House Styles for Classy Homes You’d Love to Own Today

House styles should be chosen carefully to blend with other homes in the neighbourhood while reflecting the homeowner’s creativity.

The most popular types of houses in Kenya include contemporary, Victorian, colonial, Mediterranean, traditional and country.

1. Contemporary

Contemporary style is a modern house design with no style rules. These houses have audacious geometrical shapes, huge amounts of glass, large windows and roofs that are either flat or very steep often with great overhangs.

The exteriors are a mixture of brick, siding, wood, stucco and stone.

2. Victorian

Victorian houses are commonly referred to as Victorian style but this ‘style’ is a period in history when Queen Victoria reigned (1837—1901).

Victorian homes are usually characterised by steeply pitched roofs of irregular shapes with dominant front-facing gable, asymmetrical porches and textured devices to avoid a smooth-walled look.

These types of houses are designed to be both unique and high-class.

3. Colonial

Colonial house styles are two or three storey homes with gable roofs and symmetrical façades. Common features of this style are columns and pillars at the entrances of the houses.

Double-hung windows with shutters and huge panelled doors with sidelights topped with fanlights help beautify the exteriors which are usually brick or wood.

4. Mediterranean

Mediterranean-style homes resemble homes traditionally found in Mediterranean countries, especially Italy, France and Spain.

Common features of these houses are low-pitched tile roofs (often red), stucco siding, courtyard, patio or deck as well as arched windows and doors.

5. Traditional

Traditional style homes are a mixture of many classic, simple design styles including colonial, country, Victorian and more.

It is therefore hard to define a traditional home, but traditional generally refers to any style that is remindful of a design of a certain era.

Common features of this style include simple roofs, little decoration and symmetrically spaced windows. Their exteriors are usually brick or wood.

6. Country

Country is the most popular type of house design in Kenya. It is characterised by a large front or wrap-around porch that is topped with a gabled roof.

A country house’s roofline runs lengthwise with a steep slope – giving a casual and informal appearance.

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