Adobe is a building material -- tightly compacted earth, clay, and straw that is hand- or form-shaped into bricks -- and also refers to a primarily residential architectural style found in the southwestern United States and some Spanish speaking countries. Construction methods and composition vary according to climate and local custom. Adobe style homes are influenced by early Pueblo dwellings with adobe walls and flat roofs. Vigas, Spanish for the heavy beams supporting the roof, are often exposed. Latillas, meaning sticks, are often used as infill between the roof beams. Adobe house plans may include Mission style details (stucco walls, arched doorways, and roof parapets) and/or Spanish Colonial Revival elements (red roof tiles, decorative railings, and tiled courtyards). The home designs of prominent New Mexico architect and preservationist John Gaw Meem were especially successful at combining a regional adobe esthetic with modern plans. John Gaw Meem: http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php?fileID=21314.

Beach homes are typically designed with the main floor raised off the ground -- to allow waves or floodwater to pass under the house. In some areas this building method is called "break-away construction" and is mandated by local codes. Beach house floor plans typically incorporate wide wraparound porches or spacious sun decks to bring living spaces outside and to take advantage of the waterfront setting's views and breezes. The Beach home style is an architectural interpretation of summer and warm weather living. Beach home plans are adaptable for use as vacation homes near water or to bring the feeling of a waterfront lifestyle elsewhere. Beach home plans are also called Coastal or Waterfront home plans and range in style from traditional to modern. Seaside, Florida, planned by Duany Plater-Zyberk Architects, contains an especially diverse and innovative collection of shoreline homes.

The Bungalow house plan is an all American architectural style, but the name has its roots in India. In the province of Bengal, single-family homes were called bangla or bangala. Typically one- or one-and-a- half story, with a front or rear porch connecting to a small garden, bungalows are distinguished by low-pitched shingled roofs, exposed beams and woodwork, built-in cabinetry, and stone and/or stucco or wood siding. A woodsy, garden-oriented version came to be known as the California bungalow and was widely popular in the United States during the first three decades of the 20th century, becoming, in effect, the Model T of home design. There's even a neighborhood in Pasadena, California called "Bungalow Heaven." Today's bungalow plans include welcoming front porches and lots of windows to invite you into open, yet cozy and efficient layouts. Bungalow floor plans usually cluster the kitchen, dining area, bedrooms, and bathroom around a central living area.

Colonial style house plans are inspired by the practical homes built by early settlers in the American colonies and elsewhere, which were based on Dutch, English, French, and Spanish precedents. Colonial style home plans generally feature a welcoming center stair hall with living room on one side, dining room on the other, and kitchen and private rooms at the rear. These practical, family-friendly plans make entertaining a special pleasure. Typical Colonial style features include classical exterior styling centered on a columned entrance portico, sidelights and fanlights, and multi-pane double-hung windows with shutters. Exteriors are generally wood or brick. George Washington's Mt. Vernon is the most famous example of an original Colonial house, though it also represents the Plantation style of building.

The Contemporary style appeared in architect-designed homes of the fifties, sixties, and early seventies. Examples of Contemporary style homes from popular culture range from the "Monsanto House of the Future" at Disneyland of 1956 to the sitcom home of "The Brady Bunch," which ran on television from 1969 to 1973. Common characteristics include simple, clean lines with large windows devoid of decorative trim, flat or gabled roofs, asymmetrical shapes, and open floor plans. Contemporary exteriors are usually stucco, stone, brick or wood. The flat-roofed variations resemble International Style homes but lack the latter's stark white surfaces. Some Contemporary style home designs showcase natural materials and emphasize easy indoor-outdoor connections. In its broadest definition, contemporary simply means "of today." The Contemporary house style overlaps with the Modern home style but is less strictly tied to roots in the Bauhaus and the International Style.

First popularized by home pattern books like Cottage Residences by Andrew Jackson Downing of 1842, Cottage style house plans are filled with individuality. Their asymmetrical plans are based on the belief that "a beautiful house fully reflects a fine character." A cottage style home is typically a smaller design that evokes a picturesque storybook charm, often harking back to the Gothic Revival style of architecture. Cottage house plans are flexible and fanciful, often featuring vertical board and batten, shingle, or stucco walls, gable roofs, charming balconies, and expansive bay windows. Today a cottage style house plan describes a cozy one-story cabin or vacation home in the mountains or by a lake, as well as a compact woodsy two-story home in a leafy suburb. No matter what kind of cottage home plan you are looking for, you'll discover a wide range of house designs to choose from in this collection.

