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Quick Answer: What Does A Colonial Home Look Like

What makes a home a colonial?

What Is A Colonial-Style House? A colonial-style home usually has a simple, borderline minimalist rectangular shape. They tend to be two to three stories tall with fireplaces and brick or wood facades. Colonial homes are traditionally found on the east coast of the United States.3 days ago.

What was a typical colonial house like?

Colonial-style homes normally have a square or rectangle shape, with the door located in the exact center and the same number of windows reflected perfectly on either side. They traditionally have two to three stories with similar, traditional room layouts.

How do you know if a house is a colonial?

Colonial homes are generally square or rectangular in shape, with the front door placed in the middle of the house’s front. It’s a very symmetrical look. The homes are almost always two-story structures with four rooms on each level. Frequently the house will have a chimney on one end.

What are the different styles of colonial houses?

There are many types of colonial house styles stemming from British Colonial (most common in the US), Dutch colonial, French colonial and Spanish Colonial. Within the US, different colonial styles of homes were built in different regions including saltbox, cape cod, Georgian and southern colonial houses.

Why is it called a colonial house?

Evolved from the simple log cabin, these homes rose up in the days of the 13 original American colonies (hence the name) because they were “simple to build, efficient to use, and easy on the eyes,” Riordan says.

Why do people like colonial houses?

Appealing Architectural Features Colonial-style homes are detailed, aesthetic and well-proportioned. The front door is usually located in the center of the home with even numbers of windows and columns on either side, creating a uniform and symmetric appeal.

What type of roof does a colonial house have?

Clay tiles were commonly used as roofing material on Spanish Colonial homes, and they’re extremely heavy, so they require additional roof framing to ensure the structure can support their weight. Clay-tiled roofs are noncombustible and durable and typically last more than 50 years.

What is colonial decor?

Colonial Defined Colonial-style decorating reflects the styles of that era, varying from rustic to refined. Early American furniture was sturdy yet simple, but it evolved into the distinctive, formal style of furniture of designers such as Chippendale and Hepplewhite.

Do colonial houses have porches?

Colonial Architecture (1650-1850) The Georgian house did not usually have any form of porch. The porch of the Spanish Colonial House usually overhung the ground floor, such as a balcony porch, providing shade and coolness to the house.

What is the difference between a Federal and a colonial house?

The key features of Federal homes are they’re symmetrical and with the same layout as what you’d find with colonial homes. However, Federal architecture is more ornate. You’d also find that these homes tend to be taller and narrower than colonial homes and may have oval or circular shaped rooms.

Are colonial homes out of style?

By the late 1800s, it had organically evolved into a style called “Colonial Revival” that has yet to fall out of fashion. Symmetry is the most defining aspect of a Colonial-style home, made immediately evident by the front door, which is located smack-dab in the center of the house and flanked with windows.

What is considered a colonial?

Colonialism is defined as “control by one power over a dependent area or people.” It occurs when one nation subjugates another, conquering its population and exploiting it, often while forcing its own language and cultural values upon its people.

What does a Colonial Revival home look like?

So what do Colonial Revival homes look like? A lot like their predecessors, but bigger and fancier. Most of the houses are two or two-and-a-half stories tall, and the front doors typically boast a grander appearance than their predecessors had, with pediments and even columns accenting the entrance.

What color were colonial houses?

Classic colonial paint colors include modest earth tone colors such as white, creamy yellow, almond, ochre, reddish brown, dark brown, beige, taupe and muted green. These colors were common because the pigments for the dyes came from natural resources such as plants, soil and minerals.

What is the average size of a colonial house?

The square footage of our collection of Colonial house plans vary from slightly over 1,100 square feet to in excess of 11,000 with the vast majority falling within the 2,500 – 3,500 range making the selection of Colonial house plans easily accessible and straightforward when searching our website.

Did colonial houses have windows?

Traditional colonial homes often feature two windows evenly spaced on each side of the door and three on the second level, with one centered above the door. Dormer windows are then proportionately centered above the second level.

What year were colonial homes built?

Spanish Colonial houses were built between 1600 and 1840 in Texas, California and the Southwest. Low, long one-story buildings with covered porches extending along the façade, their walls were built of adobe bricks or stone; by the early 19th century, many two-story houses were built with encircling porches.

When were colonial homes built?

These styles are associated with the houses, churches and government buildings of the period from about 1600 through the 19th century. Several relatively distinct regional styles of colonial architecture are recognized in the United States.

What is considered colonial architecture?

Colonial architecture is an architectural style from a mother country that has been incorporated into the buildings of settlements or colonies in distant locations.

How tall is a colonial house?

As previously mentioned, colonial homes are usually two or three stories tall. The common spaces—living room, kitchen, dining room, and family room—are traditionally located on the first floor, with bedrooms on the second and third floors.

What is the difference between a cape and a colonial?

The Cape Cod house has a gabled roof, which means the roof has two sloping sides that meet at a ridge. In the case of the Dutch Colonial house, the roof has a gambrel roof: There are two sides and each side has two slopes. The first slope is shallow and the second is steep.

What makes a house a bungalow?

A bungalow is a style of house or cottage that is typically either a single story or has a second, half, or partial story, that is built into a sloped roof. Bungalows are typically small in terms of size and square footage and often are distinguished by the presence of dormer windows and verandas.