HOUSE STYLES
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Early American homes were rugged and rustic—the ultimate DIY project. Today, modern homesteaders can build a new hous...
Climate change is already shaping how people live. With more powerful hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves, and flooding...
This article is part of Old House Appreciation with Bob Vila, a month-long series dedicated to showing you the best p...
Whether you're shopping for a house or preparing to decorate one, getting to know your design style can help you find...
Manufactured homes are light-years ahead of where they used to be. Once referred to as trailers, today’s mobile homes...
Although a global pandemic and strict zoning laws stymied tiny house purchases in recent years, the popularity of the...
Has your summer vacation come and gone? Or are you already dreaming of a white Christmas? If you’re planning to trave...
If you’re curious about off-grid living, you may have heard of an Earthship. Earthship homes are built partially into...
Whether it’s a personal mission toward minimalism, a vacation home in the mountains, or the start of a fledgling rent...
House prices have steadily risen across the country and show no signs of slowing. While location is often considered ...
With rising real estate costs, many people are getting priced out of purchasing a traditional home. In addition to of...
When the travel bug bites, look beyond the big chain hotels. Forget about too-close-for-comfort bed and breakfasts, w...
A-frame homes are making a comeback. These cozy buildings are simple structures where the sloped sides of the A-shape...
Home kits that include all the plans and materials needed to build your own home are an economical solution for many ...
Recently, BobVila. com showcased a 3D-printed home in Riverhead, New York. Built by SQ4D, a New York construction com...
Typical Range: $158,572 to $478,600 National Average: $303,373Shopping for a new home based on existing inventory ...
Snuggle up by the fire in one of these luxury rentals, with amazing views and amenities to erase every trace of stress.
Small cabin kits—the sort designed to install in a backyard or on a wooded lot—serve multiple purposes: pool houses, ...
Make a houseboat your main digs or your home away from home in one of these liveaboard-friendly towns.
Check out the housing trends of the past to understand how they shape our present and future abodes.
Split level homes, with their three staggered floors, began appearing in American suburbs in the 1950s and reached pe...
Whether you’re on the hunt for a new home or you’re just admiring the architecture in your neighborhood, learn about the different house styles in America and the...
Beginning in the 1890s, the Foursquare was a popular American house for its budget-friendliness and simple style. But...
A house isn’t a home until you’ve filled it with creature comforts, decorated it to suit your taste, and customized it in ways that bring you joy—and the White Ho...
Q: I’ve been researching the tiny house movement and I think I’d like to take the plunge into serious downsizing. Wha...
There’s nothing quite like the Revival Queen Anne style of homes that swept through America at the turn of the 19th C...
If you’ve lived in or near a suburb, you’ve probably seen your fair share of Tudor-style homes, typified by stucco or...
A number of architectural styles are associated with the reign of the British monarchy, but few compare to the impr...
For centuries, home builders have been drawn to sites on mountaintops, craggy coastlines, and rock islands to take advantage of the climate, natural resources, an...
The versatility of concrete allows architects and engineers to be innovative in their home designs. While concrete has been around as a building material since th...
How well do you think you know your movie stars, sports heroes, fashion designers, and TV personalities? Well enough to know how they live? Take our star-studded...
Take an architectural tour to see some of the incredible buildings that have inspired Bob Vila. Ranging from classical to modern, these landmark structures will p...
First popularized for their simple design and affordable cost, today's A-frame homes are gaining renewed popularity thanks to design modifications that expand the...
This is nothing new: For thousands of years, people have been living in shelters made from earth-based building mater...
The name "Bungalow" is Indian, adapted by the British in India to describe a one-story house with a porch. While this...
Looking back a hundred years, we can see the magnitude of the changes that occurred in the opening decades of the twe...
As an owner of a Shingle Style House, I obviously have a great affection for the style. While they never attained the...
The origins of the Stick Style are European Gothic, but an American architect named Richard Morris Hunt actually deve...
A single characteristic distinguishes the Second Empire house: its dual-pitched hipped roof. From the eaves, the roof...
