8 Most Popular Home Design Styles
Updated: Oct. 27, 2023
Whether you're an architecture lover or are saving up for your dream home, check out these homes that reflect are the most popular home design styles across the U.S.
US Home Architecture Styles
World Architecture Day is here (October 5), and much like art and fashion, architecture and home design is rarely one-size-fits-all. Some people favor modern looks, while others lean toward rustic or brick exteriors.
Plus, celebrate World Architecture Day this year with the American Institute of Architects by attending its one-of-a-kind home tour, that’s going virtual this year! Virtually tour these beautiful homes designed by architects between now and October 10.
Art Deco
Welcome to Miami, where the urban oasis of South Beach, or “SoBe” as it’s known to locals, is rife with Art Deco facades. The highly stylized art form is known for its rounded edges and geometric patterns. Art Deco really had a moment with terrazzo — a glossy-finished stone amalgamation of granite, marble, quartz, glass or other materials poured together for a confetti-like appearance. Check out these favorite decor trends from every decade since 1920.
Victorian
Before clean lines became the trend, Victorian architecture reigned supreme — and inspired a generation of dollhouses. While Victorian design encompasses a variety of overlapping styles, they share common traits that make it easy to spot, like bay windows and ornate detailing. Check out these 50 abandoned houses that would look incredible if restored.
Adobe
Adobe-style homes — and their modern counterparts, Pueblo Revival — are mostly found in the Southwest, where Spanish building concepts were met with local materials and styles of Native American tribes. The key elements are on full display in this restored 1920s villa, featuring earthen walls, stone floors, and vigas, or wood-beamed ceilings.
Mid-Century Modern
You can blame Mad Men, but it’s a craze for good reason. Mid-century modern, loosely defined as design from the mid-20th century, is known for its minimalist lines, flat planes, and large windows that feed into open floor plans.
Repeated instances of mid-century modern line the streets of Palm Springs, a city that was literally shaped by mid-century modernist architects. The floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding doors at this desert paradise create an indoor-outdoor feel that’s classic mid-century, as is the neutral palette with pops of color. If this is your style, then you’ll want to check out these 14 iconic mid-century modern decor elements.
Log Cabin
There’s something inherently cozy about a log cabin, isn’t there? Though “log home” construction originated out of function rather than aesthetics, it remains a popular way to blend architecture into a home’s natural surroundings. Take this oh-so-cozy cabin, which features a traditional framework of interlocking logs and is set on five acres of blissfully serene private property. Check out these amazing cabin kits you can buy on Amazon.
Contemporary
Contemporary architecture takes many forms, but often features unconventional and expressive design, so it’s a “you know it when you see it” situation. The renegade style is also known for its asymmetry, integrated smart home technology, and open floor plans, as seen in this Maine masterpiece.
Tudor
Ranging from storybook cottages to English manors, Tudors come in many shapes and sizes, but are noted for their steeply pitched roofs, tall windows, and exterior stonework.
As the style made its way stateside, it found popularity in the northern half of the U.S., largely because of the snow-prone climate. So it’s no surprise to find a romantic brick home in the Pacific Northwest, like this beauty with a bonus loft and crow’s nest.
White walls and added windows balance the traditionally dark finishes of a Tudor home, adding warmth for those sometimes gray days. Plus, here’s what houses used to look like 100 years ago.
Cape Cod
Cape Cod homes are quiet charmers, with little pomp and circumstance. The plainly shingled exteriors and symmetrical blueprints, often with central fireplaces, use materials and colors that mirror their coastal scenery.
For quintessential Cape Cod design, we go straight to the source and this hill-perched vacation home overlooking Nantucket Sound. Don’t let the exterior modesty fool you: beautiful red oak beams line the ceilings and French doors open onto the deck for prime ferry watching.
If you are interested in staying in any of these vacation rentals, check out Vacasa. They have more than 25,000 professionally managed properties, and have a vacation rental designed to suit every type of traveler, whether you’re ready to road trip now or simply saving for the future.
Information for this story was provided by Vacasa.com
