Architectural & Construction

1890 - Present: Tudor Revival

2007-10-03T12:31:00.001-07:00

Picture Dictionary of House Styles in North America and Beyond

Heavy chimneys and decorative half-timbering give Tudor style houses a Medieval flavor. The Tudor style is sometimes called Medieval Revival.

Decorative half-timbering give Tudor Revival houses the appearance of a medieval building.

Tudor style homes have many of these features:

Decorative half-timbering
Steeply pitched roof
Prominent cross gables
Tall, narrow windows
Small window panes
Massive chimneys, often topped with decorative chimney pots

About the Tudor Style

The name Tudor suggests that these houses imitate English architecture from the early 16th century. However, most Tudor style homes were inspired by building techniques from an earlier time. Some Tudor houses mimic humble Medieval cottages - They may even include a false thatched roof. Other Tudor homes borrow ideas from late Medieval palaces. They may have overlapping gables, parapets, and beautifully patterned brick or stonework. These historic details combine with Victorian or Craftsman flourishes.

As in many Queen Anne and Stick style homes, Tudor style houses often feature striking decorative timbers. These timbers hint at - but do not duplicate - Medieval building techniques. In Medieval houses, the timber framing was integral with the structure. Modern Tudor houses, however, merely suggest the structural framework with false half-timbering. This decorative woodwork comes in many different designs, with stucco or patterned brick between the timbers.

Handsome examples of Tudor style architecture may be found throughout Great Britain, northern Europe and the United States. The main square in Chester, England is surrounded by lavish Victorian Tudors that stand unapologetically alongside authentic medieval buildings.

In the United States, Tudor styling takes on a variety of forms ranging from elaborate mansions to modest suburban homes with mock masonry veneers. The style became enormously popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and modified versions became fashionable in the 1970s and 1980s.

One popular housing type inspired by inspired by Tudor ideas is the Cotswold Cottage. These quaint homes have an imitation thatched roof, massive chimneys, an uneven sloping roof, small window panes, and low doors.

Learn More About Tudor Architecture

Tudor Style
Lush color photographs illustrate Tudor style homes across the USA. This book is an especially good resource if you're seeking ideas for paint colors and interior decore. By Lee Goff, Author and Paul Rocheleau, Photographer. (compare prices)

1840 - 1915: Renaissance Revival Style

2007-10-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

Picture Dictionary of House Styles in North America and Beyond

A fascination for the architecture of Renaissance Europe and the villas of Andrea Palladio inspired elegant Renaissance Revival homes.

Photo © Ben Newton

Renaissance Revival houses have many of these features:

Cube-shaped
Balanced, symmetrical façade
Smooth stone walls, made from finely-cut ashlar
Low-pitched hip or Mansard roof
Roof topped with balustrade
Horizontal stone banding between floors
Segmental pediments
Ornately-carved stone window trim varying in design at each story
Smaller square windows on top floor
Quoins (large stone blocks at the corners)

"Second" Renaissance Revival Houses are larger and usually have:

Arched, recessed openings
Full entablatures between floors
Columns
Ground floor made of rusticated stone with beveled edges and deeply-recessed joints

About the Renaissance Revival Style

Renaissance (French for "rebirth") refers to the artistic, architectural, and literary movement in Europe between the 14th and 16th centuries. The Renaissance Revival style is based on the architecture of 16th-century Renaissance Italy and France, with additional elements borrowed from Ancient Greek and Roman architecture. Renaissance Revival is a general term which encompasses the various Italian Renaissance Revival and French Renaissance Revival styles, including Second Empire.

The Renaissance Revival style was popular during two separate phases. The first phase, or the First Renaissance Revival, was from about 1840 to 1885, and the Second Renaissance Revival, which was characterized by larger and more elaborately decorated buildings, was from 1890 to 1915. Due to the expensive materials required and the elaborate style, Renaissance Revival was best suited for public and commercial buildings, and very grand homes for the wealthy.

Related Styles:

Learn More About Beaux Arts:

1840 - 1885: Italianate

2007-10-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

Picture Dictionary of House Styles in North America and Beyond

Italiante became the most popular housing style in Victorian America. Italianate is also known as the Tuscan, the Lombard, or simply, the bracketed style.

Old World ideals are transplated to the United States in this Italianate style home, located in Cape May, New Jersey.

Italianate houses have many of these features:

Low-pitched or flat roof
Balanced, symmetrical rectangular shape
Tall appearance, with 2, 3, or 4 stories
Wide, overhanging eaves with brackets and cornices
Square cupola
Porch topped with balustraded balconies
Tall, narrow, double-paned windows with hood moldings
Side bay window
Heavily molded double doors
Roman or segmented arches above windows and doors

About the Italianate Style

The Italianate style began in England with the picturesque movement of the 1840s. For the previous 200 years, English homes tended to be formal and classical in style. With the picturesque, movement, however, builders began to design fanciful recreations of Italian Renaissance villas. When the Italianate style moved to the United States, it was reinterpreted again to create a uniquely American style.

