Types of Home Styles Around the World
Have you ever wondered what houses look like in other countries? Regardless of the culture or country, the idea of home has always been important. Whether it’s a place or a feeling, humans are always redefining what a home means.
EUROPE
Chalet (Alpine Region in Europe)
This type of home is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof. Wide, well-supported eaves are set at right angles to the front of the house. Today, the chalet now refers to any skiing/hiking holiday home.
Geodesic Dome Homes (Norway & Austria)
Based on a geodesic polyhedron, these types of homes have a hemispherical thin-shell structure (lattice-shell). The structure originated during WWI and R. Buckminster Fuller developed it 20 years later. In 2001 the first fully sustainable geodesic dome hotel was opened.
Hall House (UK)
Most commonly a timber-framed house with wattle and daub or clay infill, these were typical for a yeoman and are most common in Kent and the east of Sussex, although they have been built elsewhere. Kent has one of the highest concentrations of such surviving medieval timber framed buildings in Europe.
Round House (British Isles)
Originally built in Western Europe, these houses have circular planning. In the later part of the 20th century, modern designs of Round Houses started being constructed.
Trullo (Italy)
Trullo style homes are dry stone huts with a conical roofing. These were normally built as temporary field shelters and/or storehouses. These were also sometimes built as permanent residences by small landowners or agricultural workers. Trullo homes are not popular with tourists and are often purchased for renovation.
RUSSIA
Izba
These are traditional Russian countryside home dwellings. Most commonly made of log, these formed the living quarters of a typical Russian farmstead. Izba homes are usually built near the road and inside a yard, which often also encloses a kitchen garden, hay shed, and barn.
A-Frame (America)
A-frame houses have steeply angled sides that usually begin close to the foundation, which meet at the top to form the letter A. This style of home was brought back in style by Andrew Geller in 1955.
Barn Dominium (Rural)
Steel frame and sheet metal buildings. These were originally designed as storage buildings or barns. Today, this style is repurposed with the addition of living areas.
Cape Cod (England)
Cape Cod style homes started originating in the 17th century in New England. They have a low, broad, single-story frame, with a fairly steep pitched gabled roof. Its design is strongly influenced by New England’s severe winter climate, which can be seen in the central chimneys and low-ceilinged rooms to conserve heat.
Chattel House (West Indies, Barbados)
Chattel homes are small, moveable wooden homes for the working-class to occupy. Chattel is a Barbadian word meaning movable property. Rather than being anchored to the ground, Chattel homes are set on blocks or a groundsill.
Conch House (Florida)
Set on posts or piers, these homes made of wood, and allow air to circulate under the floor. Most commonly are one or two floors and are rectangular. Usually, they have a porch across the full width of the front of the house (both floors if it has two floors). These homes are attributed to immigrants from the Bahamas who built their homes like they built boats.
Octagon House (North America & Canada)
In the US and Canada these homes were popular in the 1850s. Octagon homes are characterized by an octagonal plan and commonly have a flat roof and a veranda all around.
Sears Catalogue Home (America)
While not all of these “Modern Homes” featured these conveniences, most had central heating, indoor plumbing, and electricity. More than 70,000 of these homes were sold in North America between 1908 and 1940 through mail order by Sears, Roebuck and Company.
Shot Gun House (New Orleans)
Shot Gun homes are narrow and rectangular and are most often no more than about 12 feet wide, with rooms set one behind the other and doors at each end of the home. These were initially popular with the middle class, but in the mid-20th century they became a symbol of poverty.
Bay & Gable (Toronto, Canada)
A large bay window is commonly the most prominent feature, surmounted by a gable roof. Typically built with redbrick, semi-detached, and two and-a-half stories tall.
ASIA
Hanok (Korea)
Hanoks are traditional Korean houses. Its design reflects the position of the house in relation to surroundings, with thought given to the land and seasons.
Minka (Japan)
Minka style homes are constructed in any one of several traditional Japanese building styles. The term Minka means “Houses of the People.” In the context of the four divisions of society, Minka were the homes of farmers, artisans, and merchants (the three non-samurai castes).
Mudhif (Iraq)
This style of home commonly features a large bay window that usually covers more than half of the front of the house and is surmounted by a gable roof. This is a traditional reed house and is made by the Madan people. Homes are built from reeds harvested from the marshes where they live.
ANTARCTICA
Igloo
A snow house or snow hut is built of snow, typically when the snow can be easily compacted. They were originally built by the Inuit. Igloos are stereotypically associated with all Eskimo peoples; however, they were traditionally associated with people of Canada and Greenland.
AUSTRALIA
Queenslander
Queenslander style homes were developed in the 1840s and are still constructed today. They are primarily applied to residential construction, but some commercial and other types of construction are identified as Queenslander. The main living space is raised off the ground in order to cool the building through ventilation, as well as to protect against termite attacks and other pests.