Country house plans trace their origins to the picturesque cottages described by Andrew Jackson Downing in his books Cottage Residences, of 1842, and The Architecture of Country Houses, of 1850. The Country style overlaps with the Cottage style and the Farmhouse style, though Country style homes tend to be larger than cottages and most make expressive use of wood for porch posts, siding, and trim. Today's country style houses emphasize a woodsy simplicity with a central door, evenly spaced windows, and a front and/or a rear porch. They can be one or two stories high, are topped with a gable roof, and often include a wrap-around veranda. Although most closely associated with informal living, Country style homes can also be formal and elegant. Country house plans combine a romance for the past with updated floor plans appropriate for today's lifestyles.

Craftsman style house plans use simple forms and natural materials such as wood and stone to express a hand-crafted character and are comparable to Bungalow style home plans. Craftsman style plans were inspired primarily by the work of two California architect brothers, Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene in Pasadena in the early 20th century, who produced "ultimate bungalows" like the Gamble house of 1908. The Greenes were influenced by the English Arts & Crafts movement and Japanese woodworking traditions. Craftsman style homes and bungalows sprang up by the thousands, prompted by Craftsman style home pattern books and The Craftsman Magazine. The Craftsman house features a low-pitched, gabled roof (often hipped) with a wide overhang and exposed roof rafters, and a strong garden connection. Craftsman style porches are either full or partial width, with tapered columns or pedestals that extend to the ground level. The appeal of the Craftsman home design can be found in its rustic appearance and efficient plan that often includes built-in storage and cabinetry. The Craftsman house plans in this collection stay true to these ideals, offering variations of the Craftsman style home from simple one-story home plans to elaborate two-story estate floor plans. See Craftsman Bungalows, and Bungalow House Plans for more variations.

European style home designs have an Old World or European look that's not specific to any one style like Spanish or Mediterranean or French. Brick or stone is often used on the exterior. Features include high steeply pitched roofs, tall windows often with shutters, and traditional ornamental details like pediments and keystones.

Farmhouse style plans are as varied as the regional farms they once presided over. Farmhouse style plans are similar to Country style designs in the emphasis on woodsy informality though they derive more specifically from 19th century farmhouses. Farmhouse style plans bring to mind an old-fashioned sense of home with the family gathered around the hearth or the kitchen table -- now usually an island or eating bar. In contrast to ranch style houses, which are usually one story, farmhouses are usually two-story. Wood-frame construction and finishes, gable roofs, and generous porches provide a homey feel to Farmhouse style home designs, allowing the house to fit into a wide variety of settings. Farmhouse floor plans are usually square or symmetrically shaped, sometimes with side wings. Farmhouse designs often include deep and wide wrap-around front porches with spindlework and brackets. The typical large farmhouse footprint is well suited to large lots and examples of farmhouse style homes can be found in most regions of the country. The farmhouse plan is now used in urban areas as well, and is ideal for homeowners who would like to experience an informal country lifestyle.

Also known as French Provincial, French Country house plans are inspired by the rustic manors found across rural France. Particularly impressive on large properties, French Country style home plans also fit well into upscale suburban enclaves. French Country home styles range from modest farmhouse designs to estate-like chateaux combining rustic warmth of say, exposed wood beams with elegant European details like tall louvered shutters. Signature features include hipped roofs, walls of smooth plaster, brick, or stone, and arched windows and doors. Most French Country homes are two-story. More elaborate designs can include Georgian-style quoins, Palladian windows, Normandy-style turrets, and dormer windows.

Italian style homes -- part of the more general Mediterranean style -- feature gently-pitched roofs with wide, overhanging eaves supported by large decorative brackets recalling the pediment shape of classical temples. The Italian style floor plan typically revolves around a circular staircase in a tall tower. Common Italianate features are the grouping of either straight or round-headed windows into threes or small arcades, and the placement of porches or arcaded loggias between the tower and house or at the corners. Italian "Villa Style" homes were first popularized in two books by theorist Alexander Jackson Downing -- Cottage Residences -- of 1842, and Architecture of Country Houses, of 1850. The style could be built with many different materials, from stucco to wood, and was easily adapted depending on the budget. New technologies of the Victorian Era made it possible to quickly and inexpensively produce cast-iron and press-metal decorations.