By the late 1860s, Italianate was the most popular house style in the United States. Historians say that Italianate became the favored style for two reasons:

Italianate homes could be constructed with many different building materials, and the style could be adapted to modest budgets.
New technologies of the Victorian era made it possible to quickly and affordably produce cast-iron and press-metal decorations.

Italianate remained the most popular house style in the USA until the 1870s. Italianate was also a common style for barns, town halls, and libraries. You will find Italianate buildings in nearly every part of the United States except for the deep South. There are fewer Italianate buildings in the southern states because the style reached its peak during the Civil War, a time when the south was economically devastated.

After the 1870s, architectural fashion turned toward late Victorian styles such as Queen Anne.

Learn More

Renaissance Revival: This Italian-inspired style is often confused with the Victorian Italianate style.
Victorian Architecture: A review of the most important styles from the Victorian era
Victorian House Plans
Andrea Palladio: The Renaissance architect who designed the first Italian Villas

Rosello to unveil its latest modern designed chairs

2007-10-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

PARIS, France -- Rosello unveiled its latest modern designed chairs during MAISON&OBJET 2007.

It is Just A Little Company Profile of Rosello :

It is in 1928 that François and his brothers created the Rosello Freres Company in the faubourg Saint-Antoine district in Paris. In thier workshop on rue Paul Bert, they manufacture chair frames for the neighboring upholsterers who finished and then upholstered them.

This is the original specialty of the company.It is from there that it draws all its knowledge. Then ,theyestablished the company in Villers-cotteret, Aisne, in the heart of a large beech tree forest -one of the lumbers best adapted to seat manufacturing - the activity of the company remained the same during the next fifty years.

In the seventies, the founder's son, Floréal, a graduate of the Boulle School of Design, expented the production to the manufacture of traditional furniture: the production cycle from A to Z was completed.

Luminous furniture with built-in lighting

2007-10-01T16:31:00.000-07:00

PARIS, France -- SLIDE displayed its luminous furniture during MAISON&OBJET 2007, which is made of opaque synthetic resins with built-in lighting.

This furniture is design for you who loving simplified, artistic, and not needed more space at your living room. Take a look at under the table, the lightning so nice to imagine.
If are craving for more then just a illuminated coffee table to add a glistening touch to your home then you might not mind going overboard with this luminous furniture. via Aving.

1965 - Present: Neo-mediterranean

2007-09-30T18:14:00.006-07:00

Picture Dictionary of House Styles in North America and Beyond

Details from Spain, Italy, and other Mediterranean countries combine with North American ideas to create contemporary Mediterranean or Neo-mediterranean homes.

Photo: Jupiterimages Corporation

Spanish and Italian details mingle with contemporary styling in Neo-mediterranean style homes.

Neo-mediterranean is a Neoeclectic house style that incoporates a fanciful mix of details suggested by the architecture of Spain, Italy, and Greece, Morocco, and the Spanish Colonies. Realtors often call Neo-mediterrean houses Mediterranean or Spanish.

Neo-mediterranean houses have many of these features:

Low-pitched roof
Red roof tiles
Stucco siding
Arches above doors, windows, or porches
Heavy carved wooden doors

A Neo-mediterranean home may resemble the much earlier Spanish Revival style. However, Neo-mediterranean homes are not careful recreations of Spanish Colonial architecture. If you remove the romantic decorative details, a Neo-mediterranean home is more likely to resemble a no-nonsense, all-American Ranch or Raised Ranch .

1965 - Present: Neoeclectic

2007-09-30T18:14:00.005-07:00

Picture Dictionary of House Styles in North America and Beyond

If your home was built recently, chances are it incorporates many styles. Architects and designers call this new stylistic mix Neoeclectic, or Neo-eclectic.

Photo © Jackie Craven

Colonial windows, a Queen Anne turret, and a hint of classical columns combine in this Neoeclectic home.

A Neoeclectic home can be difficult to describe because it combines many styles. The shape of the roof, the design of the windows, and decorative details may be inspired by several different periods and cultures.

Features of Neoeclectic Homes:

Constructed in the 1960s or later
Historic styles imitated using modern materials like vinyl or imitation stone
Details from several historic styles combined
Details from several cultures combined
Brick, stone, vinyl, and composite materials combined

About Neoeclectic Houses

During the late 1960s, a rebellion against modernism and a longing for more traditional styles influenced the design of modest tract housing in North America. Builders began to borrow freely from a variety of historic traditions, offering Neoeclectic (or, Neo-eclectic) houses that were "customized" using a mixture of features selected from construction catalogs. These homes are sometimes called Postmodern because they borrow from a variety of styles without consideration for continuity or context. However, Neoeclectic homes are not usually experimental and do not reflect the artistic vision you would find in a truly original, architect-designed postmodern home.

