Savannah GA Architecture

Real Estate brokers and agents often use terms to describe homes we may not be familiar with. Here are some definitions of homes that are prevalent here in Savannah.

Bungalow: A small early twentieth-century-style, usually a relatively small rectangle, one story house with a low rise, large veranda, and a shingled roof.

Cape Cod Colonial: An early – American style 1 ½ story compact house that is small and symmetrical with a central entrance. The roof is the steep gable type covered with shingles. The authentic types have low central chimneys, but end chimneys are very common in the new versions. Bedrooms are on the 1^st floor. The attic may be finished into additional bedrooms and bath in the new versions.

Federal Style Home:  Federal style was the first truly American form of architecture. The style was the balanced and symmetrical version of Georgian architecture that had been practiced in the American colonies new motifs of Neoclassical architecture.The American federal architecture differs from preceding Georgian colonial interpretations in its use of plainer surfaces with attenuated detail, usually isolated in panels, tablets and friezes. It also had a flatter smoother facade and rarely used pilasters. The Davenport house in downtown Savannah (pictured left) is a also an example of a early Federal Style architecture.

New England Colonial: an early-American-style, 2 ½ story boxlike house that is generally symmetrical, square or rectangular with side or rear wings. The traditional material is narrow clapboard siding. The roof is usually the gable type covered with shingles. Often there are chimneys at each end.

Southern Colonial: A large, early-American-style, 2 or 3 story frame house with characteristic colonnade extending across the front supported by large circular columns. The roof extends over the colonnade.

Colonial Revival: Also Neocolonial, Georgian Revival or Neo-Georgian, this architecture was a nationalistic design movement in the United States. Part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement embracing Georgian and Neoclassical styles. Structures are typically two stories with the ridge pole running parallel to the street, have a symmetrical front facade with an accented doorway, and evenly spaced windows on either side of it. Features borrowed from colonial period houses of the early 19th century include elaborate front doors, often with decorative crown pediments, fanlights, and sidelights, symmetrical windows flanking the front entrance, often in pairs or threes, and columned porches.