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| From the arrival of the first settlers to our own day, the American house has been heavily influenced by European models. Whether British and French in New England or Spanish in the South and Southwest, the initial settlers built what they knew and were familiar with. Private Comment
But, of course, they adapted the styles to their new locations and the materials at hand. For example, a house in New England would have had smaller and fewer windows as a response to the harsh winters and the unavailability of glass. |
| As America grew and became more prosperous, the homes became larger and built of more expensive materials. And more pronounced regional differences became evident as well. While in the Northeast the houses continued to be massive and fortresses against the harsh winter ... Private Comment
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| ... houses in the South developed wraparound verandas to shade the interiors and tall windows to let in breezes: a tradition that continues today. Private Comment
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| Various stylistic revivals came in and out of fashion from the late 18th century throughout most of the 19th century. Greek Revival earlier, then Gothic Revival a few years later dominated house design. While the Greek Revival had a connection to the new American democracy, the Gothic Revival came about when a more picturesque and bucolic America was envisioned. Private Comment
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| It's not surprising that Frank Lloyd Wright's first works, such as his Oak Park home, were in the Shingle Style because that was the first step in the creation of the Prairie Style. Low, long and all horizontal, the house is no longer a collection of box-like rooms. It's a totally new way of creating domestic spaces that celebrated the open and connected rather than the closed and cave-like. Private Comment
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| But the Prairie Style didn't last but a few decades. Whether it was the nouveau riche of the Roaring '20s or the despair of the Great Depression, America turned to the safe and secure, the tried and true. It was time for the Colonial to take center stage. But these aren't the colonial houses of 200 years earlier. Though the outward appearance is one of Colonial America, the interiors are the open plans and comfortable spaces that Americans demanded of their houses. Private Comment
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| Of course, not everyone was building the Colonial. Some places, most notably California and Florida, witnessed a continuation of that desire to build the quintessential American house. A house that would be forward looking, accommodate a relaxed lifestyle and dissolve the barriers between inside and outside. These Mid-Century Modern houses are now cherished. Private Comment
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| Where we are: ready for the next act in house design. Though it's impossible (and probably unnecessary) to predict the style, we know that the next generation of American houses will: Private Comment
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