Do you know your house architecture? Some if not most of you would give the “catch all term”, traditional. If asked what characteristics are associated with traditional design, the answers will for certain be different for each person who have their own vision of “Traditional”. Webster’s Dictionary defines the word as handed down by, or conforming to tradition. In reality, traditional in architectural terms isn’t a style at all. Yet, there are many design professionals using this term for good reason to promote and market their goods and services. This is understandable given the fact that many in the general public are familiar with the term.

Homes in the United States come in a variety of expressions largely due to regional differences and a diverse population. Most residential dwellings can be categorized in one or more design styles. This is brought about because some styles tended to overlap one another in history causing unique forms of expression. However, architectural styles can be quite distinguishable when aligned with known facts about the design features. Those in the architectural field commonly call this “period styles” because of the distinguishable presentation and the parallel existence with history.

There are many different styles in existence across this country and only a few are indigenous American styles. Arguably the most known style was created and pushed by a generation of Architects in Chicago known as the Prairie School. In this group of professionals who created Prairie architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright might be the most famous. Other native styles include American Craftsman, American Foursquare, Colonial, and more. There are indeed many other design styles, but are too many to mention. With that being said, several widely liked styles include French architecture, Mediterranean, Tudor, Greek and Gothic Revival.

If you are searching for house designs having a certain style, look for Home Designers