Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
WHAT????
There are “MCM’s”; and there are “colonials”. Why the need to mix breeds? You’re just creating “Mutts”!
Well, that house was a mongrel of sorts. You're right that "midcentury modern" doesn't describe it at all.
But while it may have been center-hall Colonial in form, its exterior wasn't Colonial in style, really. And its exterior looks an awful lot like those of many similar houses built in the middle of the 20th century.
Drop "modern" and the term is no longer misleading, but how does one distinguish between an actual Colonial Revival and one that merely takes its form?
Each architectural style is defined by certain elements- more so over building periods.
Although there are periods where certain materials can and do define periods- somewhat due to the manufacturing, processes, engineering, and tooling of the period.
Each architectural style is defined by certain elements- more so over building periods.
Although there are periods where certain materials can and do define periods- somewhat due to the manufacturing, processes, engineering, and tooling of the period.
Oddly enough, I'd say that "midcentury modern" is one of those periods.
Modernist houses often have flat roofs, which is one of those elemental distinctions. But modernist houses of the 1950s and 1960s stand out from those that preceded and followed them by their copious use of wood and stone, materials that made them warmer than most modernist houses.
In American, when we can't match a style to a house, then we call it "vernacular." Most houses not designed by a professional architect fit in that category. They'll usually have a few elements of whatever style(s) was popular at the time, but they're not really typical of that style. We have to remember that, architecturally speaking, Cape, Ranch, Bungalow, Four Square, etc are housing TYPES not STYLES. In America, even "Colonial" and "Victorian" aren't really styles; they're just catch-all terms used by realtors (an architectural historian would say Queen Anne, Italianate, etc instead of Victorian, or Georgian, Federal, etc instead of Colonial).
With all that said, I'm not as familiar with Australian architectural styles, but I'd venture to guess it's Australian Vernacular (meaning it doesn't actually fit into one style).
In American, when we can't match a style to a house, then we call it "vernacular." Most houses not designed by a professional architect fit in that category. They'll usually have a few elements of whatever style(s) was popular at the time, but they're not really typical of that style. We have to remember that, architecturally speaking, Cape, Ranch, Bungalow, Four Square, etc are housing TYPES not STYLES. In America, even "Colonial" and "Victorian" aren't really styles; they're just catch-all terms used by realtors (an architectural historian would say Queen Anne, Italianate, etc instead of Victorian, or Georgian, Federal, etc instead of Colonial).
With all that said, I'm not as familiar with Australian architectural styles, but I'd venture to guess it's Australian Vernacular (meaning it doesn't actually fit into one style).
To further muddy the waters, we borrow the term "Victorian" from the now-abandoned British practice of referring to house styles by the name of the reigning monarch when the styles were popular.
Victoria having had the second-longest reign (64 years) of any British monarch (the late Queen Elizabeth II lapped her at 70), her reign encompassed more than one style. And many of the buildings we call "Victorian" would more properly be characterized as Queen Anne or French Second Empire.
WHAT????
There are “MCM’s”; and there are “colonials”. Why the need to mix breeds? You’re just creating “Mutts”!
Fusion. There are standard style attributes but some architects seem to be looking for ways to add bells and whistles. Why not add a Palladian window to a Pueblo revival house? Maybe stick on a red-tiled Mediterranean styled roof or a tower room? Call it "Tuscan" and someone will buy it.
A builder friend was commissioned to build a Craftsman style home on an in-fill lot in an established neighborhood. The project started out okay and it looks reasonably sort of Craftsman on the outside except for the colors. The inside has almost no indication of any Craftsman attributes and looks like some plain vanilla vacation condo. I asked what happened and they said the customer changed everything to look like an apartment and wanted it all white inside. There was a lot of money spent on that. Go figure.
Most of the local builders are building 4000 sq. ft. "Tuscan" monstrosities for people with deep pockets and no sense.
Not a ranch. This house has been renovated to the point of no specific style, very common. As mentioned above, I would see this listed as a one-story Colonial charmer.
Not a ranch. This house has been renovated to the point of no specific style, very common. As mentioned above, I would see this listed as a one-story Colonial charmer.
I'm with K'ledgeBldr in saying that there's no such thing as a one-story Colonial. There are, however, plenty of ranch houses that borrow from the Colonial architectural vocabulary.
An Aussie upthread suggested this would be known as a "Queenslander." If so, then it really doesn't match any American house type, even if it has elements that resemble several. Sheesh, even I didn't say it was a ranch — just that it had elements of that house type, in particular the low-slung, one-story profile with a shallow pitched roof.
It’s definitely not a ranch in the American style. Look at the floor plan in the link. Colonial charmer is the term a real estate agent would use I think, search the term one story Colonial charmer and look at the photos.
It’s definitely not a ranch in the American style. Look at the floor plan in the link. Colonial charmer is the term a real estate agent would use I think, search the term one story Colonial charmer and look at the photos.
Since it appears you haven't read post #2 — the very first reply in this topic, which I wrote — I'm posting it below:
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarketStEl
It has many elements of the American house style known as the "ranch," but it's not laid out like one.
Ranch houses usually have a rectangular footprint, but this one is L-shaped.
I can't offer much in the way of guidance beyond that.
(emphasis added)
Moving on now, and others have also made the point I'm reiterating below:
"Charmer" is not a house type or style. "Colonial" is.
"Charmer" and "charming" are descriptive nouns/adjectives agents use to describe their opinions of the attractiveness of a house, not its architectural style.
And if you do a Google search on "American Colonial architecture," you will find no photos of one-story houses beyond some of the earliest ones built, like the Lower Swedish Cabin in Upper Darby Township outside Philadelphia.
One-story houses in the United States generally fall into two broad styles: The ranch house and the various categories of modernist and pre-modernist houses (Prairie Style, Streamline Moderne, midcentury modern, contemporary, modern, "Usonian"). As I noted above, the Cape Cod (or "saltbox") reads as though it were a one-story house because of its steeply pitched roof, but that roof usually covers a second story, often expressed on the outside by dormer windows.
"Charming" houses come in all kinds of house styles, though the term is usually not applied to houses in the modernist categories. Usually, the houses so labeled are on the diminutive side.
FTR and FWIW, I write about this subject for a living. I think I know what I'm talking about, and what similarities and differences exist among house types.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
