Do you know enough about architecture and Utah housing styles to describe your ideal house? If you don't, this guide is here to help. Whether you are looking for your first home or you are a seasoned home buyer, your knowledge of Utah home styles will help you and your REALTOR® find the home of your dreams.

Keep in mind there are many houses that do not fit into one style category. But even houses without particular styles incorporate features of historical house styles. For example, the covered decks and huge eaves on many modern houses are often reminiscent of the bungalows of the early 20th century. If you are interested in buying new, historically inspired houses, you'll be able to tell your REALTOR® about how the features are characteristic of a Tudor Revival or an Arts and Crafts bungalow.

The architectural styles described in this article are some of the most common historical styles in Utah, as pointed out by Salt Lake City architect Alan Roberts.

Additional Architectural Styles (link opens in a new window)

Queen Anne

One of the most popular styles of the Victorian period, Queen Anne houses are characterized by asymmetrical plans and facades; round, square and polygonal towers; a variety of building materials, textures and colors; bay windows; steep, projecting gables; dormers; intricate wood spindle work; tall, decorative chimneys; and decorative shingle patterns on wall surfaces, according to "Utah's Historic Architecture."

Queen Anne houses also have multiple roof styles, including steep, cross-gabled roofs as well as steep, hipped or pyramid-like roofs. The style also consists of porches, balconies, vertical windows and wood trim.

Shingle

The Shingle style is characterized by large, two- or three-story buildings whose exteriors are almost completely covered in wooden shingles. Utah examples often have wood construction above a stone or brick base or first floor, according to "Utah's Historic Architecture." These houses may be shaped like Queen Anne houses but have less ornamentation, according to REALTOR® Magazine Online.

Eastlake

Named after English architect Charles Locke Eastlake whose book, "Hints on Household Taste," helped generate the style, the Eastlake style uses large amounts of wooden, intricate, jigsaw-like decoration, including brackets, scrolls, spindles and other elaborate woodwork, according to "Utah's Historic Architecture."

Because Eastlake houses used primarily wood-frame construction, (unlike Queen Anne homes which used a variety of building materials) many weren't build in Utah. However, many Eastlake details are used in combination with Queen Anne and other Victorian styles, according to "Utah's Historic Architecture."

Italianate

Inspired by Italian villas, this style is characterized by a low-pitched, hipped (pyramidal) roof; decorative, bracketed eaves; tall, narrow windows with round-arch tops; projecting bays; multiple chimneys; and asymmetrical façades, according to "Utah's Historic Architecture." Other features include a box-like shape, symmetrical bay windows and small chimneys. Porches are also a common feature. The bracketed eaves, a key Italianate feature, give even the simplest houses an Italian flair.

Second Empire

Second Empire homes are French-inspired. These homes can easily be identified by their mansard or curvilinear roofs. A mansard roof, named after French architect François Mansart, consists of a very steep lower slope and an almost flat top portion, according to "House Styles in America." It doesn't matter how big the house is, if it has a mansard roof, it is Second Empire.

Theses house are also square or rectangular and have roof dormers and wide eaves, according to "Utah's Historic Architecture." They are similar to Italianate houses in that they often use decorative brackets under the eaves.

Folk or Vernacular

There are many residences built during the Victorian era that have no particular style, instead they use pieces from popular styles. "Modest farmhouses and cottages constructed during the mid-1800s and early 1900s do not fall easily into any distinct Victorian style. These simple homes were built according to the traditions handed down through generations," said REALTOR® Magazine Online. Ornamental trim, bay windows, gables and other surface details give these homes their Victorian flavor.

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Arts and Crafts

Popularized by furniture-maker Gustav Stickley in his magazine, The Craftsman, this style emphasizes natural materials and the houses are meant to blend in with the landscape. Arts and Crafts homes are simple without much decoration. The style emphasizes wood-frame construction elements such as exposed rafters, purlins and ridge beams, which are infilled with stucco, according to "Utah's Historic Architecture." Along with exposed rafter ends and sometimes half-timbering, porches with columns are also an Arts and Crafts trademark. The Arts and Crafts style can be found on bungalows as well as larger homes.

Prairie

Famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright pioneered this style with his low, horizontal house designs. This style is found on one-story bungalows as well as two-story houses. Characteristics of this style include wide, low chimneys; wide, projecting eaves; front porches; and low, hipped roofs. On two-story homes, there is often a second-floor porch as well as a band of stucco around the upper floor. According to REALTOR® Magazine Online, these houses are either boxy and symmetrical or low-slung and asymmetrical.

English Tudor

Popular after World War I, English Tudor revivals were built to resemble the timber-frame architecture of medieval England. Characteristics include an asymmetrical façade, steeply pitched gabled façades, half timbering on bay windows, exposed framing with stucco-filled panels, stucco walls with randomly exposed brick or stone, round arch openings, large, prominent stone or brick chimneys, and brick or stone masonry, according to "Utah's Historic Architecture" and REALTOR® Magazine Online. Unlike many other styles, these do not have porches.

Neoclassical

The Neoclassical revival style uses classical Greek and Roman motifs. The style can often be seen on government buildings but can also be found on residential designs. Characteristics can include a symmetrical façade, a raised basement story, entrance porches supported by columns and a triangular gable above the porch. The identifying feature is the front columns that often extend the length of the house.

Colonial

The Colonial revival is the most popular architectural style in American history, according to "House Styles in America." During the late 1800s and first half of the 20th century, builders borrowed and revised Dutch, Cape Cod and English styles from America's colonial period - a practice that continues even today. Rooflines were simplified from those of the Queen Anne style, and Colonial Revivals were enlarged from the small houses which inspired them.

Dutch-inspired revivals are easy to identify because of their gambrel or barn-like roofs. Cape Cod revivals consist of a square or rectangular plan, a steeply pitched gable roof parallel to the street, and one or one-and-a-half stories. These houses may have dormers and shutters. English-inspired revivals are symmetrical with side-gabled roofs, two or three stories, plain chimneys (often with one on each side of the house), shutters, decorative front doors and rows of symmetrical windows.

In general, Colonial Revival characteristics include hip, gable or gambrel roofs; symmetrical facades, porches with simple columns; doorways as focal points; and surfaces covered in shingles, siding or brick, according to "Utah's Historic Architecture" and "House Styles in America."