Common Home Architectural Styles in Minnesota

Common Home Styles in Minnesota

Are you in the process of buying a home and want to know the different styles offered?
You can brush up on your residential architecture with our home buyer quick guide to common home styles. While this guide is not exhaustive, it covers some of the most popular styles of homes in Minnesota, including why some people prefer certain layouts.

 Split Level Style
This style of house became very popular following World War II because of the amount of space and utility provided. Split levels fall into two types: side-to-side and front-to-back.
Split Level Home Style

 Bi-Level Style
This style of house is also referred to as a split ranch and often categorized as a split level in Minnesota. The bi-level house is a modified version of the ranch house, with the major difference being that the lower level is more out of the ground than in the ground. Seldom is there a basement.
Bi-Level Home Style

 Townhouse Style
This style of house takes its name from the type of house which dominated the early residential development of our early cities, notably the row houses.
Townhouse Home Style

 Ranch Style or Rambler
This style of house features often one-level living. There may be a full or partial basement. Generally, a garage is attached to the side of the house.
Ranch Home Style or Rambler



 Contemporary Style
These "casual" houses are usually sheathed in redwood or stained hardwood and come in many sizes and shapes.
Contemporary Home Style


 Cape Cod Style (Other Colonial Traditions: Georgian, Dutch Colonial)
This very practical one and one-half story style of house has been popular for many years, with most capes concentrated in the northern regions. Many resale capes have been expanded over the years for increased living area.
Cape Code Home Style


 Colonial Style
This style of two-story house has been a mainstay of residential architecture for many years. These are generally well-built houses, with many being custom built. Their main appeal seems to be the spaciousness and elegance.
Colonial Home Style

 Victorian Style (Stick Victorian, Queen Anne Victorian, Shingle, Folk Victorian, Gothic)
The Victorian style of house was built in various models during the turn of the last century. Home buyers appreciate the architectural nuances of Victorian houses including large porches and interesting bay windows. The American Victorian typically took the form of a two-story square house with a hip roof disguised behind a variety of two-storied bays, with an assortment of gables as well as octagonal or round turrets and wraparound porches presenting a complex facade.
Victorian Home Style


 American Craftsman style (or the American Arts and Crafts movement)
American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art movement it remained popular into the 1930s. However, in decorative arts and architectural design it has continued with numerous revivals and restoration projects through present times. In the United States the Arts and Crafts style incorporated locally handcrafted wood, glass, and metal work creating objects that were both simple and elegant. Featuring clean lines and natural materials.
American Craftsman Home Style


 Tudor Style (Other European Styles: French Country, Chateauesque, Norman)
Tudors and other English style houses were built during the period of the late 1800s through the 1920s. The combination of stucco and distinctive wood trim exterior provides the Tudor style house with a uniqueness which is most appealing.
Tudor Home Style

 Farmhouse is a general term for the main house of a farm. It is a type of building or house which serves a residential purpose in a rural or agricultural setting. Most often, the surrounding environment will be a farm. Many farm houses are shaped like a T. The perpendicular section is referred to as the ell.
These buildings tend to be more pragmatic than aesthetic. Sometimes a farmhouse may refer to a building design style, or a building's former purpose. This may occur when the farming area has been developed for other purposes, but the building itself still stands. Architectural styles vary, but very often they are of Cape Cod or two story design. Most often the style is simplistic so to serve the needs (and the budget) of the owners.


 Log Style House
A log home (or log house) is structurally identical to a log cabin (a house typically made from logs that have not been milled into conventional lumber). The term "log home" is preferred by most contemporary builders; a "log cabin" generally refers to a smaller, more rustic log house such as a hunting cabin in the woods, or a summer cottage. Log houses are especially popular where straight and tall coniferous trees, such as pine and spruce, are readily available.

There are two types of log homes:
Handcrafted: Typically made of logs that have been peeled, but otherwise essentially unchanged from their original appearance as trees,
Milled (also called machine-profiled), made with a log house moulder: Constructed of logs that have run through a manufacturing process which convert them into timbers which are consistent in size and appearance. Many log homes today are of the milled variety, mainly because they require less labor-intensive field work than handcrafted homes. There are about 500 companies in North America which build the handcrafted, scribe-fit type of log home.

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More comprehensive list of Architectural Styles:

Adirondack, A-frame, American Craftsman American Foursquare, Antebellum, Arcachon Villa, Bay And Gable, Broch, Bungalow, California Bungalow, Cape Cod, Castle, Catslide Cottage, Central-Passage House, Chalet, Châteauesque, Colonial, Colonial Revival, Conch House, Creole Cottage, Dingbat, Dutch Colonial, Farmhouse, Federal, Federation,
French Colonial, French-Canadian Colonial, Garrison, Georgian Colonial, Georgian Revival, Gothic Revival, Greek Revival, Hall And Parlor, Hut, Igloo, I-House, Indian Veranda, International, Italianate, Lanai Style, Log House, Longhouse, Manor House, Mansion, Mar Del Plata, Mediterranean Revival, Mid-Century Modern, Mobile Home, Moderne, Neoclassical, Neo-Eclectic, Octagon, Pacific Lodge, Palladian Style, Patio, Populuxe, Post-Modern, Prairie Style, Pueblo Style, Queen Anne, Queenslander, Rammed Earth House, Ranch, Saltbox, Second Empire, Semi-Detached, Shingle Style, Shotgun Style, Southern Plantation, Spanish Colonial, Split Level, Stick Style, Stone Ender, Storybook, Swiss Chalet, Tipi, Tudor, Tudor Revival, Unspecified, Victorian, Villa

House Styles from www.bobvila.com

7L - Seven Levels of Communication

I read 7L - Seven Levels of Communication


So for now, this post is a blank slate but it will become my take-aways and revelations from the book Seven Levels of Communication by Michael J. Maher. For some this will be Cliff's Notes.

This is what I noted during reading the book. Many were just strong reminders of things I already knew.


Givers will Get - Generosity Generation

You need to create a plan to communicate. In writing, on the calendar. Stick to it. Give it time.

If you don't ask, you won't receive.

You can market to strangers but it's a waste of money with the value is in your sphere

Put it on the calendar

I was reminded of my girlfriends old blog, an attitude of gratitude.