Identify Your Home's Exterior Architecture Style in 5 Steps

Determining your home's architectural style can unlock a deeper appreciation for its unique design and history. By methodically examining key exterior features, you can begin piecing together the stylistic mystery.

Follow this five-step guide to uncover your house's true exterior personality.

Step 1: Examine the Layout and Shape

The overall shape and layout of your home's floorplan provides initial clues. Study the front facade - does it present symmetrical or asymmetrical proportions? Count the number of stories. Is there a rectangular, L-shaped, or circular design?

Tilting your gaze upward, analyze the roof structure. Common styles include gabled, hipped, flat, and gambrel. The pitch, angles, and inclusion of cross gables or turrets may indicate a specific architectural genre.

Questions to Consider

• Is the front facade balanced or imbalanced?
• How many floors does the house have?
• What type of roof does it feature?

Step 2: Analyze the Exterior Materials

The materials embellishing your home's exterior also provide telling evidence. Note the facade composition - whether brick, wood siding, stucco, or a combination. Pay attention to accent features like decorative stonework or concrete accents.

Study the windows as well. Are they double hung sash windows with paned glass? Casements with metal hardware? Narrow rectangular designs? The window framing and inclusion of shutters should also be documented.

Questions to Consider

• What materials comprise the bulk of the facade?
• Are there accent materials like brick or stone?
• What style are most windows?

Step 3: Check the Entryway and Porches

The front entryway and porches provide additional architectural context. Note if your home has an ample front porch, a wraparound porch, side porticos, or no porch at all. Check for entryway design details like decorative pediments, arched doorways, crown moldings, or transom windows.

Pay attention to columns, railings, cornices, and stairs as well. Their materials, scale, and ornamentation provide supplementary evidence for your investigation.

Questions to Consider

• What porch designs are incorporated?
• Does the entryway feature any decorative designs?
• What architectural details are included on porches and entry stairs?

Step 4: Look for Additional Architectural Details

Let your eyes wander to illuminate supplementary exterior characteristics. Are there octagonal end turrets rising from the front facade? Eyebrow dormer windows protruding from the steeply angled roof? Triangular peaks above gables?

Check for ornate brackets under roof eaves, brick chimneys, and wood shutters flanking windows. Subtle trim, patterns, and crowning accents completing your home's exterior. Document them all!

Questions to Consider

• Are there turrets, bays, or other projections?
• Does the roofline feature gables or dormers?
• What decorative trim or accents are included?

Step 5: Research the History of Your Home

The final clues involve understanding your home's history. When was it built? Knowing the year or era of construction reveals key architectural trends. For example, a suburban house built in the 1960s might reflect mid-century modern or ranch styles popular at that time.

Understand what purpose the home originally served. Was it a single-family Victorian residence or a row house tenement? Use resources at your local library system and historical society to uncover documents related to your home's background.

Questions to Consider

• When was the house built?
• What was the original purpose of the home?
• What architectural styles were common in my area then?

Putting It All Together

With careful observation and research, evaluating architectural layers reveals insights into your home's style origins. Reference the feature characteristics, materials, layout, and era details you uncovered. Compare to architectural guide photos and descriptions to identify the closest style match.

Incorporating elements from multiple designs is common. But with a methodical approach, determining the predominant exterior style is possible in most cases. Contact an architectural historian if still uncertain.

Understanding the exterior architectural language transports you deeper into your home's story. And uncovering that unique tale can transform an impersonal house into a cherished place reflecting your own personality and style!