Octagons are not the most common Victorian style, although following the publication of A House for All in 1848, as m...
Alexander Jackson Davis and Andrew Jackson Downing, the men who helped launch the Gothic Revival, also did their bit ...
The Gothic Revival began in England and was the result of new investigations of antique buildings. The Gothic had bee...
The Greek Revival captured the American spirit as no other style had done. To visit an unspoiled town that prospered ...
The name comes from the English queen who assumed the throne in 1837 and remained in power until 1901. Victoria wasn'...
The generic, early American house is known by many names, among them the English Medieval House, the Cape Cod, the sa...
Many Octagon, Second Empire, and Stick Style houses survive, but it was the Queen Anne House that inherited the mantl...
In architectural history, there is one major dividing line that separates the handmade house from all those that cam...
After the Revolution, Americans wanted cultural as well as political independence, and they began to change the styl...
If the ups and downs of architectural history were to be represented by a line graph, there'd be a tall spike at the ...
Shopping for a new home can be challenging, especially when there are seemingly endless options online. While newer h...
‘Tis the season for cookie swapping and decorating Gingerbread houses. Everyone gets involved in the baking frenzy, f...
The roof says it all when it comes to Cape Cod and Dutch Colonial houses. The Cape Cod house has a gabled roof, which...
How and Where to Spot a Shingle Style House The Shingle Style flourished in the last quarter of the 19th century. T...
In the United States, a dizzying number and array of house styles are to be found, each one unique.
Most houses that survive from the Colonial era—such as early Capes, Saltboxes, and Georgians—are descendants of Engli...
Homes from early Spanish settlements are found in St. Augustine, Florida; San Antonio, Texas; Sante Fe, New Mexico; ...
Origins and Early 20th Century Adaptations of the Garrison House Colonial is one of the most adaptable styles. The ga...
Some Georgian Revival Houses can, at least from afar, be confused with eighteenth-century precedents; others resemble...
The word snug comes to mind when I think of the Cape Cod House. These are efficient and economical houses, putting th...
You may be one of the many who believe Dutch houses have gambrel roofs (a variation on the gable roof in which the pl...
Early Colonial Revival HousesThe Colonial Revival was inspired by patriotism, nostalgia for the pre-industrial past, ...
Bob and architectural historian Brian Pfeiffer tour the neighborhood's historic homes.
Bob and architect Gregory Rochlin tour the interior of Bob's 100-year-old Shingle Style home in Cambridge, MA.
Bob works with contractor Bob Ryley and carpenter Chris Clark installing new wood-shingle siding.
Bob tours the front vestibule, highlighting the beautiful stencil work done by artist Kim Sweet. He explains how small touches can bring back the feel of an 1890s...
Bob reviews the Victorian design elements of his front-corner porch and the interior columns that echo the exterior ones, and then watches the turn-of-the-century...
Bob takes a tour of the Isaac Bell historic house in Newport, RI, exploring one of the finest examples of the Shingle Style to be found anywhere.
Architectural conservator Brian Powell helps Bob do some detective work to discover the original exterior paint color scheme. They then look at historically appro...
Bob takes a break from putting his own landscape in order to tour the elaborate gardens at the Naumkeag historic house in Stockbridge, MA.
Bob takes us to Stockbridge, MA, to tour Naumkeag, a wonderful example of the grand Shingle Style by architect Stanford White.
Bob tours the Elm Court mansion, which was built in 1886 by William Douglas Sloane and Emily Vanderbilt Sloane.
Bob meets with Sonya and Bob Berle in the library of Elm Court to discuss the interior design and preservation of this magnificent home.
Bob visits Cape Cod with Dick Wills, who is carrying on the work of his father, architect Royal Barry Wills. Beginning in the 1920s, the senior Wills popularized ...
Dick Wills takes Bob on a tour of the interior of his Cape-style home.
Bob visits the Julia Wood House, home of the Falmouth, Massachusetts Historical Society, and takes a tour with Carolyn Power, the society's executive director.
Ron Ford from Kohler Power Systems joins Bob to talk about the 22-kilowatt backup generator that has been installed.
