Stylematters
GREEK REVIVAL
Dubbed the “national style” of the new Republic (1825–1855), this style touched civic buildings, mansions, and cottages alike. Look for a temple form with a front gable and columns or pilasters.
CARPENTER GOTHIC
An American version of the 19th-century Gothic Revival, these wood-framed houses often had vertical boardand-batten siding, as well as Gothic “gingerbread” at eaves and porch.
SECOND EMPIRE
A Victorian style (ca. 1865–1880) characterized by a mansard roof (named for 17th-century French Second Empire architect Francois Mansart). Look for bays, large porches, rich ornament.
ITALIANATE
A label used for houses built ca. 1845–1900 with a combination of simplified (not academic) Italian Renaissance details, usually done in wood. Includes many mid-19th-century farmhouses.
BUNGALOW
Low-slung and with exaggerated structure, the Bungalow in its heyday (ca. 1898–1930) was prized for its exotic, Anglo–Indian associations and for the artistic naturalism that tied it to Arts & Crafts.
TUDOR
Part of the era’s Anglo– philia, Tudor style—with steep roofs, casement windows, and decorative half timbering—was popular for both small suburban homes and wealthy stockbroker enclaves, 1895–1945.
QUEEN ANNE
The quintessential Victorian house with nooks and crannies, popular 1874–1910. Asymmetrical, often with a verandah or turret, it was adapted from the English Queen Anne movement.
AMERICAN FOURSQUARE
These cubic houses ca. 1890–
1930 provide lots of space in an efficient, affordable envelope. Early examples have Craftsman or Prairie details; in the 1920s they’re Colonial.
MEDITERRANEAN REVIVAL
Some may be pinned down as Italian Renaissance or Spanish Colonial. Other houses are better termed Mediterranean, a picturesque mix of French, Spanish, and Italian bits.
COLONIAL REVIVAL
Popular 1893–1950 in most of the USA; a few are academic reproductions, most are freewheeling adaptations of earlier styles. A 20th-century lineage here is betrayed by dormers and sunroom.
DUTCH COLONIAL
Essentially a new suburban style at the turn of the 20th century, its gambrel roof was associated with rare Dutch or Flemish originals in N.Y. and N.J. Long dormers allow a full second storey.
MID-CENTURY MODERN
In addition to such forms as the splitlevel and suburban ranch, modernist homes ca. 1932–1970 tend to fall into the Contemporary (shown), International, and Organic styles.