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Who would have thought that the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair would catapult the Prairie Style into prominence? High expectations for fresh, new designs were dashed when European forms dominated. Change was inevitable once a group of architects led by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright seized the moment and introduced the Prairie Style.
Perhaps the most difficult architectural design to define and describe – because it is an amalgam of several styles – try a mix of Colonial, Colonial Revival, Cape Cod, Ranch, Tudor, and Victorian – the traditional house plan is never boring or dull. Traditional homes display a casual, relaxed, homey, and friendly feel that is pure American.
What started as a rest house in British India became the rage in the U.S. in the early 1900s. The bungalow style defined Americans’ desire for simple house plans that were affordable and cozy. At the bungalow’s height, when manufacturing was at a boom and cities were flourishing, young families wanted a permanent home, close to town yet away from the sights, sounds, and smells of the business districts. Today, as more young Americans are drawn to putting down roots near an urban environment, the bungalow style house has experienced a reawakening among Generation X and Y.
What’s so fascinating about a colonial style house? With its roots in the 1700s, the “Colonial” exudes the warmth, charm and tradition of early American life. Perhaps the most popular and timeless architectural style in the country, the “Colonial” is the result of the imagination and culture of various European settlers. So, symbolically, it is a depiction of the once-and-future-diversity of America.
Big and extravagant homes might be beautiful to admire from afar, but how many homeowners really want the mortgage payment that comes with it plus spend their nights and weekends maintaining them – or incur huge expenses to have others do so for them? Below I explore some of the advantages and comforts offered by a smaller home floor plan as well as my “Top 5 Tips” to enhance your smaller space design.
With its turrets, gables and ornate trim, the “Victorian” house may be deemed as Bleak House or The House of the Seven Gables as depicted in classic literature. Quite the contrary. Perhaps the most colorful, romantic and vibrant architectural style, the “Victorian” took flight during the reign of Queen Victoria and continues to excite and delight homeowners and architecture fans today.
While the American Craftsman style home initially came out of the British Arts and Crafts movement, U.S. architects and designers quickly embraced it and added design elements and floor plan features desired by a growing middle class of American homeowners. A number of these innovative features – such as the breakfast nook – have been adopted in some fashion by many American architectural styles. The Plan Collection features craftsman homes.
No other house style can be more innately American than the farmhouse. If beauty in its simplicity defines the ranch house, then classic American ingenuity and creativity epitomize the farmhouse.
New house plans with great looking photos are added to our site almost every day.
Today’s Cape Cod house plans are often much more than first meets the eye. Sure, the house designs are steeped in tradition and practicality – that’s what made them so popular for generations. But today’s Cape Cod home plans offer a certain elegance and even modernity in their floor plans design that has homeowners more excited than they have been in decades.