Bob takes a tour of the Jackson Homestead in Newton, MA.
Bob and landscape designer Ruth Foster tour Mahoney's Garden Center to discuss landscape elements for the project house.
Interior carpenter John Kiley continues to build the staircase in the front hall of the modern Colonial.
Darcie Miller from Wellborn Cabinets is on the site of the modern Colonial project house to talk about the kitchen's design.
Decorator Leslie Curtis joins Bob in the modern Colonial project house parlor to discuss the room's wall treatments.
Artisan Ken Forcier are applying the second "layer" of the stencil he's using to decorate in the parlor of the modern Colonial.
Bob visits with Jim Vaccaro and Tom Ferontie of Mashpee Commons, in Mashpee, Massachusetts and talks with Pat Fiero of the Housing Assistance Corporation about th...
Bob meets with Joe Valle, the developer and general contractor for the River Hill development in Mashpee, Massachusetts on Cape Cod.
Bob meets Bob Bevilacqua at the River Hill site in Mashpee, Massachusetts, where Bevilacqua and his crew have undertaken a mammoth job of earth moving as they cle...
Bob meets University of Vermont professor Tom Visser in Plymouth Notch to visit the birthplace of President Calvin Coolidge. They then go to see the Burtch-Udall ...
John Spellman of Cape Cod Counter Works shows Bob the installation of the shop-made laminate counters in one of the Mashpee, Massachusetts, homes.
Bob introduces Medford, MA, a city five miles north of Boston. Settled in 1630, Medford once flourished with industry, including the shipbuilding building. Today,...
Bob walks with the owner and architect through different rooms on the first floor of the Victorian. Looking over the floor plans, they discuss the changes that w...
Bob works with the general contractor Charlie Tomaszewski to move the Medford project home's original front door, so they will be able to frame up a new foyer.
General contractor Charlie Tomaszewski completes the restructuring of the kitchen/family room, having replaced a rabbit warren of rooms with a 35-foot wide-open s...
Bob goes up to the attic of the Victorian project house, where an ODL tubular skylight is being installed. Also, Bob looks back at the installation of windows on ...
Bob helps install the new six-panel garage door at the Victorian restoration project house.
Located in Mt. Pleasant, the neighborhood of I'On values community living to puts an emphasis on nurturing a traditional small-town feeling.
Bob talks with carpenter Bob Ryley and general contractor Kevin Kalman, as they lay down the subflooring.
Bob takes a tour of the historic Middleburgh Plantation, the oldest surviving wooden house in South Carolina.
Bob observes, and assists with, the installation of Cherry cabinets, a Northland refrigerator, and a wine storage system.
Architect and town planner Andres Duany explains how the project house in Mount Pleasant, SC may be expanded if necessary.
Bob tours Agecroft Hall and its luxurious gardens. The property overlooks the James River.
Bob tours colonial Williamsburg, VA, stopping at the Royal Governor's Palace, where facilities manager Mark Winger gives a tour.
In Colonial Williamsburg, Bob visits a cabinetmakers' shop, where traditional methods of building furniture are still in practice.
The first Elmwood project concerns remodeling a Gothic Carpenter-style home, built in 1871.
The old flooring in the Gothic Carpenter-style home in Elmwood has been removed. Bob outlines the process of installing the new floor and discusses the new suppor...
Pat and Roger Simons, the owners of the second house in the Elmwood project, review the goals of their bathroom remodel.
In the second Elmwood project house, a Colonial Revival, a new Kohler tub is installed, while homeowner Pat Simons, a ceramic artists, creates a tile mural.
The second home in the Elmwood project, a Colonial Revival, is complete, after the second-floor bathroom gets a new vanity, new doors for the laundry closet, and ...
Bob tours the third Elmwood project house, an eclectic Queen Anne sometimes known as the "Castle of Elmwood". The goal is to reinforce an old sundeck, so that it ...
Bob drops by the third Elmwood project house to watch as the deck is covered with rubber and the hot tub is installed.
Bob meets with Judy Lee, the owner of the fifth Elmwood project house. The front porch, built in 1892, must be replaced.
