The 26 Most Common House Styles, Explained

Triangle shaped with a steeply sloped roof that extends all the way to the foundation, the A-frame style is a popular option for tiny homes. You’ll often find them in snowy settings, as the steep angle of the roof prevents powder from accumulating.

First built by the native Pueblo people of the American Southwest, adobe style homes are named for their smooth clay brick walls which work to absorb desert heat. The look traditionally includes a flat roof with rounded edges and deep set windows. On the inside, exposed wooden beams called vigas run across the ceilings and protrude through to the exterior facades, and the floors are often made of tile or concrete.

Coined by Chip and Jo on a now infamous episode of Fixer Upper, the barndominium is, in its purest form, a metal barn that has been converted into a house. Gambrel-style roofs and sliding barn doors (but of course!) are popular features on new builds.

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Take the symmetrical style of a traditional colonial, then add a few more bells and whistles—roof dormers, columns, an entryway emphasized with an eye-catching portico—and you’ve got a colonial revival home. The details still feel classic, but in a dressed up sort of way.

Originally a home for rural peasant “cotters” in England’s medieval period, the humble cottage began life as a small abode with one large downstairs room and tiny upstairs bedrooms tucked under a thatched roof. In America, the term has since evolved into somewhat of a catch-all for charming, smaller-sized dwellings, particularly those located in vacation and leisure destinations (i.e. in the country or by the water). That said, the cozy quarters offer inspiration for homes of any size.

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A farmhouse can mean many things. Traditionally speaking, all it technically needed to be was situated on the acres where its inhabitants tend to the land, but the moniker has since come to denote a one-to-two-story structure, most often longer than it is tall, with a porch that extends along a significant portion of the front facade. (All the more room for rocking chairs!) The design is simple, and the kitchen is the heart of the home.

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A popular option among new builds, modern farmhouse homes often update the classic farmhouse style (see above) with tin roofs with multiple peaks, oversized steel-frame windows, and vertical board-and-batten siding. The aesthetic favors neutrals, with white siding and black windows being the most common combo, and you’ll also see wood beams anchoring the porch.

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Particularly common in New England and parts of southeastern Pennsylvania, fieldstone houses are made from rocks sourced from the land immediately surrounding the property. The stones are kept in their original shape and mixed with a mortar binding material to create the exterior walls, resulting in a uniquely textured appearance that looks born from the earth.

Folk Victorian architecture became popular in the late 19th century as a more affordable alternative to the opulent Queen Anne and Italianate styles (see below) of the Victorian Era. Thanks to prefabricated millwork and the increased reach of railroad shipping, middle-class homeowners could order embellishments like turned posts, moldings, and decorative brackets to add detail to simple folk homes—especially the front porches, where passersby would be sure to see them.

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These grand (often brick, but not always) homes feature classical proportions and pleasing symmetrical details. Front entrances sit flush with the front facade and are often flanked by pilasters, roofs are hipped and buttressed by chimneys on either side, and, if a third story is present, it’s typically smaller than the first two. (In historical Georgians, this level was reserved for servant dwellings.) Look for a fanlight window above the front door, which allows sunbeams to filter into the entryway.

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Popularized post WWII, when returning GIs flocked to the suburbs in search of affordable housing for their growing families, the ranch home is single story, open-plan dwelling with a low-pitched roof. (It is also sometimes referred to as a rambler.) Easy and relatively quick to construct, it remains the most popular house style in America.

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