Shingle Style
Because of the country’s colonial roots, many traditional house styles developed on the East Coast but have since migrated to other parts of the nation. One such house style is the Shingle style, which originated in New England as an alternative to the more expensive clapboard-siding homes that signaled a “higher” design aesthetic but were out of reach to the average homeowner. Using shingles, or small wood pieces installed in an overlapping rhythm, was a less costly and easier-to-maintain option than clapboard and other cladding options of the time. Today, the Shingle style can be found in many different materials and aesthetic expressions depending on the region and design influences, with the most common material being cedar. “Shingles can be used on differing styles,” explains Aaron Mollick, of Studio AM Architecture | Interiors, a member of the AD PRO Directory. “They signal a casual sophistication that many of our clients express when creating their legacy homes.” Michael Troyer, also of Studio AM, agrees. “Shingle style grants artistic versatility and interpretation of one’s own personal taste. Shingles have a rigor and repetition, which appeals to both traditionalists and those drawn to a more modern sensibility.”
Italianate
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Built in 1876, the Villa Finale in San Antonio, Texas, embodies the Italianate tradition.
The mid-19th-century Italianate style remains enduring for house styles today. It was popularized in the US as people looked backwards to a romanticized version of the past to re-create something similar in the present. Inspired by medieval Italian villas and farm houses, the Italianate house style typically features deep overhanging eaves with highly decorative brackets, or the element that carries the weight of the eave. Ornamental elements such as decorative window crowns or pediments are common for Italianate houses. They will often have tall, narrow windows, usually with rounded tops. Inspired by Italian villas, these types of homes typically feature ground-level front porches supported by narrowly spaced columns.