Bob meets the owners of the sixth Elmwood neighborhod project house and reviews the proposed portico plans. Built in 1892, the Victorian home needs a new front po...
The seventh Elmwood neighborhood project house has rotting sidewall and old asphalt roof shingles in need of replacement.
Owners of the tenth Elmwood neighborhood project house, Peter Haraty and Brent Bachelder, want to create one large space on the attic level, a change requiring wa...
Homeowner Don DeSantis is transforming the attic level into an exercise space. The floor structure is being shored up in order to hold the wieght of excercise equ...
Bob takes a tour of a William Randolph Hearst treasure: the ancient Spanish monastery that he Hearst had transported stone-by-stone from Spain to Miami.
Bob meets Gavin and Michelle Langley, owners of a vintage Sears kit house, who plan to preserve both the historic and sentimental values of the house. Bob review ...
Bob continues his tour of a Craftsman bungalow, located in Studio City, CA.
Bob confers with carpenter Cortney Lofton and cabinetmaker Brian Comeaux on the milling and construction of an interior soffit for the bungalow.
Bob and carpenter Cortney Lofton install clapboard siding on the front porch of the bungalow. In addition, they reinforce the gable to correct an existing sag, th...
Bob outlines the building plans for the new back porch and pool deck at the Studio City, CA project house.
Bob confers with contractor and carpenter Cortney Lofton, as he builds a pergola at the Studio City bungalow, which will serve as a gate to the backyard.
Bob meets with contractor Cortney Lofton, who is installing porcelain mosaic tiles with acrylic mastic over an existing bathroom mortar bed.
Bob learns the process of creating stained glass windows. Designs begin on paper before they are traced onto glass using a light table. A variety of glass types a...
Bob helps cabinetmaker Brian Comeaux custom-build a cabinet for the dining room.
The newly built china cabinet is installed. The unit was constructed in several peices, so it would fit through the front door. Several final cuts and adjustments...
Bob tours the home's exterior, noting that the crowned gates are complete and that a locking latch has been added to secure the pool. Bob also remarks on the land...
Bob meets with Donald Young for a tour of the home's Zen garden. Donald discusses the plant choices and lighting requirements in a garden of this size. Slate tile...
Bob joins homeowners Gavin and Michelle to review the Craftsman-style decor.
Bob takes a tour of Newton, MA. "The Garden City" boasts a wide variety of American architectural styles and is one of the most desirable communities in the Bosto...
Bob meets homeowners Tracy and Linda Gallagher at their 1930s Colonial Revival home. Bob also meets the architect and contractor, whom the Gallaghers have enliste...
Bob and contractor Paul Morse review the excavations and formwork for the foundation.
Restoration contractor Richard Marks shows Bob around the elegant, though quite run-down, Federal-style project house.
Bob meets Betsy Johnson, owner of an 1805 Federal-style home in Charleston, the carriage house of which he now tours.
Bob visits a Federal-style home undergoing reconstruction, and having an addition put on, in Charleston, SC. Restoration contractor Richard Marks guides Bob throu...
Bob meets with restoration contractor Richard Marks, who explains the distinction between restoration and reconstruction. He and Bob also discuss the relocation o...
Bob tours the William Gibbes House, one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in America.
Bob meets with restoration contractor Richard Marks and roofer Joe Wells to go over the proper techniques for installing slate roofing.
Bob returns to the William Gibbes House in Charleston, SC for a tour of the one-acre garden of this grand Georgian mansion, one of the nation's best examples of G...
Bob assists Patty Hettich in stripping paint from decorative woodwork, then making rubber molds to create new details in the Federal-style home.
Bob takes a field trip to Millford Plantation, a spectacular Greek Revival governor's mansion with echoes of the Civil War still ringing through its halls.
Alongside restoration specialist Richard Marks at the Federal-style home in Charleston, Bob watches painter David Snyder scrape and sand old wood siding.
Bob tours a Georgian architectural beauty with twin octagonal parlors a few blocks away from the project house in Charleston, SC.