Critics use the term McMansion to describe a Neoeclectic home that is over-sized and pretentious. Coined from the McDonald's fast food restaurant, the name McMansion implies that these homes are hastily assembled using cheaply-made materials and a menu of mix-and-match decorative details.

1930 - 1945: Art Moderne

2007-09-30T18:14:00.004-07:00

Picture Dictionary of House Styles in North America and Beyond

With the sleek, streamlined appearance of a modern machine, Art Moderne architecture expressed the spirit of a new, technological age.

Photo © the homeowner

Art Moderne Home, from "House Helpline" #1142

Art Moderne houses have many of these features:

Asymmetrical
Horizontal orientation
Flat roof
No cornices or eaves
Cube-like shape
Smooth, white walls
Sleek, streamlined appearance
Rounded corners highlighted by wraparound windows
Glass block windows
Aluminum and stainless steel window and door trim
Mirrored panels
Steel balustrades
Suggestion of speed and movement: Horizontal rows of windows or stripes
Little or no ornamentation
Open floor plans

About the Art Moderne Style

It's easy to confuse Art Moderne with Art Deco, but they are two distinctly different styles. While both have stripped-down forms and geometric designs, the Art Moderne style will appear sleek and plain, while the slightly earlier Art Deco style can be quite showy. Art Moderne buildings are usually white, while Art Deco buildings may be brightly colored. The Art Deco style is most often used for public buildings like theaters, while the Art Moderne style is most often found in private homes.

Origins of Art ModerneThe sleek, rounded Art Moderne style originated in the Bauhaus movement, which began in Germany. Bauhaus architects wanted to use the principles of classical architecture in their purest form, designing simple, useful structures without ornamentation or excess. Building shapes were based on curves, triangles, and cones. Bauhaus ideas spread worldwide and led to the Moderne or International Style in the United States. Art Moderne art, architecture, and fashion became popular just as Art Deco was losing appeal. Many products produced during the 1930s, from architecture to jewelry to kitchen appliances, expressed the new Art Moderne ideals.

Art Moderne truly reflected the spirit of the early twentieth century. Expressing excitement over technological advancements, high speed transportation, and innovative new construction techniques, Art Modern design was highlighted at the 1933 World Fair Chicago. For homeowners, Art Moderne also proved to be a pragmatic style because these simple dwellings were so easy and economical to build.

Smart Solutions for Small Spaces

2007-09-30T18:14:00.001-07:00

Look for Furnishings That Contain Other Furnishings

With housing prices soaring, energy costs increasing and baby-boomers facing empty nests, many people are moving to smaller spaces. To make a compact space live large, look for furnishings that serve several purposes. Here are some suggestions to get you started.You know those Russian nesting dolls; you open one up and find another inside? Look for furniture that does the same thing. I love coffee tables that conceal stools or cushions underneath. While the Pottery Barn model above was recently discontinued, other companies offer similar designs.

Sleep sofas are practical, but costly. Futons are inexpensive, but clunky. Here's two alternatives that are both affordable and stylish. • The Kiel Futon looks like a conventional sofa. Drop the two side panels on the back and you've got a chic, modern-looking loveseat. Drop the center panel and--voila!--it's a bed that measures a comfortable 80 inches long and 49 inches wide. The Kiel Futon is available in the central and western U.S. at Scandinavian Designs, Dania and Plummers stores for just $349. • The Flip Flop convertible sofa from CB2 is a smart-looking sofa with two back cushions that can drop down separately or together, giving you a sofa, chaise or bed with just a flick of the wrist; $999.

Design Your Own Custom Carpet or Area Rug with FLOR Modular Tiles

2007-09-30T18:14:00.000-07:00

If you lived through the 1970s, then you’ll remember carpet tiles as the bottom-feeder of the floorcovering kingdom—aqua and orange pieces of felted rubber that attracted stains and withering stares in equal measure. So I was skeptical when I heard about InterfaceFLOR carpet tiles—that is, until I saw them.

Carpet Tiles for the 21st Century

Fun, affordable, and altogether beguiling, this new generation of carpet tiles is designed in an arresting array of hip colors, patterns and textures, letting you create a customized area rug or wall-to-wall carpet for a fraction of the cost of a woven piece.

Each FLOR carpet tile measures 19.7 inches square and is secured in place by four peel-and-stick adhesive tabs, so there’s no gluing. The tabs are low-tack, so if you don’t like what you’ve done you can move the carpet tiles around (the adhesive won’t damage the surface underneath). And if a square gets soiled, you simply pull it up and replace it. Best of all, FLOR starts at less than $10 per square, with most designs priced in the teens. That means you can create a 5-by-8-foot carpet for as little as $150.

