Traditional Colonial House Floor Plans
What makes a house a colonial.
Traditional colonial house floor plans. The square footage of our collection of colonial house plans vary from slightly over 1 100 square feet to in excess of 11 000 with the vast majority falling within the 2 500 3 500 range making the selection of colonial house plans easily accessible and straightforward when searching our website. Authentic colonial houses have traditional floor plans with clearly defined spaces and plenty of interior walls but now there are also modern open floor plans contained within beautiful colonial exteriors. Inspired by the practical homes built by early dutch english french and spanish settlers in the american colonies colonial house plans often feature a salt box shape and are built in wood or brick. Colonial house plans are refined and charming preserving the classic elements of the numerous house styles that marked the colonial period of the united states including those with french spanish dutch and georgian architectural roots.
Multi pane double hung windows with shutters dormers and paneled doors with sidelights topped with rectangular transoms or fanlights help dress up the exteriors which are generally wood or brick. Traditional colonial house plans first emerged in the early 17th century. The exteriors of colonial home plans are often recognizable for their symmetry including a central front door and a balanced arrangement of windows. Pillars and columns are common often expressed in temple like entrances with porticos topped by pediments.
Often the second floor is the same size as the first floor using the same amount of space. Stemming from european homes colonial homes had clean simple lines and quality craftsmanship because of their popularity many different regions took on their own version. For example southern homes featured higher ceilings to stay cool while northern homes had lower ceilings to keep heat centralized.