Bob chats with painter Rick Snyder in the dining room of the Federal-style home, while Rick experiments with color on intricate wood detail.
Bob takes a grand tour of the elegantly restored Federal-style project house, focusing on the portico and back façade.
Finishes are completed on the 1800s Federal-style home in Charleston, SC, and the interior design is underway as the owners finally move back in from the carriage...
With the bricklayers on hand, Bob discusses the techniques being used, and explains the "anti-freeze" that has been added to the concrete to retard the cold weath...
Bob tours the Adamson Estate Museum, just down the beach from the project house, where he gets a look at authentic California-Spanish architecture.
The architects present their plans for transforming the run-down Malibu beach house into a showcase home of California-Spanish architecture.
The framing of an authentic California-Spanish hip roof begins over the master bedroom of the beach house in Malibu.
Contractors explain their methodology as they apply stucco finish to the Malibu beach house in a multiple-step process.
The Malibu beach house gets a pair of Cantera stone columns in the entry foyer. The pieces are fit together and Bob learns what to odo when they don't come togeth...
Real estate agent Lois Bostic shows Bob some interesting properties in the area representing a variety of styles-- cottage, Spanish, contemporary, and ranch.
Bob tours the town of Osterville, MA, which has a deep background in fishing and maritime activity. And he meets with Bill Koch, one-time America's Cup champion, ...
Bob and contractor Bob Ryley install southern yellow pine plywood on the interior of the garage. On the exterior, Bob talks with Greg Binford about adding a stain...
Landscape designer Ruth Foster explains a few techniques for promoting drainage and keeping weeds under control, respectively. She also discusses the plants she h...
Bob takes the ferry to the island of Martha's Vineyard, MA, where he tours Oak Bluffs and soaks in the town's Victorian history.
Bob and realtor Alan Schwikert visit a 1930s Shingle-style home just outside of Vineyard Haven and then a smaller 'in-town' Victorian. Neither project fits Bob's ...
To prepare for the Victorian remodel, Bob takes an inspirational tour of the striking Chateau-sur-Mer in Newport, RI.
Bob tours Lyndhurst mansion, a testament to high living during the Victoria era in New York's Hudson River Valley. The 40-odd rooms include a Gothic dining room w...
Bob and contractor John Clancy discuss creating the new concrete chimney at the Victorian-style project house in Martha's Vineyard.
Contractor Bob Ryley is creating a Victorian-style breezeway using modern materials, which will bridge the old and new wings of the home.
Bob meets with an expert in Victorian design to look at homes with scalloped, diamond, and straight shingles. Gingerbread-style brackets and railings are also rev...
As contractor Bob Ryley attaches the gingerbread-style verge board on one gable end of the Martha's Vineyard Victorian project, Bob remarks on the notable feature...
Bob and Tom Moran (from Pella) discuss the anatomy of the doors chosen for the Martha's Vineyard Victorian project, and contractor Bob Ryley demonstrates the proc...
Bob meets with carpenter Ron Jackson, who is installing Atlantic white cedar shingles and sidewall flashing.
Bob joins electrician Greg Roulette as he works on the rough wiring. The circuit breaker panel, Greg explains, is a receptacle for ground, neutral, and hot wires...
Bob and contractor Bob Ryley confer about adding trim to the curvilinear top edge of an arched window. After sheet lead is installed as flashing, Ryley attaches s...
Painting contractor Mike Suarez sprays water-based stain on the home's exterior, while Bob, accompanied by paint consultant Sherry Hiller, tours the island with a...
Contractor Bob Ryles demonstrates how to install tin ceiling sheaths, a Victorian touch for the Martha's Vineyard project house.
Landscape designer Ruth Foster visits the project site to explain her choice of plantings for the formal courtyard garden.
Bob reviews progress in the kitchen, where pantry space and a tin ceiling have been installed, and where contractor Bob Ryley continues working on the staircase. ...
Bob confers with artist Margo Datz about decorative striping and stenciling in the master bedroom. She demonstrates for Bob how to add a stencil pattern to painte...