Design It Yourself

FLOR sells prepackaged designs, but the fun of FLOR is designing a carpet yourself. The user-friendly Web site, flor.com, includes a gallery of ideas to get you started, plus a design tool that lets you plan your carpet right on the computer, so you can see what the finished product will look like before you order. And if you need more assurance, you can order a packet of up to eight carpet swatches for only $5. Once you’ve made your selection, you can order your carpet tiles online or purchase them from a local retailer (there’s a list on the FLOR Web site). Then all you have to do is install your carpet and step back to admire your handiwork. Rarely has high design been so fun and so affordable.

Martha Was Here

FLOR's partnership with the Doyenne of Domesticity has produced a new collection: Martha Stewart Floor Designs with FLOR. Stewart's designs take this company to the next level, with subtle, sophisticated colors and a range of textural patterns that add graphic punch without hitting you over the head. There's even a few kooky designs tossed in. The carpet tiles appear to be a bit more pricey than comparable FLOR tiles, but with great looks starting at just $12.99 a tile, it's--dare I say it?--a good thing.

1860 - 1890: Stick Style

2007-09-27T14:58:00.001-07:00

Picture Dictionary of House Styles in North America and Beyond: Stick Style.

Stick Style Victorian houses have exposed trusses, "stickwork," and other details borrowed from medieval times.

The Physick House in Cape May, New Jersey is a hallmark example of the Stick Style. Brackets and stickwork suggest medieval building techniques.

The house shown above is an early and especially fine example of Victorian Stick architecture. The exterior walls are ornamented with "stickwork," or decorative half-timbering. The house also has brackets, rafters, and braces. These details are not necessary structurally. They are decorations that imitated architecture from the medieval past.

On first glance, you might confuse Stick houses with the later Tudor Revival Style. However, most Tudor Revival houses are sided with stucco, stone, or brick. Stick Style houses are almost always made with wood.

Victorian Stick Style homes have these features:

Rectangular shape
Wood siding
Steep, gabled roof
Overhanging eaves
Ornamental trusses (gable braces)
Decorative braces and brackets
Decorative half-timbering

About the Stick Style:

The most important features of Stick Style houses are on the exterior wall surfaces. Instead of three-dimensional ornamentation, the emphasis is on patterns and lines. Because the decorative details are flat, they are often lost when homeowners remodel. If the decorative stickwork is covered up with vinyl siding or painted a single solid color, a Stick Style Victorian may appear plain and rather ordinary.

The Palliser Company, which published many plan books during the Victorian era, called stick architecture plain yet neat, modern, and comfortable. However, Stick was a short-lived fashion. The angular and austere style couldn't compete with the fancy Queen Annes that took America by storm. Some Stick architecture did dress up in fancy Eastlake spindles and Queen Anne flourishes. But very few authentic Stick Style homes remain intact.

Learn More About Victorian Stick Architecture:

Victorian House Plan Books.
Many of the early house plan catalogs featured Stick Style houses.

Related Styles:

1855 - 1885: Second Empire (Mansard) Style

2007-09-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

Picture Dictionary of House Styles in North America and Beyond.

With tall mansard roofs and wrought iron cresting, Second Empire homes create a sense of height.

With their high mansard roofs, Second Empire houses suggested European majesty.

Second Empire homes usually have these features:

Mansard roof
Dormer windows project like eyebrows from roof
Rounded cornices at top and base of roof
Brackets beneath the eaves, balconies, and bay windows

Many Second Empire homes also have these features:

Cupola
Patterned slate on roof
Wrought iron cresting above upper cornice
Classical pediments
Paired columns
Tall windows on first story
Small entry porch

Second Empire buildings with tall mansard roofs were modeled after the the opulent architecture of Paris during the reign of Napoleon III. French architects used the term horror vacui - the fear of unadorned surfaces - to describe the highly ornamented Second Empire style. Second Empire buildings were also practical: their height allowed for additional living space on narrow city lots.

In the United States, government buildings in the Second Empire style resemble the elaborate French designs. Private homes, however, often have an Italianate flavor. Both Italianate and Second Empire houses tend to be square in shape, and both can have U-shaped window crowns, decorative brackets, and single story porches. But, Italianate houses have much wider eaves... and they do not have the distinctive mansard roof characteristic of the Second Empire style.

Learn more:

1840-1880: Gothic Revival (Wood)

2007-09-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

Picture Dictionary of House Styles in North America and Beyond: Gothic Revival

Builders borrowed church-like details to construct affordable wooden versions of the Gothic Revival style. To learn about Gothic Revival houses, read below.

Victorian Gothic Revival homes have pointed windows and other details borrowed from medieval Gothic cathedrals.

The earliest Gothic Revival homes were constructed of stone and brick. The Gothic Revival style imitated the great cathedrals and castles of Europe. However, few people could afford to build grand masonry homes in the Gothic Revival style. In the United States, the ready availability of lumber and factory-made architectural trim lead to a distinctly American version of Gothic Revival. Wood-framed Gothic Revival homes became America's dominant style in the mid-1800s.

