What style is my house?

Start with the date

The county assessor's record for the address usually gives a year built. For a house older than the county's records, it's an estimate; the deed history, the building permit and old fire insurance maps narrow it down (see how to find the history of a building).

The date settles a lot. A symmetrical brick house with a fanlight over the front door is Georgian if it was built in the 1700s, Federal if it went up around 1800, and Colonial Revival if it was built in the 1920s.

Before 1840

Saltbox c. 1650–1800 A gabled house with one long rear roof slope sweeping nearly to the ground. Cape Cod c. 1690–1955 A compact story-and-a-half cottage: steep gable roof, central chimney, dormers, and minimal fuss. Dutch Colonial c. 1700–1940 A barn-profile gambrel roof, often flared at the eaves, sometimes with a split Dutch door. Georgian c. 1714–1830 Disciplined brick symmetry: sash windows in even rows, a paneled door with a fan shaped window above, and quiet classical trim. Federal c. 1780–1830 Refined American Georgian: oval fanlights over doors, slender proportions, and delicate garland ornament. Greek Revival c. 1820–1860 The Greek temple front reborn: full-height columns, a wide plain band above them, and a low triangular gable.

1840 to 1900

Gothic Revival c. 1740–1900 Medieval drama revived: pointed arches, steep gables, patterned stone window bars, and strong vertical lines. Carpenter Gothic c. 1840–1890 Wooden churches and cottages with board-and-batten walls, steep gables trimmed in sawn bargeboards, and pointed-arch windows. Italianate c. 1840–1885 Low roofs on deep eaves with ornamental brackets, tall round-topped windows with heavy hoods, and square cupolas. Second Empire c. 1855–1885 Steep boxy mansard roofs with dormer windows, over heavily bracketed cornices and paired columns. Stick Style c. 1860–1890 Flat decorative boards laid in grids and diagonals over clapboard walls, with big trussed gables. Queen Anne c. 1875–1905 The exuberant Victorian: corner turrets, wraparound porches, spindle trim, and a different texture on every story. Folk Victorian c. 1870–1910 Plain folk house shapes dressed up with porch spindles and jigsaw-cut gable trim. Shingle Style c. 1880–1900 One continuous skin of wood shingles stretched over sweeping roofs, porches, and towers, with almost no trim. Brownstone c. 1840–1900 Row houses with brown sandstone fronts, a high stoop to the main floor over a raised basement, and a cornice. Shotgun House c. 1840–1930 One room wide and several rooms deep: a narrow gabled house with a full-width front porch. Workers Cottage c. 1870–1910 A one-and-a-half-story house with its gable facing the street, raised basement, front stoop, and trim only at windows and cornice.

1900 to 1945

Craftsman / Bungalow c. 1905–1930 Low, broad bungalows with deep porches on thick tapered piers, visible rafter ends, and angled roof braces. American Foursquare c. 1895–1935 The honest box: two stories, a pyramid-shaped roof with a big central dormer, and a full-width front porch. Prairie School c. 1900–1920 Long horizontal lines: broad low roofs, deep overhangs, and continuous bands of windows hugging the ground. Colonial Revival c. 1880–1960 America quoting its own past: symmetrical fronts, shuttered windows, and a front door dressed with fanlight, sidelights, or a small columned porch. Tudor Revival c. 1890–1940 Storybook medieval English: decorative dark timber over stucco, steep gables, and massive patterned chimneys. Spanish Colonial Revival c. 1915–1940 Romantic white stucco under red clay tile: arcades, patios, carved doorways, and wrought iron balconies. Mission Revival c. 1890–1930 Curved gable-top walls, white stucco, arcades, and red tile roofs borrowed from Spanish missions. Mediterranean Revival c. 1920–1940 Stucco walls under red clay tile roofs, arched windows, wrought iron balconies, courtyards, and bell towers on hotels and villas. Pueblo Revival c. 1905–present Rounded adobe-look stucco, projecting round roof beams, stepped upper stories, and flat roofs. Chicago Bungalow c. 1910–1940 Narrow one-and-a-half-story brick houses with low-pitched hipped roofs, broad eaves, large front windows and a front veranda.

1945 to 1980

Ranch c. 1935–1975 Single-story sprawl: a low-pitched roof, attached garage, picture windows, and an open floor plan. Mid-Century Modern c. 1945–1970 Post-and-beam houses with walls of glass, flat or butterfly roofs, and easy flow between indoors and out. A-Frame c. 1950–1975 A roof that is the whole house: one dramatic triangle with glass gable ends and a loft under the peak.

Since 1980

Neo-Eclectic c. 1980–present The builder's-catalog house: brick and stone veneer, mixed arches and gables, and a grand two-story entry. Contemporary Modern c. 1990–present Today's default architecture: floor-to-ceiling glass, crisp panel facades, bold cantilevers, and mixed materials. Modern Farmhouse c. 2010–present White vertical siding, black window frames, metal gable roofs, and a big friendly porch.

Read the roof

The roof is the hardest part of a house to change, so it's the best clue to the original style.

Windows and the front door

The porch and the entry

Porches were often added or rebuilt, so weigh them less than the roof.

Walls and trim

Beyond houses

The field guide covers all 146 styles Archie knows, including churches, towers and civic buildings. For any building, the steps are in how to identify a building's architectural style.