The log cabin was among the earliest home types built in America. Log cabin construction came to North America in the 1700s when Swedish settlers brought building customs from their home country. Wherever timber was readily available, a log home could be built in just a few days using simple tools. No nails were needed. Those early log houses were sturdy, rainproof, and inexpensive. The frontier style log cabin was one room 10 feet wide by 12 to 20 feet long, had at least one glass window, and included a loft area for sleeping. The design of America's log cabins was influenced by the Homestead Act of 1862 which gave homesteaders rights to open land, but required that they cultivate it and build homes at least ten by twelve feet in size, with at least one glass window. Modern Log house plans are designed in a variety of styles with wood logs being the primary building component.

Mediterranean house plans draw design cues from the whole of the Mediterranean region, including Moorish, Byzantine, Italian and Spanish influences intermingled with traditions of Native Americans. Santa Barbara architect George Washington Smith helped popularize the style -- an important offshoot is called the Spanish Colonial Revival style -- in the 1920s with patio-oriented houses that have white plaster walls and tile roofs. A perennial favorite in warm climates, Mediterranean homes have evolved into an eclectic home style that's found across the country. Today Mediterranean homes are typically constructed with a stucco exterior, have shallow often red tiled roofs that create a wide overhang for needed shade in warm climates. In addition to such signature details as large windows and exposed beams, Mediterranean style homes include patios or courtyards and open arches to catch breezes. Mediterranean house plans tend to express a relaxed outdoor lifestyle through a traditional architectural vocabulary.

Modern home designs offer clean lines, simple proportions, open plans and abundant natural light, and are descendants of the Bauhaus-influenced International style of architecture, which developed in the 1920s. The most influential architects of modern houses have been Le Corbusier, Mies Van Der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Charles and Ray Eames. Flat or shallow-pitched roofs, large expanses of glass, strong connections to outdoor space, and spare, unornamented walls are distinguishing characteristics of modern home style plans. The lot is often incorporated into the design, turning outdoor space into an alfresco living room. Mid-century modern style homes are increasingly valued for their easy indoor-outdoor flow and provide inspiration for today's Modern house plans. The Case Study House Program in Southern California sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine was a prominent exemplar of modern home design in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

The New England Colonial house plan is inspired by architectural styles prevalent in America's original East Coast settlements, especially in New England. This style -- also known as the Colonial Revival -- appeared after the more ornate Queen Anne style fell out of fashion and simplified many of its details. In general, New England Colonial house plans feature symmetry, with centered doorways and a balanced array of windows. All New England Colonial style houses feature gable roofs, symmetrical placement of windows and doors, classical details such as columns, cornices, shuttered windows and a simple, rectangular shape in 2 to 2 1/2 stories. The second story takes up the same amount of floor space as the first, and the exterior is usually brick or clapboard siding. Another name for the New England Colonial design is four-over-four because of its basic rectangular floor plan of four rooms on the lower and upper levels.

Designed by architects from the Washington and Oregon, Northwest house plans are usually simple in design, devoid of excessive exterior details and constructed mostly of wood. The roof of a Northwest home design is usually medium to low-pitched with deep overhangs but large windows bringing the maximum daylight into the interior. The Northwest home style favors natural materials to blend into the environment and work with the rainy Northwestern climate. Important early practitioners of a Northwest brand of mid-century modernism were Pietro Belluschi and John Yeon in Portland, and Paul Thiry and Roland Terry in Seattle.

The rise in wealth from cotton in pre-Civil War America made it possible for grand homes to be built on abundant plantations throughout the South and Mid-Atlantic states. Many characteristics of Plantation style homes were derived from French Colonial architecture of the 18th and early 19th centuries. The defining element of a Plantation house plan is the expansive porch with balcony above, using stately Greek columns. Arched windows and French doors accessing the outdoor living spaces are also common features of Plantation house plans. The smooth exteriors are accented by tall French windows that let breezes and soft light filtered by wooden shutters into the home. Often seen surrounded by Spanish moss-draped oaks throughout the Gulf States, family-friendly Plantation homes bring a rich sense of regional history to country, suburban, and coastal neighborhoods.