Wooden homes in the Gothic Revival style have many of these features:

Steeply pitched roof
Steep cross gables
Windows with pointed arches
Vertical board and batten siding
One-story porch

New machines invented during the Victorian era made it easy and affordable to add scrolled ornaments, lacy bargeboards, "gingerbread" trim, and other decorative details. Heavily decorated wood-frame cottages in the Gothic Revival style are often called Carpenter Gothic.

To learn about Gothic Revival architecture constructed from stone, see
Victorian Gothic House Styles: (Masonry) >>

For more photos of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, see
Victorian Gothic House Styles: History and Pictures >>

Bagsværd Church

2007-09-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

Denmark
Built in 1973-76, Bagsværd Church was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jørn Utzon.

Photo © Bent Ryberg/Planet Foto

Bagsværd Church

Commenting on his design for the Bagsværd Church, Jørn Utzon wrote:

"At an exhibition of my works, including the Sydney Opera House there was also a drawing of a small church in the centre of a town. Two ministers representing a congregation that had been saving for 25 years to build a new church, saw it and asked me if I would be the architect for their church. There I stood, and was offered the finest task an architect can have - a magnificent time when it was the light from above that showed us the way." According to Utzon, the genesis of the design went back to a time when he was teaching at the University of Hawaii and spent time on the beaches. One evening, he was struck by the regular passage of clouds, thinking they could be the basis for the ceiling of a church. His early sketches showed groups of people on the beach with clouds overhead. His sketches evolved with the people framed by columns on each side and billowing vaults above, and moving toward a cross.

More about Jørn Utzon

The Mark Twain House (1874 / 1881)

2007-09-27T14:23:00.001-07:00

The Hartford, Connecticut home of American author Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

Before he became famous for his novels, Samuel Clemens ("Mark Twain") married into a wealthy family. Samuel Clemens and his wife Olivia Langdon asked the noted architect Edward Tuckerman Potter to design a lavish "poet's house" on Nook Farm, a pastoral neighborhood in Hartford, Connecticut.

The Mark Twain House is elaborately decorated with patterned brick and ornamental stickwork.

Edward Tuckerman Potter was known for designing grand Romanesque churches, but his design for the Clemens home was bright and whimsical. With brilliantly colored bricks, geometric patterns, and elaborate trusses, the 19-room mansion became a hallmark of what came to be known as the Stick Style of architecture. After living in the house for several years, the Clemens hired Louis Comfort Tiffany and Associated Artists to decorate the first floor with stencils and wallpapers.

Taking the pen name Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens wrote his most famous novels in this house, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The house was sold in 1903. Samuel Clemens died in 1910.

The Mark Twain Home in Hartford, Connecticut is often described as an example of Gothic Revival architecture. However, the patterned surfaces, ornamental trusses, and large decorative brackets are characteristics of another Victorian style known as Stick. But, unlike most Stick Style buildings, the Mark Twain house is constructed of brick instead of wood. Some of the bricks are painted orange and black to create intricate patterns on the facade.

American Foursquare

2007-09-13T08:09:00.003-07:00

Picture Dictionary of House Styles in North America and Beyond
The Foursquare style, sometimes called the Prairie Box, can be found in nearly every part of the United States.

Simple Foursquare houses were built in brick, stone, stucco, concrete block, or wood.

American Foursquare houses usually have these features:

Simple box shape
Two-and-a-half stories high
Four-room floor plan
Low-hipped roof with deep overhang
Large central dormer
Full-width porch with wide stairs
Brick, stone, stucco, concrete block, or wood siding

About the Foursquare House Style:
The American Foursquare, or the Prairie Box, was a post-Victorian style that shared many features with the Prairie architecture pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright. The boxy foursquare shape provided roomy interiors for homes on small city lots. The simple, square shape also made the Foursquare style especially practical for mail order house kits from Sears and other catalog companies.

Creative builders often dressed up the basic foursquare form. Although foursquare houses are always the same square shape, they can have features borrowed from any of these styles:

Queen Anne - bay windows, small towers, or "gingerbread" trim
Mission - stucco siding and roof parapets
Colonial Revival - pediments or porticos
Craftsman - exposed roof rafters, beamed ceilings, built-in cabinetry, and carefully crafted woodwork

Learn More About the Foursquare House Style:

American Foursquare Floor PlansFrom the pages of Sears and Aladdin mail order catalogs, illustrations, descriptions and floor plans for American Foursquare style homes.

Picking Colors for a FoursquareA well-chosen selection of trim and accent colors can draw attention to architectural details and disguise design flaws. Here are some pointers for painting an American Foursquare.

Foursquare Photos Our photo gallery of American Foursquare homes submitted by readers.
The Prairie Style With its low, paramid shaped roof, the Foursquare form is a variation on the linear style pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Craftsman Style Many Foursquare homes have "Craftsman" details.

