Central Oregon Real Estate - Architectural Styles

Every house, no matter how plain or extravagant, has a style. You can find quite a range of architectural styles throughout central Oregon. However, the eleven styles noted below are the only ones formally acknowledged by the Central Oregon MLS.

Whenever a broker enters a new listing into the Central Oregon MLS, he/she is presented with the following fifteen choices to choose from to best describe the listing’s architectural style. Renovations and additions can make assigning a style to a specific home a challenging prospect. Because of this, many homes can fall under multiple style designations (i.e. Craftsman & Bungalow). Also keep in mind that because the style designation is up to each individual listing agent, it will always be subject to their interpretation of it. For example, if you are searching for homes in the Craftsman style, don’t be alarmed if they don’t all look like the Gamble House. In all likelihood, most will not.

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A-frame

An A-frame is a basic structure designed to bear a load in a lightweight economical manner. The simplest form of an A-frame is two similarly sized beams, arranged in an angle of 45 degrees or less, attached at the top, like an uppercase letter ‘A’. These materials are often wooden or steel beams attached at the top by rope, welding, gluing, or riveting. A sawhorse can be formed by connecting two A-frames along the length of a beam A-frames can be used as-is, as part of shears, or set up in a row along a longitudinal beam for added stability, as in a sawhorse. More complex structures will often have cross members connecting the A-frames at different angles, forming a truss.. – wikipedia.org

Bungalow

These narrow, rectangular one and one-half story houses originated in California during the 1880s as a reaction to the elaborate decoration of Victorian homes. The style then moved eastward to the Midwest in the early 20th century, where it remained popular until the Great Depression. Bungalows have low-pitched gabled or hipped roofs and small covered porches at the entry. The style became so popular that you could order a bungalow kit from Sears and Roebuck catalog. The name “bungalow” had its origins in India, where it indicated a small, thatched home. –realtor.org

Colonial

America’s colonial period encompassed a number of housing types and styles. For more information about Colonial styles, see Cape Cod, Saltbox, Georgian, and Dutch Colonial. However, when we speak of the Colonial style, we often are referring to a rectangular, symmetrical home with bedrooms on the second floor. The double-hung windows usually have many small, equally sized square panes. During the late 1800s and throughout the 20th century, builders borrowed Colonial ideas to create refined Colonial Revival homes with elegant central hallways and elaborate cornices. Unlike the original Colonials, Colonial Revival homes are often sided in white clapboard and trimmed with black or green shutters. – realtor.org

Contemporary

You know them by their odd-sized and often tall windows, their lack of ornamentation, and their unusual mixtures of wall materials–stone, brick, and wood, for instance. Architects designed Contemporary-style homes (in the Modern family) between 1950 and 1970 and created two versions: the flat-roof and gabled types. The latter is often characterized by exposed beams. Both breeds tend to be one-story tall and were designed to incorporate the surrounding landscape into their overall look. – realtor.org

Cottage

These are smaller homes. Usually, single-story, though one and a half stories are not uncommon. Curb appeal is often a factor and cottages can incorporate Craftsman-style details or more whimsical storybook details such as arched doorways, round windows, and stained and/or leaded glass.

Craftsman

Popularized at the turn of the 20th century by architect and furniture designer Gustav Stickley in his magazine, The Craftsman, the Craftsman-style bungalow reflected, said Stickley, “a house reduced to its simplest form… its low, broad proportions and absolute lack of ornamentation gives it a character so natural and unaffected that it seems to… blend with any landscape.” The style, which was also widely billed as the “California bungalow” by architects such as Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene, featured overhanging eaves, a low-slung gabled roof, and wide front porches framed by pedestal-like tapered columns. Materials often included stone, rough-hewn wood, and stucco. Many homes have wide front porches across part of the front, supported by columns. – realtor.org

Log/Log Look

Log homes usually incorporate rectangular floorplans, though angled walls are not uncommon. While panelized, log-look siding can be used over more conventional framing, true log construction is done with round logs or logs cut to a rectangular profile. These homes often incorporate other rustic materials, such as stone, into their overall design. Log homes are often found as smaller homes or cabins but can be designed as large estate homes as well.

