Residential Architecutre Snapshot: The Bungalow

These narrow, rectangular one and one-half story houses originated in California during the 1880s as a reaction to the elaborate decoration of Victorian homes. The style then moved eastward to the Midwest in the early 20th century, where it remained popular until the Great Depression. Bungalows have low-pitched gabled or hipped roofs and small covered porches at the entry. The style became so popular that you could order a bungalow kit from Sears and Roebuck catalog. The name "bungalow" had its origins in India, where it indicated a small, thatched home. This style of home is common throughout Seattle but are very prevalent in neighborhoods such as Queen Anne, Wallingford, Ballard and parts of Greenwood.

Will the recession redesign the American home?

With the Seattle PI up for sale and Boeing announcing substantial layoffs, the Pacific Northwest can no longer claim it's in a protected bubble from the national downturn. In fact, Seattle real estate has been pretty quiet since September.

Our nation's history might suggest that our current economic downturn will our tastes for certain homes. In the years following WWII, soldiers arrived home ready to settle down as home owners but still remembered lessons learned from the Great Depression. Americans as a whole did not want to over-extend themselves but large numbers of people wanted to buy real estate. Therefore, small and inexpensive tract housing of the 1940s and 50s was born.

Flash forward to the late 1990s and early 2000s when "McMansions" were all the rage. However, our current recession combined with many Americans environmental sensitivity and their appetite for sustainability...the future homes in America might see yet another transformation.

Already, homes in Seattle are trending towards smaller, environmentally friendly and attached. Seattle townhomes are woven into the old in-city neighborhoods as city leadership looks to add urban density to account for future growth. Green building in Seattle is already prevalent and our region will continue to support this type of construction. The city of Seattle has very little land available for development, so the city might not always mirror the rest of the country in regards to housing styles. But be certain that home buyers in Seattle will begin to gravitate towards small and sustainable.

Read the full article here.

Residential Architecture Snapshot: Federal

Federal-style architecture dates from the late 1700s and coincided with a reawakening of interest in classical Greek and Roman culture. Builders began to add swags, garlands, elliptical windows, and other decorative details to rectangular Georgian houses. The style that emerged resembles Georgian, but is more delicate and more formal. Many Federal-style homes have an arched Palladian window on the second story above the front door. The front door usually has sidelights and a semicircular fanlight. Federal-style homes are often called "Adam" after the English brothers who popularized the style.

The main floor windows are usually up off of the street level so the well-to-do homeowners weren't forced to look at and be on the same level as the common street-dwellers. This style of home can be found in parts of Capitol Hill and Queen Anne but also scattered through the city of Seattle.

Residential Architecture Snapshot: Cape Cod

Cape Cod style homes were one of the first styles built in the United States. Original Cape Cods built by the colonialists were one-story, sided with shingles and did not have dormers. As the style became more popular in urban developments during the mid-20th century, the houses retained their original style with only a few embellishments. A more contemporary Cape Cod is square or rectangle with one or one-and-a-half stories. The roof is gabled, steeply pitched and may have dormers. I realize I've used some obscure architectural terms in this post...so here are a couple definitions important to residential architecture:

Gable: A gabled roof line describes the upside down "V" shape to the ends of some houses. A basic house might be a square shape with two gabled roof lines. Where as more complex designs can have several roof lines. Here is a picture of a cross-gabled roof:

Dormer: Dormers are windows that jut out from the roof of a home, and have a roof of their own. The word comes from the Latin dormitorium meaning "sleeping room," because dormers often bring space and light to bedrooms. For decorating purposes, a dormer creates a cozy spot for a reading chair or a desk.

Residential Architecture Snapshot: The Tudor

With so many differing styles of residential architecture out there, I will periodically feature styles commonly seen in Seattle. Most styles are not native to this area. As people moved west, they brought their building knowledge and appetite for home styles from their hometowns.

The Tudor:

This architecture style was popular in the 1920s and 1930s and continues to be a mainstay in suburbs across the United States. The defining characteristics are half-timbering on bay windows and upper floors, and facades that are dominated by one or more steeply pitched cross gables. Patterned brick or stone walls are common, as are rounded doorways, multi-paned casement windows, small porches. Tudors are highly desired in the Seattle area, however their floor plans often prove to be impractical. The steep pitched rooves and relatively small footprint (in Seattle neighborhoods) don't allow for much room inside. But people fall in love with their curb appeal and usually fork out the money to live in them. Seattle tudors are often all brick and have a little bend near the bottom of the roofline.