Prairie Style

2007-09-13T08:09:00.002-07:00

Picture Dictionary of House Styles in North America and Beyond

Frank Lloyd Wright revolutionized the American home when he began to design "Prairie" style houses with low horizontal lines and open interior spaces.

The Frederic C. Robie House in Chicago is widely considered Frank Lloyd Wright's finest example of the Prairie style. It was built in 1909.

Prairie style houses usually have these features:

Low-pitched roof
Overhanging eaves
Horizontal lines
Central chimney
Open floor plan
Clerestory windows

About the Prairie Style:
Frank Lloyd Wright believed that rooms in Victorian era homes were boxed-in and confining. He began to design houses with low horizontal lines and open interior spaces. Rooms were often divided by leaded glass panels. Furniture was either built-in or specially designed. These homes were called prairie style after Wright's 1901 Ladies Home Journal plan titled, "A Home in a Prairie Town." Prairie houses were designed to blend in with the flat, prairie landscape.
The first Prairie houses were usually plaster with wood trim or sided with horizontal board and batten. Later Prairie homes used concrete block. Prairie homes can have many shapes: Square, L-shaped, T-shaped, Y-shaped, and even pinwheel-shaped.

Many other architects designed Prairie homes and the style was popularized by pattern books. The popular American Foursquare style, sometimes called the Prairie Box, shared many features with the Prairie style.

In 1936, during the USA depression, Frank Lloyd Wright developed a simplified version of Prairie architecture called Usonian. Wright believed these stripped-down houses represented the democratic ideals of the United States.

Famous Prairie Houses by Frank Lloyd Wright

1893: William Winslow ResidenceRiver Forest, Illinois. Although this house uses ornamentation in the fashion of Louis Sullivan, it also shows elements of the new Prairie style. The house is a symmetrical rectangle.
1901: Frank W. Thomas HouseOak Park, Illinois. Widely considered Wright's first Prairie Style house in Oak Park, and one of his earliest uses of stucco.
1902: Arthur Heurtley HouseOak Park, Illinois. This low, compact house has variegated brickwork with vibrant color and rough texture.
1909: Robie Residence (shown above) This Frank Lloyd house in Chicago is widely considered Wright's finest example of the Prairie style.

More About the Prairie Style

Spanish Mission House Style

2007-09-13T08:09:00.001-07:00

Picture Dictionary of House Styles in North America and Beyond

Historic mission churches built by Spanish colonists inspired the turn-of-the-century house style known as Mission, Spanish Mission, or California Mission.

Spanish Mission style houses have stucco walls, arches, and other details inspired by the Spanish mission churches of colonial America.

Spanish Mission style houses have many of these features:

Smooth stucco siding
Roof parapets
Large square pillars
Twisted columns
Arcaded entry porch
Round or quatrefoil window
Red tile roof

About the Spanish Mission Style:Celebrating the architecture of Hispanic settlers, Spanish Mission (or, California Mission) style houses usually have arched dormers and roof parapets. Some resemble old Spanish mission churches with bell towers and elaborate arches.
The earliest Mission style homes were built in California, USA. The style spread eastward, but most Spanish Mission homes are located in the southwestern states. Deeply shaded porches and dark interiors make these homes particularly suited for warmer climates.
By the 1920s, architects were combining Mission styling with features from other movements.

Mission houses often have details from these popular styles:

When describing furniture, the terms Mission and Craftsman are used interchangeably.
Learn more about Mission architecture:

California Mission Studies AssociationThis Web site is a good source for exploring the old Colonial missions that inspired Victorian mission style architecture.
California Mission HistoryWeb site with history, maps, photos, and links for California's colonial era Mission architecture.

Mission Style House Plans and Photos:

Cotswold Cottage

2007-09-13T08:09:00.000-07:00

Picture Dictionary of House Styles in North America and Beyond
With roots in the pastoral Cotswold region of England, the picturesque Cotswold Cottage style may remind you of a cozy storybook house.

Cotswold Cottage: This subtype of the Tudor Revival style may remind you of a picturesque storybook cottage.

Other names for the Cotswold Cottage style :

Storybook Style
Hansel and Gretel Cottage
Tudor Cottage
English Country Cottage
Ann Hathaway Cottage

Cotswold Cottage houses have many of these features:

Sloping, uneven roof, sometimes made of pseudo-thatch
Brick, stone, or stucco siding
Very steep cross gables
Prominent brick or stone chimney, often at the front near the door
Casement windows with small panes
Small dormer windows
Asymmetrical design
Low doors and arched doors
Small, irregularly-shaped rooms
Sloping walls in rooms on upper floor

About the Cotswold Cottage house style

The small, fanciful Cotswold Cottage is a popular subtype of the Tudor Revival house style. This quaint English country style is based on the cottages built since medieval times in the Cotswold region of southwestern England. A fascination for medieval styles inspired American architects create modern versions of the rustic homes. The Cotswold Cottage style became especially popular in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s.

