Inspired by the surrounding landscape, the Craftsman/Prairie style is one of the few truly American architectural styles. It was developed around the turn of the century by a group of Midwestern architects and continues to be among the most comfortable of all American-designed architecture more than a century later, one of the main reasons it continues to attract architects and homeowners today. Oxbridge builds on that solid reputation, drawing from Craftsman/Prairie and classic Farmhouse styles. Its handsome Shingle-clad exterior includes interesting pitched rooflines, alternating rows of cedar shake siding, stone accents in the foundation and chimney and distinctive decorative brackets. Repeating triple windows add interest to the exterior while keeping interior spaces open and bright. Inside, the floor plan is equally impressive. Columns on the porch and a custom entry door with sidelights and decorative glass leads into a spacious 2,900-square-foot main floor, including a 19 by 24-foot living room with a period-inspired built-ins and a natural fireplace. While inspired by the past, the home lives for the present, with open rooms and plenty of storage throughout. Also included is a 27-foot-wide family-style kitchen with a large island and eat-in dining and a nearby dining room with a beadboard ceiling that leads out onto a relaxing 240-square-foot screen porch that takes full advantage of the nearby outdoors and a private 16 by 20-foot master suite with a sloped ceiling and relaxing personal sitting area. The first floor also includes a large walk-in closet, a home management area and pantry to help you stay organized and a first-floor laundry area. Upstairs, another 1,500 square feet awaits, with a built-ins and a window seat at the top of the stairs that nod to the home’s historic inspiration. Opt for three family bedrooms or use one of the three as a yoga room; the upper level also includes attic access, which offers another 500 square feet, perfect for crafts or a playroom. More space awaits in the lower level, where another 1,500 square feet (and an additional 1,000) include a recreation/family room with nine-foot ceilings, a wine cellar and home office. Photographer: Jeff Garland

Nancy Elizabeth Hill
Entryway - traditional brick floor entryway idea in New York with white walls and a white front door

For this screened porch in Westport, Connecticut, Caroline Kopp chose a large trestle table which echoes the beadboard ceiling. Steel side chairs, softened by woven host chairs and blue pillows, provide a comfortable place for guests to sit. Teak lanterns and potted ferns beautify the table which has an antique boat lantern hanging over it. Rikki Snyder

Modern Row House For this new home in Boston’s oldest neighborhood, Flavin Architects imagined an elegant structure that capitalizes on the natural light and beautiful views abundant in Charlestown. Our firm sought to respect the historic fabric of the city while designing for the 21st century. The façade, with its projecting two-story bay, divided windows and vertical proportions respect the adjacent urban pattern. Stripped down and elegant detailing, devoid of ornament, connects the structure to today’s modern Boston. The exterior combines cedar shingles and shiplap boards with jet mist granite. This dark grey exterior contrasts with a bright white interior washed with sunlight. Each floor is accessed by a stairwell illuminated by a Wasco skylight. Sunlight pours down and refracts through glass paneling run underneath a natural wood handrail down the stairwell. The dining room and adjacent sitting room are bathed in warmth and light from a double-sided fireplace. In the dining room, floor-to-ceiling windows open to the street, and frame a view of the stained glass windows in St. Mary’s Church. Above the bedrooms and master suite on the third floor, a rooftop deck provides our client with views of Charlestown, Boston, and the Bunker Hill Monument.

Large elegant backyard tile and rectangular pool house photo in Charleston

Camp Wobegon is a nostalgic waterfront retreat for a multi-generational family. The home's name pays homage to a radio show the homeowner listened to when he was a child in Minnesota. Throughout the home, there are nods to the sentimental past paired with modern features of today. The five-story home sits on Round Lake in Charlevoix with a beautiful view of the yacht basin and historic downtown area. Each story of the home is devoted to a theme, such as family, grandkids, and wellness. The different stories boast standout features from an in-home fitness center complete with his and her locker rooms to a movie theater and a grandkids' getaway with murphy beds. The kids' library highlights an upper dome with a hand-painted welcome to the home's visitors. Throughout Camp Wobegon, the custom finishes are apparent. The entire home features radius drywall, eliminating any harsh corners. Masons carefully crafted two fireplaces for an authentic touch. In the great room, there are hand constructed dark walnut beams that intrigue and awe anyone who enters the space. Birchwood artisans and select Allenboss carpenters built and assembled the grand beams in the home. Perhaps the most unique room in the home is the exceptional dark walnut study. It exudes craftsmanship through the intricate woodwork. The floor, cabinetry, and ceiling were crafted with care by Birchwood carpenters. When you enter the study, you can smell the rich walnut. The room is a nod to the homeowner's father, who was a carpenter himself. The custom details don't stop on the interior. As you walk through 26-foot NanoLock doors, you're greeted by an endless pool and a showstopping view of Round Lake. Moving to the front of the home, it's easy to admire the two copper domes that sit atop the roof. Yellow cedar siding and painted cedar railing complement the eye-catching domes.

