Understanding Home Styles and What Makes Them Unique

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One of the things that makes Florida beautiful is the diversity of its people and culture. Whether you’re in the panhandle, central area, or even the Florida Keys, there are numerous styles of homes that make each area (and its neighborhoods) unique. If you’re considering buying or building, understanding house styles will help you select the right place to make your home.

Related: See 2020 Coastal Design Trends

What is a craftsman home?

If you’ve ever heard the term “Arts & Crafts” know its original reference came from the late 19th-century British and American movement to revive handicrafts. With this movement came what we know today as the craftsman home, or the bungalow.

This style of home usually has the following characteristics:

• Built with natural materials such as wood, stone or brick
• The interior may have built-ins in the living areas, dining spaces, etc.
• Low pitched roofs with wide eaves and triangular brackets are typical for Craftsman (in fact you can see this trend making a comeback in other styles of homes today)
• In original Craftsman homes, a fireplace is commonly used as a focal point in a room or multiple rooms
• Most of these homes are known for their expansive front porches that have columns squared-off consisting of wood or stone

Finding an original Craftsman style home can be tricky. Still, this style of home has had a resurgence, and today’s more modern versions follow the original style but offer more amenities for today’s modern homeowner.

What is a ranch style home?

Around 1920, is when America started to embrace the ranch style home. This home style grew tremendously after WWII because of its customizability and ease of construction. As more families were looking to put down roots, the ranch style home started showing up across the entire nation, and each geographic area added their spin to it.

Although it can be somewhat tricky to nail down the “must-haves” for a ranch home, there are a few things that do seem to remain consistent with this style of home, no matter where it exists.

A ranch home usually has:

• A low-pitch, long roofline (note that originally these homes were mostly one-story)
• A mixture of materials used on the exterior (these can include brick, wood, stone and even stucco)
• Overhang eaves
• Large windows
• Sliding glass doors
• Attached garages or carports

Ranch homes remain popular today as they align with open space living and celebrate bringing the outdoors in with an abundance of windows.

What is modern home design?

Modern home design was the answer to the overly fancy, ornate, and sometimes cluttered architecture that was popular in the late 19th century. Although modern design was probably most recognized in the 1920s with its art-deco movement, it made a splash in the 1950s, and 1960’s when its mid-century modern style had its moment (which is having a comeback today).

When it comes to modern homes, you will usually see:

• Minimalist, nothing ornate, interiors, and exteriors. But don’t confuse this with contemporary, which can be viewed as cold or stark.
• Materials such as wood, metal, and brick used both inside and out
• Clean architectural lines
• Open concept living
• Large windows (sometimes going floor to ceiling) and the use of picture windows

Modern homes, especially modern mid-century, are trending. The good thing is that most retail stores are taking notice of this trend and selling accessories and furniture that align with this house style.

What is Mediterranean home?

The Mediterranean home style mostly shows up in coastal areas, and this explains its prominence in Florida. If you’ve ever spent time (or obsessively Googled) the Mediterranean coast, this is the style of home you see inland and along the seaside. A combination of Italian and Spanish architecture, some people may think of these as villa style homes also.

Mediterranean homes share similar characteristics to the homes that inspired them along the blue sea. Most Mediterranean homes have:

• Stucco exteriors and stone (often in white but colors show up as well)
• Tiled roofs
• Symmetrical exteriors (evenly balanced windows, etc.)
• Arched windows and doorways
• Wrought iron detailing on door handles, balconies, etc.

Photo Gallery: Explore Our Sparta Collection

What is a coastal cottage home?

When most people think of a cottage, they think of something quaint, modest, and homey. The cottage has been the backdrop of many children’s stories and is something most people are familiar with. When looking at the coastal cottage home style, most cottage characteristics remain the same, there is sometimes a bit more flair with color and not as much stone is used. Some common characteristics of cottage style homes include:

• Use of wood on the exterior and possibly shingles to highlight architectural features
• Exterior trellis
• White-washed interiors
• Wooden floors
• Inviting, simple interiors that are functional for day-to-day living

No matter the style of home you live in, you can always take nods from its architecture or use that as a backdrop and decorate in a completely different decor style. Floridians are fortunate, as they can choose from any of these styles, and others, no matter where they are in the state.