The picturesque Cotswold Cottage is usually asymmetrical with a steep, complex roof line. The floor plan tends to include small, irregularly-shaped rooms, and the upper rooms have sloping walls with dormers. The home may have a sloping slate or cedar roof that mimics the look of thatch. A massive chimney often dominates either the front or one side of the house.

Cotswold Cottage Building Plans

Sears Mail Order Plan

Cotswold Cottage PhotosThese homes from our House Helpline series have features of the Cotswold Cottage style:

Read About Cotswold Cottages

Buildings of the CotswoldsAuthor Denis Moriarty explores the Cotswold region of England and looks at the cottages, manor homes, and humble farm buildings that inspired America's Cotswold Cottage style. Color and black-and-white photos show architectural details. (compare prices)
Storybook Style: America's Whimsical Homes of the TwentiesDuring the 1920s, architects with a flare for drama tried to capture the flavor of medieval England and Europe. Half timbered and turreted, pinnacled and portcullised, the homes they built combined features from many traditions, including the picturesque Cotswold style. (compare prices)

Residential Steel Framing Handbook

2007-09-11T11:02:00.000-07:00

Description

The steel frame ``how-to'' for wood-builders. The use of steel in residential construction is hot. So if your expertise lies in conventional wood frame construction, you'll definitely want to pick up the Residential Steel Framing Handbook. Robert Scharff and the editors of Walls & Ceilings Magazine take you step-by-step through each stage of the construction process--from preconstruction preparation to interior finishing--delivering all the in's and out's of building houses with steel. Jam-packed with over 350 illustrations and photographs, it's the perfect on-the-job training manual for you and your crew: sound proofing; insulation; calculating load strength; special tools and equipment; drywall and other interior finishes; building codes and zoning regulations; material specifications and selection; connectors and fasteners; steel floor framing; stell framed roofs; and much more.

Don't Miss The Processes

2007-08-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

Original posted by teiranho

There is two things which usually we call it with BECAUSE and CAUSE. Humans tried to get perfection, like; success, win, strong, etc.. But there is an antonim, like; fail, lose, weak, etc.. Majority, humans see only for a while about the PROCESS. PROCESS just looks like a luck. But the reality, if we want to win, we must be losed for any time.

The founded, humans are the same. We can sad, glad, eat, drink, etc.. The different is only the way of think and act.. Thats make the differencess of "CAUSED" and "CONDITION".

As example from that things : if we eat, we are not hungry anymore ; if we correct in answering the exam, we will get mark ; etc.. But we less in looking to the PROCESS, like : we eat using a spoon and entering foods into mouth, etc..

Don't you try to avoid the PROCESS. You must be talk about your own plan. Forget your own past because is not important for you to tell it to anyone. Imagine some big things and tell it to friends not just an old stories.

How important is that PROCESS? With knowing a PROCESS, we can realize that everything in this world posible to be done. Every person is a champion since not to be humans yet. Because sperm which done in sex is the best sperm from the million other sperm.

The question is would you said as a champion? Don't doubt to something, trusted that things can be done. Don't doubt to do a PROCESS for getting something good. Be the champion...!

The Steel Advantage

2007-08-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

Strength of Steel - Steel is one of the strongest building materials available and is used to fasten and support traditional timber built frames. The additional strength of a frame built entirely of steel means all SHF built houses carry extra strength and durability.

In addition to the strength of steel, the fact that steel won’t burn or rot or shrink in the way that timber can is another major benefit.

Durability of Steel - SHF frames offer you a lifetime’s protection against your house frame being eaten by termites and borers. This inbuilt protection gives you peace of mind against the hidden invaders that can destroy your precious investment. Perhaps the most significant difference between these steel frames and other house frames is that all SHF frames are backed by a 50 year warranty.

Invest in the Future - The strength and durability of steel is now widely recognized in the housing market. You can be sure that a home built with a SHF steel frame is an investment that will continue to increase in value throughout its life. The continued growth of the steel frame house market and the advancements in engineering technology make steel the house frame of the future, and a smart investment for the home owner.

On Site Construction

Specially trained and qualified SHF supervised teams erect the frames on site. The result is faster, hassle free construction to pre-set SHF standards and a quality frame that is complete and ready for the builders to start work on straight away.

Termites are the biggest enemy of conventional timber framed houses. Steel frames are 100% termite resistant and cannot be burnt by fire, rot or shrink in the way timber can.

Some more pictures showing construction:

2007-08-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

Part of the frames and the trusses delivered to the building site. The constructors get wall plans and roof plans showing each wall and truss numbered.

Walls are connected to each other with self drilling screws. Double studs at the intersections are in the walls provided for fixing the internal lining.

Bay windows and arch windows are no problem. They are all pre-fabricated to precision.

The external walls and internal structural walls are fixed to the concrete with chemical anchors or expansion bolts and cyclone washers. The holes for the bolts are already pre-drilled in the frames.