Home design - large traditional home design idea in Boston

Large traditional brown two-story brick exterior home idea in Charlotte with a shingle roof

Sitting behind a 1920's original home, The West Adams Duplex is a contemporary take on the craftsman style. A typological volume, in the same accent color of the main house, sits atop a sturdy stucco base. Board and batten, alternating widths on the flat planes and accentuating the windows with extra thickness, embrace the neighborhood’s long-standing signature look without looking dated. The design emphasises the use of outdoor space by disguising parking spaces as outdoor hangout spots and decks as sun porches. A little multi-family compound complete with a very Southern California citrus tree.

The brick and stone hearth fireplace is surrounded by cozy modern and transitional furniture
This is an example of a coastal front porch design in Jacksonville with a fireplace.

orrowing from the image of the platform tent, two seasonal, guest cottages share a linear cedar deck and are grouped in dialogue marking a clearing in the forest. Conceived as a summer retreat for guests of a nearby residence, each cottage is houses distinct yet supporting functions. At the end of the main deck axis sits the larger of the two structures, accommodating a small kitchen, bath, living area and sleeping loft. The smaller structure contains a screened porch on the lower level and a children’s bunkhouse on the upper level. Sharply pitched gabled forms are devoid of ornament and local white cedar will weather over time to a silver gray without the need for paint or stain. The main level of each building is punctuated by large sliding doors which open and effectively link the interior spaces to the decks and forest immediately adjacent. The opening and closing of these small follies and their large apertures reference their seasonal use and protect the interiors during the winter months. A whitewashed interior celebrates the simple stick frame construction and is sheathed in locally milled spruce boarding boards whose imperfections enhance the informal nature of the gathering spaces. Industrial light fixtures, simple hardware and humble materials create a relaxed environment where sitting on the deck and gathering with friends take center stage.

This is truly a one of a kind home with a special location on Long Island Sound. The home sits on a foundation built on 86 piles and a lead coated cupola that sits above the third floor.

Morgante Wilson Architects designed this octagonal office in a mirrored location to the cylinder-shape office. The desk top was fabricated with reclaimed wood, also from the surrounding land. The walls are upholstered with green wallpaper from Pollack, which doubles as a cork board on the wall with the built-in shelving unit. The center table was purchased from Oly & the office chairs were upholstered with fabric from Pollack & Calvin.

The open floor plan of this classic lakefront cottage by MAC Custom Homes welcomes friends & family to gather with great flow between the defined spaces. photo courtesy of Jason Hulet

Pleasant Heights is a newly constructed home that sits atop a large bluff in Chatham overlooking Pleasant Bay, the largest salt water estuary on Cape Cod. - Two classic shingle style gambrel roofs run perpendicular to the main body of the house and flank an entry porch with two stout, robust columns. A hip-roofed dormer—with an arch-top center window and two tiny side windows—highlights the center above the porch and caps off the orderly but not too formal entry area. A third gambrel defines the garage that is set off to one side. A continuous flared roof overhang brings down the scale and helps shade the first-floor windows. Sinuous lines created by arches and brackets balance the linear geometry of the main mass of the house and are playful and fun. A broad back porch provides a covered transition from house to landscape and frames sweeping views. - Inside, a grand entry hall with a curved stair and balcony above sets up entry to a sequence of spaces that stretch out parallel to the shoreline. Living, dining, kitchen, breakfast nook, study, screened-in porch, all bedrooms and some bathrooms take in the spectacular bay view. A rustic brick and stone fireplace warms the living room and recalls the finely detailed chimney that anchors the west end of the house outside. - PSD Scope Of Work: Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Construction | Living Space: 6,883ft² | Photography: Brian Vanden Brink |

Nat Rea
Mid-sized beach style open concept medium tone wood floor living room photo in Providence with white walls

This ridge roof (kirizuma) style tea house, which has posts partly submerged in a koi pond, is constructed with Port Orford cedar. The tearoom is 4-1/2 tatami mats or approx. 9' square. The interior includes a closet kitchen (mizuya) and an alcove for displaying art (tokonoma). The tea house is enclosed by sliding shoji doors and surrounded by a veranda (engawa).

This 2,800-square-foot home was inspired by modern Nordic forms that appealed to the client’s preference for a minimalist aesthetic. The home, which sits atop a steep ridge, is comprised of three simple shifted gable structures that break up the massing and respond to the site’s challenging topography.

Leger Wanaselja Architecture, Kiera Marie Condrey
Inspiration for an eclectic deck remodel in San Francisco