Strong horizontal lines define Prairie Style house plans. Often associated with the Midwestern work of architectural innovator/visionary Frank Lloyd Wright, Prairie Style houses were designed to complement the flat prairie landscape. The typical Prairie Style house plan features sweeping horizontal lines and wide open floor plans. The Prairie Style house is conspicuously lacking in conventional ornamentation. A variety of geometric shapes and forms inspired by nature are highlighted through window arrangement, columns, low walls and planters, creating a visually appealing home. Prairie style house plans were especially popular in the Midwest from 1900 to 1930. The Prairie Style home appears to grow out of the ground; very low and close to the terrain with a low pitched hipped roof (sometimes gabled), windows set in groups and thoughtfully arranged, and an entrance that is typically secluded. Wright later developed a single story version of the Prairie Style house, but with stronger indoor-outdoor connections, that he called the Usonian house.

Ranch house plans - one story, long, low, patio- or courtyard-oriented designs - developed in the late 1920s and early 1930s and were inspired by historic early California haciendas and ranchos in places like San Diego and Monterey with their open "corredors" or exterior hallways connecting major rooms. The ranch house style of architecture was popularized by designers like Cliff May in Southern California (see my Cliff May and the Modern Ranch House, by Daniel P. Gregory, published by Rizzoli, 2008) and architects like William Wurster in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1930s and 1940s whose ranch houses were widely published in magazines like Sunset and House Beautiful. The modern ranch house became the dominant American home style during the 1950s and 1960s as suburban developments proliferated across the country. Ranch houses combine rustic elements like board and batten or stucco siding, wood overhangs, and simple gable roofs with modern features like open plans and expansive window walls -- often with sliding doors opening to patios. Ranch house plans usually rest on slab foundations, which eliminates the need for steps down to the garden and adds to the sense that house and lot are extensions of each other. Famous high style examples of the mid-century modern ranch house include Eichler homes, Frank Lloyd Wright's "Usonian" houses, and many examples in the Case Study House Program sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine.

The Santa Fe style home plan developed from a mixture of Spanish Colonial and Indian Pueblo architecture featuring flat roofs, irregular rounded edge walls, a stucco surface and round log ceiling beams and is identified with the New Mexico state capital at Santa Fe. There, one of the most prominent buildings and a prime example of the style is the long low "Governor's Palace" with its distinctive covered portico facing the plaza. Santa Fe house plans are typically one story, with an adobe or stucco exterior finish and flat roof, covered porches, exposed beam ceilings, and are usually found in the Western U.S. Santa Fe house plans are uniquely suited to the desert Southwest and New Mexico landscapes where shaded outdoor space is especially important. Just as California has its Mission style, New Mexico has its own namesake architectural style. New Mexico uses the distinctive Santa Fe house plan style to attract tourism and promote the state's identity. Other names for Santa Fe style are Adobe Style and Pueblo Revival. John Gaw Meem was an innovative Santa Fe architect who adapted New Mexico's Hispanic and Native American concepts for modern indoor-outdoor living and was the state's most influential designer in the Santa Fe style.

Southern style -- for home plans -- is a broad term that encompasses Colonial Revival style houses usually built of wood or brick with pitched or gabled roofs that often have dormers. Southern house plans incorporate classical features like columns, pediments, and shutters and some designs have elaborate porticoes and cornices recalling aspects of pre-Civil War plantation architecture. In fact Plantation style homes refers to the grander examples of Southern style residential architecture. To make living in the humid climates of Alabama, Mississippi,Georgia,Florida,Kentucky,Tennessee,Texas and Virginia as comfortable as possible, Southern style house plans generally make use of tall ceilings and large front porches to catch breezes. Regional variations of the Southern style include the Louisiana Creole and Low Country (South Carolina and vicinity) styles, which are often topped by metal roofs.

Southwestern style house plans reflect a rich history of Colonial Spanish and Native American styles and are usually one story with flat roofs, covered porches, and round log ceiling beams. This mode is very similar to the Santa Fe style, but is a broader, more inclusive term. Southwester floor plans tend to be asymmetrical and invits discovery with interesting alcoves, spacious living areas and a fluid floor plan that's ideally suited to modern family life. Built-in seating (also called "bancos",) kiva or beehive fireplaces, and door-less showers are distinctive features. Walls of Southwestern homes are often stucco or stone and have overhangs or trellises to provide shade from the desert sun. Southwestern style house plans range from adaptations of the Prairie style to modern versions of early Adobe architecture. The clean straight lines and the smooth rounded corners of Adobe style homes are adapted for many contemporary Southwestern designs.

