Hands-down, the split-level owns the title of architects' least favorite house to remodel. “It's a difficult type to work with because it's so poorly constructed, and the room sizes are way too small,” says Lane Williams, AIA, a Seattle architect who says he tries to avoid split-levels. This house...
Perhaps no other house type has inspired as much love and loathing as the ranch. This descendant of Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian houses became ubiquitous across the post–World War II landscape, and architects adore its open, one-story plan.
The center-hall colonial revival is a lot like a well-made tuxedo: It outlasts trends and is perfect for formal occasions. But, as with a tux, it's unyielding for everyday situations. The living room usually sits too far away from the kitchen and dining room to serve as the comfortable gathering...
Ever since it rose to nationwide prominence as one of Levittown's main house types, the Cape's spare, one-and-a-half-story elevation has captivated home buyers. “People feel a Cape looks like home,” says Sarah Susanka, AIA, author of the
Judging from the high percentage of architects who live in remodeled bungalows, this house type holds enduring appeal for the design-conscious.
Take a look at a typical foursquare floor plan, and its practical Midwestern roots become instantly apparent. No space is wasted on hallways or superfluous storage; each room leads logically to the next. This house type's simple, almost cube-like, form and its four-room-up, four-down plan hold...
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out of the millions of houses built in the United States from the early 1900s through the 1970s, the vast majority qualify as a classic builder-driven house type. American foursquares dominated the outskirts of cities in the late 1800s and early 1900s, only to give way to the beloved bungalow of...
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Able to go where no Aga has gone before, the new Legacy brings dual-fuel cooking to a standard 36-inch opening.
Convey a modernist message with the Brava vanity from the Masterpiece Collection.
Retroactiv premium line of bath and kitchen fixtures hearkens back to the heyday of 1950s American cool.
Rejuvenation now fits 18 of its classic Deco fixtures with compact fluorescent technology.
Northstar appliances can turn even the most staid kitchen into a sock-hoppin' space, with mirror chrome detailing and rounded corners straight from the 1950s.
Formica's hip color collection evokes the swinging '60s with groovy hues such as pumpkin, grasshopper, and oxygen.
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Tacoma, Wash.–based Signamark's Privacy Door offers a center panel of opaque glass that permits light but blocks views.
Designed in England but distributed in this country by Melrose, Mass.–based European Home, the B-vent unit has a Modern sensibility.
Most bath accessories offer little to the Modernist who seeks clean lines. That's why Fort Mill, S.C.–based Ginger introduced Surface shower shelves.