Bob and contractor Bob Ryley review costs for the Victorian-style remodel-and-build project in Martha's Vineyard, MA.
Bob tours the furnished, decorated Martha's Vineyard Victorian project house. The designer has sourced pieces from antique stores, salvage yards, second hand stor...
The designer shows Bob around the addition, pointing out certain highlights, such as the breezeway with exposed studs and the Victorian-influenced lighting design...
Bob meets with Lynn from the Shirley-Eustis Colonial Governor's Mansion Association. Together they tour the Federal-style home, noting an Irish crystal chandelier...
Bob goes house hunting in Plymouth, MA, talking with the realtor while he tours the area homes for sale.
Bob helps carpenter Bob Ryley and crew install a new box bay window, which will enlarge the dining space and enhance the interior atmosphere.
For inspiration, Bob tours the John Quincy Adams House in Quincy, MA.
Bob takes a field trip to Plimoth Plantation, a replica village where visitors can experience early Colonial life.
A country-style door, built by carpenter Bob Ryley in the workshop, is hung in the new entry of the Plymouth project house.
Bob has finished wiring the Colonial-style light fixture in the entryway and, back in the kitchen, the refrigerator ice maker is hooked up.
Bob and carpenter-contractor Bob Ryley review the exterior of the home, pointing out the new trellis and the new entryway. Next, they move inside to have a look ...
Bob tours the newly furnished and appointed Plymouth project house with the interior designer. Throughout, there is a mix of formal and informal pieces, which all...
In search of the perfect "cracker" cottage to remodel, Bob goes on a neighborhood tour of Naples, FL, both by car and by boat.
Hoping to find inspiring remodeling ideas, Bob tours a recently revamped cracker cottage nearby.
Bob meets with landscape contractor John Wall to talk over removing existing plant material.
Bob confers with contractor Al Stouse as his crew begins demolition work on the Naples project.
Bob confers with contractor Al Stouse about the termite and dry rot damage on the roof overhangs. Next, Bob helps build and install new roof brackets, or outriggers.
Bob helps contractor Al Stiles change a swinging door into a relocated pocket door.
Bob helps the contractors work on building and installing new French doors.
Contractors Al and Steve Stiles set a new window on the back porch. Using a combination of stock and one custom windows, they demonstrate how to save money on mat...
Bob tours the interior of the in-progress Naples project, discussing the installation of ceiling boards with the drywall contractor.
Bob takes a field trip to Keewaydin Island, where he tours an island cottage that was created by a colorful artist.
Bob joins the interior designer for a shopping trip. The designer aims to achieve a comfortable 1940s vintage look. Bob and the designer also visit an upholstery ...
Bob tours the finished porch and pool area, and exchanges comments on the beautiful completed project with the architect.
Bob takes a tour of the sights and sounds of the town of Marstons Mills, MA.
Bob meets with the architect to go over plans for the Cape-style house, before heading to the site to observe the pouring of the foundation.
The crew lowers the recycled "ell" onto the new foundation with a crane.
Bob and carpentry contractor Bob Ryley complete the raftering job on the roof of the Cape Cod house.
Bob helps carpentry contractor Bob Ryley and his crew install a wooden window at the Cape Cod project house.
Bob tours the smart finished exterior with carpentry contractor Bob Ryley.
Bob looks on as general contractor Tim Berky clads the Queen Anne Victorian project house with clapboards, taking cues from the home's original 1890s exterior.
General contractor Tim Berky is creating a new frieze board to match the existing board and molding on the 1890 Queen Anne Victorian project house.
General contractor Tim Berky updates Bob on progress since the footing for the new foundation was poured and repairs to the original foundation were made.
Bob meets with homeowner David Masher and architect Greg Colling at the project house, a Queen Anne Victorian in Rowley, MA's historic district, to review plans f...
Homeowners David Masher and Jeanne Sanviti-Masher provide Bob with a tour of the interior of their 1890s Victorian home in Rowley, MA.
Bob joins general contractor Tim Berky to hear how the foundation and footing will be handled for the Victorian kitchen remodel and deck addition.