Spanish House Plans encompass Spanish Colonial Revival style, Spanish Moorish style, and even the California Mission style. Spanish style plans draw on the heritage and architectural details of America's Spanish-colonial architecture found in California, the Southwest, Texas, and Florida. Spanish style homes feature red-tile roofs, stucco walls, and patios. Spanish Colonial Revival houses tend to have thick walls to create cool interiors that make them well suited to warm southern climates. Smooth white plaster wall surfaces contrast with heavy wrought-iron ornamentation around windows and doors, distinctively carved and shaped columns, and patterned tile or ceramic floor and stairway treatments bring touches of Andalusia and other parts of Old Spain -- as well as Mexico -- to the Spanish house plan. Spanish floor plans tend to have an asymmetrical front with small, irregularly placed windows and heavy, rounded doors with decorative carving. Santa Barbara architect George Washington Smith was one of the most influential early practitioners of the Spanish Colonial Revival style, which became popular after it was used for major buildings at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Diego of 1915 (some, by architect Bertram Goodhue, still exist).

The Sunbelt style encompasses several other architectural styles including Spanish, Mediterranean, Southwestern, Adobe and Florida design. These home designs tend to include open floor plans, stucco siding, tile roofs and outdoor living spaces appropriate for the warmer climates of the United States including Florida, California, the Southwest, the Southeast and Texas. Sunbelt houses are topped with low-pitched roofs that have exaggerated overhangs providing much needed shade in warm climates. Strategically placed archways, covered patios and verandas, large windows, and courtyards are characteristic of Sunbelt home plans and ensure cross ventilation.

Traditional house plans, sometimes referred to as American home plans, are the most commonly built home designs throughout the United States and Canada. Many traditional style home plans share characteristics with Colonial Revival style plans such as classical details like columns, while some are more cottage-like with gables and dormers. Typically, Traditional home plans are usually two-story and have covered entries, simple roof lines with at least one front facing gable, symmetrically spaced windows and little ornamentation. Inside, Traditional style floor plans tend to include kitchen-great rooms, covered grilling porches, and mudrooms or "friends entries" near the garage. Traditional home plans often feature a central entry with formal living and dining rooms flanking the foyer and more casual living spaces at the rear, opening to the backyard. While they may incorporate elements of historical American styles, Traditional house plans are more about comfortable living than pure architectural design.

The Tudor house plan is easily identified by its exterior; diagonally placed heavy dark beams set against light, whitewashed plaster, and a patterned stone or brick chimney. Tudor style home plans draw their inspiration from medieval English half-timbered cottages and manor houses. Tudor home designs are typically one and a half to two stories with second-floor cladding in contrast with cladding on the first floor. Tudor house plans may include tall and narrow multi-paned casement or mullioned windows, rounded doorways, and a projecting bay window cantilevered over the first floor. Most Tudor floor plans offer volume entries, expansive living areas and high ceilings under steeply pitched roofs with gable ends. In the 1920s, when Tudor Revival houses became especially popular, the style was often called "Stockbroker Tudor" because it was favored by individuals in the finance industry.

A brightly painted exterior, welcoming wrap-around front porch, multiple gables, and ornate details such as turned posts, spindles, brackets, gingerbread ornament along the eaves, and multiple shingle shapes are some of the characteristics of Victorian home plans. This explosion of ornamental detail was made possible by the development of manufacturing machinery for mass production in the late 19th century; Queen Anne style Victorians from the 1880s and 1890s are among the most elaborate and inspire many of today's Victorian home deigns. Bay windows, wide verandas, turrets, and grand towers may be incorporated into a Victorian floor plan. Victorian house plans are composed of one or two levels having an asymmetrical layout and an irregular roof line in which gables face several directions and roof pitches vary. Victorian style front doors are generally four-paneled with narrow sidelights, while windows tend to be long and narrow and sometimes incorporate bays. Thanks to their irregular exterior shape, Victorian floor plans tend to be free form and rambling.