Design your Dream Home | Garden City NY Homes for Sale | Garden City New York Realtor

Design Your Dream Home

Dutch Colonial

Dutch Colonial is a style of domestic architecture, primarily characterized by gambrel roofs having curved eaves along the length of the house. The early houses built by settlers were often a single room, with additions added to either end (or short side) and very often a porch along both long sides. Typically, walls were made of stone and a chimney was located on one or both ends. Common were double-hung sash windows with outward swinging wood shutters and a central double Dutch door. Settlers of the Dutch colonies in New York, Delaware, New Jersey, and western Connecticut built these homes in ways familiar to the regions of Europe from which they came.

French Colonial

French Colonial a style of architecture used by the French during colonization. It is believed to have been primarily influenced by the building styles of French Canada and the Caribbean. General characteristics of a French Colonial dwelling included a raised basement which would support the floor of the home's primary living quarters. Exterior stairs were another common element; the stairs would often climb up to a distinctive, full-length porch, on a home's front facade. The porch roof was normally part of the overall roof. French Colonial roofs were either steep hipped roofs with a dormer or dormers or a side-gabled roof. Porches were often accessed via French
doors.

Spanish Colonial

The Spanish Colonial style of architecture dominated in the early Spanish colonies of North and South America, and were also somewhat visible in its other colonies. It is sometimes marked by the contrast between the simple, solid construction demanded by the new environment and the Baroque ornamentation exported from Spain.

Victorian

The term Victorian architecture can refer to one of a number of architectural styles predominantly employed during the Victorian era. In the United States, 'Victorian' architecture generally describes styles that were most popular between 1860 and 1900. Some of these styles include: Stick, Queen Anne and Shingle. Some Gothic Revival and Italianate homes were also constructed during this period and are therefore sometimes called Victorian. Eastlake, a manner of geometric, machine cut decorating is also sometimes considered a distinct style. "Painted Ladies" or "gingerbread" may also be used to describe certain Victorian buildings, but do not constitute a specific style. Many homes combine the elements of several different styles and are not easily distinguishable as one particular style or another.

Split Level

In this popular variation of the Ranch house style, a Split-Level Ranch has three or more levels. A split-level home (also called a tri-level home) is a style of house in which the floor level of one part of the house is about half way between the floor and ceiling of the other part of the house. Additions to the house are possible by adding a third floor above the first or expanding outward from any side.

A sidesplit is where the split level is visible from the front elevation of the home.

A backsplit is where the split level is only visible from the side elevation. The front elevations shows only a single story and the two stories are in the back.

A bi-level includes two short sets of stairs and two levels. The entry is between floors. The front door opens to a landing with a flight of stairs leading up to the top floor and another short flight of stairs leading down.

English Tudor

Heavy chimneys and decorative half-timbering give Tudor style houses a Medieval flavor. The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period (1485?1603) and even beyond. The four-centred arch, now known as the Tudor arch, was a defining feature; some of the most remarkable oriel windows belong to this period; the mouldings are more spread out and the foliage becomes more naturalistic.

Ranch

Ranch-style houses originating in the United States. The style is often associated with tract housing popular in the western United States.The ranch house is noted for its long, close-to-the-ground profile and minimal use of exterior and interior decoration. The following features are considered key elements of the original ranch house style, although not all ranch houses have all them:

Single story
Long, low roofline
Asymmetrical rectangular, L-shaped, or U-shaped design
Simple, open floor plans
Attached garage
Large windows, often decorated with shutters
Vaulted ceilings with exposed beams
Large overhanging eaves

Raised Ranch

A traditional Ranch Style house is only one story, but a Raised Ranch raises the roof to provide extra living space.

Splanch

A splanch is a three-level house inside of a two-level skin. With a large amount of living space, splanches typically are a center-hall type of home, built on a slab with stairs rising up from the foyer to the living room that, then turn, and rise up to the second (or third) floor. The design, which is speculated to have originated on Long Island's South Shore / Nassau County, lacks a full basement because high water tables existed in the area. The splanch gained popularity in the 1960s and expanded across Long Island, and into the suburban areas of New Jersey and Westchester.

Cape Cod

A Cape Cod cottage is a style of house originating in New England in the 17th century. It is traditionally characterized by a low, broad frame building, generally a story and a half high, with a steep, perfectly pitched roof with end gables, a large central chimney and very little ornamentation. Traditional Cape Cod houses were very simple: symmetrically designed with a central front door surrounded by two multi-paned windows on each side. Homes were designed to withstand the stormy, stark weather of the Massachusetts coast.