Other walls can be fixed to the floor using suitable hand-held or explosively fired nails or other masonry anchors.

Each joist has its own number in accordance with the plans.

The joists are fitted to the wall below with cyclone brackets and bolts. All the holes are pre-punched. This insures a fast installation and eliminates guesswork. The open web design allows an easy installation of the waste pipes. Bathroom floors can be stepped-down.

The external and internal structural walls of the upper floor are fixed to the floor joists with bolts and cyclone washers. All the holes in the frames are pre-punched at the exact location.

After the walls are up the trusses can be put in place and fixed to the walls below with cyclone brackets, washers and bolts. All the holes have been pre-punched at their exact location.

This system is also very suitable and economical for:

Schools
Hospitals
Army barracks
Relocatable houses
Small shops
Garages and storage sheds
Small factories
Steel trusses for apartment buildings
Partitioning for apartment buildings (residential and commercial)
Extensions to existing buildings
Framework for signage

Easy construction of a house using light weight steel frames

2007-08-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

2 men can erect an average steel framed house of 150 m2 in 2 – 3 days

Day one.

At 7 o'clock in the morning the house is set out according the plans.

Once the walls have been set out and checked carefully that everything is square, the steel wall frames, which are all clearly numbered in accordance with the plans, are brought into place.

The steel walls are set up and connected to each other with self drilling screws.

Where indicated the outside walls and bracing walls are fixed to the concrete slab with chemical anchors or exspansion bolts all in accordance with engineering specifications.

The holes for the bolts are already pre-punched in the frames.

Day two.

The steel roof trusses can be installed.

Depending how complicated the roof is, this work can be done 1 or 2 days.

Day 3.

After 2 or 3 days the 2 men have finished their job and other trades people can start to install the gutters, bring on the roofing and place windows and external doors.

Inside Steel House Frames

2007-08-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

Steel House Frames Australia are one of the leading manufacturers of steel house frames in Australia.

The company has been at the leading edge of the new technology that has seen steel house frames grow to become the preferred building method for more than 10% of the Australian housing market.

With a building system which is unequalled in the steel house frame industry, SHF provide builders with trouble free precision engineered steel frames that ensures the house goes up perfectly and stays up. Rock solid.

The outstanding success of SHF has seen the company grow from 12 staff in 1995 to over 150 staff and last year SHF produced 1,200 house frames.

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Planning to Installation

Precision Engineering

The science of steel house frames is technically advanced and extremely precise.

All components of the frame are engineered to exact dimensions by a fully computerised system that leaves nothing to chance.

This means that every SHF is incredibly straight, square and true, result in a better fit for doors and windows.

Quality for Life

Built to last SHF frames are designed for maximum strength and can be engineered to withstand cyclonic conditions. An SHF frame will always remain as strong as the day it was erected. The high tensile, galvanised or ZINCALUME® Steel surpasses all the Australian Standards, and will not suffer from the problems associated with old-fashioned building methods, such as shrinkage, warping, rotting and termite damage.

Better by Design

The tremendous design flexibility of modern steel frame homes takes many architects and builders by surprise. There is no limit to the different styles of homes that SHF have produced. From three storey townhouses to a huge colonial home on a sloping block, or a cost efficient family home in suburbia, the SHF system offers architects and builders unsurpassed flexibility in design and construction.

SHF steel frames and trusses can be produced from plans already drawn and approved in traditional timber. The ability to build almost any structure has seen the SHF system employed in the building of large commercial buildings, Retirement Villages and Child Care Centres.

Architectural & Construction

1890 - Present: Tudor Revival

1840 - 1915: Renaissance Revival Style

Renaissance Revival houses have many of these features:

"Second" Renaissance Revival Houses are larger and usually have:

About the Renaissance Revival Style

Related Styles:

Learn More About Beaux Arts:

Further Reading:

1840 - 1885: Italianate

Rosello to unveil its latest modern designed chairs

Luminous furniture with built-in lighting

1965 - Present: Neo-mediterranean

1965 - Present: Neoeclectic

1930 - 1945: Art Moderne

Smart Solutions for Small Spaces

Design Your Own Custom Carpet or Area Rug with FLOR Modular Tiles

1860 - 1890: Stick Style

1855 - 1885: Second Empire (Mansard) Style

Second Empire homes usually have these features:

Many Second Empire homes also have these features:

1840-1880: Gothic Revival (Wood)

Wooden homes in the Gothic Revival style have many of these features:

Bagsværd Church

More about Jørn Utzon

The Mark Twain House (1874 / 1881)

American Foursquare

Prairie Style

Spanish Mission House Style

Cotswold Cottage

Residential Steel Framing Handbook

Don't Miss The Processes

The Steel Advantage

Some more pictures showing construction:

Easy construction of a house using light weight steel frames

Inside Steel House Frames