and white just make you want to smile.

Colorful old Victorian houses showing the attention to detail and diversity of the individual paint color choices.

Elegant apartment style houses in London.

The burgundy and white around the windows really highlights the detailed aspect of the large windows and looks great against the solidness of the brick.

A lovely landscaped Victorian type house finished in elegant subdued colors that just give the house a look of luxury and quality. The pink flowers in the front suit the color of the house.

San Francisco California United States with the city skyline in the background and the famous Painted Ladies Victorian homes at Alamo Square showing a range of house exterior color combinations

Regency Georgian terraced town houses in London’s, Kensington, England.

The elegance of the brick, black and white shows off the stunning design and beauty of these homes.

Classic Victorian houses in San Francisco, California, USA.

The intricate detail of the embellishments of these houses is extraordinary they look like something out of a fairy tale book.

The sophisticated color pallets enhance the homes natural beauty and craftsmanship.

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