American Architectural Styles

Exterior styles, building forms and floor plans are a product of cultural tastes and values that reflect a particular place, time, and population. Styles come and go over time, and sometimes return. Certain architectural styles remained in vogue for long periods of time, and often revealed a regional identity. From the Victorian Era of the mid-to-late nineteenth century, multiple styles became popular throughout the United States. Now, Americans had their choice of numerous Architectural Styles. This continued until the Great Depression. Little building construction took place between 1929 and 1945.

After World War II America saw another national building boom. Architects looked to the future with design innovations that were optimistic and influenced by international trends. At the same time, they continued to draw inspiration from the past and those traditional American styles that had become established in various regions. During this period, architects and builders frequently borrowed stylistic elements from various periods. In some respects it’s difficult to assign many homes any single style. As a result, all this stylistic freewheeling is accurately called American Eclectic. Changes were brewing by the 1970s, however, leading America to react against modern architecture and planning practices. Historic styles became gradually popular once again, coinciding with the historic preservation movement. Colonial Revival elements adorned otherwise modern ranch houses, and by the 1990s a vague "postmodern era" was in full swing.

Postmodern architecture is generally characterized by an unrelated and exaggerated use of historical styles, or imitated reproductions of older buildings. This coincided with a revived interest in traditional town planning practices known as "neotraditional" development, or the New Urbanism. Hundreds of neotraditional neighborhoods are under construction or already completed, with designs that emphasize walking, mass transit, mixed uses, community livability, public space, and affordability.

Builders Plan Mart's popular house plans styles:

Contemporary
Country French
English
French
Hill Country
Mediterranean
Ranch
Traditional