When designing a custom home, you must first decide on the type of architecture you want. What you ultimately choose will depend on factors like the location, budget, and neighborhood. However, before delving into those aspects, it can help to familiarize yourself with a few popular styles. Understanding what your options are will help you convey your ideas to your designers and builders.

What Styles of Architecture Are Common for Residential Property?

1. Ranch

Originating in the 1930s and popularized in the 1950s, Ranch-style homes are characterized by simplicity and efficiency. They’re usually single-story structures with an open floor plan and an asymmetrical layout. The most common floor plans are either a rectangle, L-shape, or U-shape, and they often have an attached garage as well. The exterior usually features a mix of brick and wood for the siding. This style can also easily accommodate a home addition.

2. Farmhouse

Similar to the previous style, Farmhouses feature a simple, open floor layout that tends to stretch horizontally, rather than vertically. However, they often have gabled roofs, which makes them look a bit taller. Another difference is in the exterior—farmhouse style homes generally use wood for the siding. 

3. Craftsman

For something with more complexity, consider a Craftsman bungalow. Although they have a simple shape, the details reveal a wealth of character. There are often tapered columns in the front of the porch and decorative wooden beams on the roof eaves. The windows are usually multi-paned, and the siding is made with a variety of materials like wood, stucco, and shingles.

4. Mediterranean

Also known as Spanish Colonial or Spanish Farmhouse, Mediterranean style homes began popping up in California around the 1920s. There’s often an ornate, sometimes extravagant, quality to them. They typically have a U-shape floor plan with a central courtyard and garden. Their roofs are tiled and low-pitched, and siding has adobe or stucco instead of wood. 

5 Contemporary

Finally, if you want to eschew traditional residential architecture, then a contemporary design is for you. Sleek and geometric, they offer a simplicity that’s dramatically different from a farmhouse or ranch-style. As for the exterior, if it’s not made mostly from glass and steel, then it’ll have a mix-and-match variety with other materials like wood, brick, and natural stone.

Once you’ve picked your architecture style, bring your dream home to life  with the help of the professionals at Blue Hawaii Drafting Services, Inc. For 18 years, this home design and construction planning company has built unique and beautiful homes throughout the greater Honolulu area. Their team will manage everything from the initial conceptual design to the final build. Explore their past work on their website, and if you’re ready to collaborate, call them at (808) 927-4123.