Ranch/One Story

Sometimes called the California ranch style, this home in the Modern family, originated there in the 1930s. It emerged as one of the most popular American styles in the 1950s and 60s, when the automobile had replaced early 20th-century forms of transportation, such as streetcars. Now mobile homebuyers could move to the suburbs into bigger homes on bigger lots. The style takes its cues from Spanish Colonial and Prairie and Craftsman homes, and is characterized by its one-story, pitched-roof construction, built-in garage, wood or brick exterior walls, sliding and picture windows, and sliding doors leading to patios. – realtor.org

Split Level

A Modern style that architects created to sequester certain living activities–such as sleeping or socializing–split levels offered a multilevel alternative to the ubiquitous style in the 1950s. The nether parts of a typical design were devoted to a garage and TV room; the midlevel, which usually jutted out from the two-story section, offered “quieter” quarters, such as the living and dining rooms; and the area above the garage was designed for bedrooms. Found mostly in the East and Midwest, split-levels, like their Ranch counterparts, were constructed with various building materials. – realtor.org

Traditional

Traditional homes can incorporate style characteristics from other home styles all in the same home. In central Oregon, the “Traditional” heading is also used as a catch-all for styles not currently recognized by the Central Oregon MLS.

Tudor

This architecture style was popular in the 1920s and 1930s and continues to be a mainstay in suburbs across the United States. The defining characteristics are half-timbering on bay windows and upper floors, and facades that are dominated by one or more steeply pitched cross gables. Patterned brick or stone walls are common, as are rounded doorways, multi-paned casement windows, and large stone chimneys. A subtype of the Tudor Revival style is the Cotswold Cottage. With a sloping roof and a massive chimney at the front, a Cotswold Cottage may remind you of a picturesque storybook home. – realtor.org

Two Story

This heading can include anything that isn’t a single story. Again, it is up to each individual agent to note the style of a given property. If you are looking for single or multiple stories, it is often best to use the “More+” button to further refine your search results based on the number of desired stories rather than rely on the “style” designation – which may or may not be included. The “More+” button can be found to the far right of the search bar on any page of search results. You need to perform a search first in order to be able to refine it via this button.

Victorian

Victorian architecture dates from the second half of the 19th century when America was exploring new approaches to building and design. Advancements in machine technology meant that Victorian-era builders could easily incorporate mass-produced ornamentation such as brackets, spindles, and patterned shingles. The last true Victorians were constructed in the early 1900s, but contemporary builders often borrow Victorian ideas, designing eclectic “neo-Victorians.” These homes combine modern materials with 19th-century details, such as curved towers and spindled porches. A number of Victorian styles are recreated on the fanciful “Main Street” at Disney theme parks in Florida, California, and Europe. – realtor.org

Other Architectural Styles

The following styles are not recognized by the Central Oregon MLS, even though a number of them (including Art Deco, Prarie, Pueblo, Shed, Shingle-Style, etc.) do exist in central Oregon. If the listing agent has mentioned them by name within the listing description, a keyword search should be able to find them. Additional architectural styles are summarized on this page.

There are a few others that you may encounter. Below are several that come to mind. As with the list above, these are not recognized by the Central Oregon MLS but might come up under a keyword search if they have been used within a listing’s written description.

Cascadian – This is a northwest regional mountain style that is similar to the style you might find in the Rocky Mountain states, but with a lighter touch. For example, eave and fascia profiles are not as bulky and roof and siding materials are not quite as heavy in feel. Timberline Lodge, Crater Lake Lodge, and Skamania Lodge are notable examples of this style, but it can be applied to single-family homes as well.
Mediterranean – There are several different interpretations of the word “Mediterranean” with regard to architectural style. One example would be the white-washed villages of the Greek Islands with their pillow-vaulted roofs and blue doors & shutters. However, in central Oregon, you are much more likely to find an interpretation that is Spanish flavored, with tiled roofs and earth-toned walls.
Northwest – This is sort of a catch-all moniker for a regional style that seems to share some aesthetic commonalities with Scandinavian architecture. Some of the older homes at Sunriver and Black Butte Ranch can fall under this heading. The same could be said for some of the older buildings at the former Kah-Nee-Tah resort near Warm Springs. Some of the hallmarks of this style are shed roofs and asymmetrical design – both in floor plan and elevation. The “Northwest” designation can also apply to newer homes that embrace many of the same ideals, but with modern materials and sustainability in mind.
Tuscan – This is a somewhat more rustic offshoot of the Mediterranean style that has been quite popular in central Oregon in recent years. Tuscany Pines and Ranch At The Canyons are two notable subdivisions that have embraced it.

Architectural Styles In Central Oregon Real Estate Find your perfect home the style of your choosing!