Danielle Groeneweg

How well do you know different home architecture styles? Driving around through any new neighborhoods in Whatcom County you will definitely see the majority of Craftsman homes. Also, the “Ranch” style is vey common & well known.

I came across this article written by Seattle Modern Home Staging & thought they did a great job of describing different homes styles. (www.smhsdesgins.com) Some of these are more popular in the Seattle Area but you do come across them in Whatcom County as well.  Can you think of any homes you have seen that are these styles specifically?

“CRAFTSMAN STYLE
Craftsman bungalows are now very popular with preservationists and young homeowners wanting to restore a beautiful historic house back to its original splendor. Craftsman architecture was a reaction to the excessive, over-the-top ornamentation of the Victorian era. Dating the Craftsman Bungalow goes back to the Arts & Crafts movement in the 1900-1910.
When talking specifically about the actual design of Craftsman-style houses in the United States, the most common architectural details were inspired primarily by the work of two California architects — brothers Charles and Henry Greene. During the decade of 1900-1910, their architectural firm, Greene and Greene churned out dozens of landmark Craftsman homes.

PRAIRIE STYLE

Prairie Style is attributed to Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1893, Frank Lloyd Wright founded his architectural practice in Oak Park, a quiet village on the west edges of Chicago. It was at his studio during the 1910’s that Wright pioneered this a bold new approach to domestic architecture.

Prairie School style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, integration with the landscape, solid construction, craftsmanship, and discipline in the use of ornament. Popular in the Midwest.

AMERICAN FOURSQUARE

Mid 1890’s-1930’s – The American Foursquare was plain, often incorporating handcrafted woodwork. This style incorporates elements of the Prairie School and the Craftsman styles.

Highlights of the style include a basically square, boxy design, two-and-one-half stories high, usually with four large, boxy rooms to a floor, a center dormer, and a large front porch with wide stairs, the box shape provides maximum interior room space, and small city lots to best advantage.
The Foursquare was a popular mail-order era style along with the California bungalow. When one was ordered, it came via train in a boxcar with a book of directions and all the parts pre-cut and numbered for self-assembly.

MIDCENTURY MODERN

Mid-century modern is a term that describes mid–20th century developments in interior, product, and graphic design, architecture, and urban development from roughly 1933 to 1965. Scandinavian architects were very influential at this time, with a style characterized by clean simplicity and integration with nature.
Like many of Wright’s designs, Mid-Century architecture was employed with the goal of bringing modernism into America’s post-war suburbs. This style emphasized ample windows and open floor plans, opening up interior spaces and bringing the outdoors in. Many Mid-century houses utilized post and beam architectural design that eliminated bulky support walls in favor of walls seemingly made of glass. Function was as important as form.
An emphasis was placed specifically on targeting the needs of the average American family. One of the most famous developers of the MidCentury Ranch Style home was Joseph Eichler . Eichler was instrumental in bringing Mid-Century Modern architecture (“Eichler Homes”) to subdivisions in the Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay region of California, and select housing developments on the east coast.

MODERN

Modern architecture or modernist architecture is a term applied to a group of styles of architecture which emerged in the first half of the 20th century and became dominant after World War II. It was based upon new technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel and reinforced concrete; and upon a rejection of the traditional influential architects at the end of the 20th century are difficult to put into any one category or movement.

The notable end-of-century buildings of Richard Meier, Frank Gehry, and Ludwig Miles van nder Rohe, (shown pictured) are notable architects.