New England is not just the home to the first Thanksgiving, it’s the birthplace of American home architecture and design. The colonists brought with them their sense of European design, with all the hallmarks of Greek and Roman typology, but they also adapted these influences to what they found on the ground in the New World. To this day, these designs perist and continue to be attractive to consumers. Here are a few of the most popular New England inspired designs:
1. Cape Cod
You can hardly make your way through any Minnesota town or suburb without spotting a Cape Cod! The classic, humble Cape Cod style links back stylistically to earlier English cottages. In general, a Cape Cod house is a low, broad, single or 1.5 story frame building with a moderately steep pitched gabled roof, a large central chimney, and very little ornamentation.
Originating in New England in the 17th century, the simple symmetric design was constructed of local materials to withstand the stormy, stark weather of Cape Cod.
2. Colonial Revival
One of the most classic, understated house styles is the Colonial Revival. Stately and distinguished, rather than cute or cottage like, they are substantial homes that declare that the owners are persons with a solid center and traditional values. Most are symmetrical, where each side is a mirror image of the other. Decorative elements are restrained and drawn from Greek and Roman classical architecture.
The entry is generally very obvious and decorative, with a large door, transom, sidelights, hood, or even a portico with columns.
3. Georgian Colonial
The Georgian style gets its name from a succession of British kings named George, who ruled from 1714 to 1830 in Britain, but its real inspiration comes from the Italian Renaissance. Georgian homes are like stacked symmetrical boxes, with a symmetrical arrangement of multipane windows, usually arranged in bays of 5 or 6.
The Georgian style also includes a brick or stone facade, a side-gabled roof, cornice with dentils, and a centered front door, with transom, sidelights and often a decorative pediment.
Many of the New England style homes will combine features and elements from each of the archetypal styles above. In the Edina Country Club Neighborhood, you will find all of the colonial styles and many more, in historically preserved homes from the 1920’to 1940’s. Take a self-guided tour today!