Around here it would just be called a "mansard" after the type of roof it has - I know of several somewhat similar houses here - although the hipped top part of the roof is a tad peculiar (and that flared edge gives it almost a pagoda-esque look, very odd!). Normally it's darn near flat. The hipped top isn't totally unknown, though, here's a picture of another house with the same design. but still has similar elements - I think the chimney may be similar, too, but yours isn't in as sharp focus. I like how there's a distinct angle at the bottom of that house's mansard "wall", rather than a swoop, and the brackets are wonderful. The mansard roof is almost synonymous with Second Empire architecture in the USA. Most pictures you see of Second Empires show very fancy, large houses, but amusingly enough the mansard roof was a HUGE fad and it got plunked on top of all sorts of houses with all sorts of proportions, including this very simple, symmetrical square! (I'll bet it's two rooms front, two rooms back, center stair perhaps?) So really, it could well be considered a modest Second Empire cottage. Do you have a rough construction date (I'm guessing 1850-1890?)? How about interior pictures? What do the interior doors look like? Those may almost be more helpful than anything else. Have you dug around in the cellar, attic, garage to see if there are any old doors stuck in there? Cruised the local roads to see if there are any other houses like yours from which you may steal stylistic cues? Is there a town historical society that may have photos, either of your house in earlier years or of similar houses of the same vintage? (Why do some of the pages on your website keep coming up in Latin? And "howdy neighbor", I'm in SE NH :-) *wave*)

I would call it a McMuddle (muddled McMansion) with contemporary aspirations because of the varying rooflines and part of the siding is at an angle (trying to be contemporary).

Does moving the door correct some internal traffic problem? Because adding a deck across the house is going to make all the lower rooms dark—those windows won't get any light to speak of. I would not expand the deck further than the edge of the big window, which would only cover one lower window. Below I show what you can do with plants alone. Place a tall growing shrub in the middle section with no windows. Place a medium sized shrub to the left and right of the tall shrub, centering all of these between the lower windows. Fill in between these with perennials, ground covers or low-growing shrubs. A border will define the bed. You could also add another tall shrub to the right corner to soften it. Visit a local nursery to ask about the best plants for your climate and soil. Pay attention to how wide a shrub is expected to be at maturity. Don't plant a shrub that will grow 5' wide closer than 3' to a wall, fence or walkway. Initially, your planting will not look like my picture. It takes time for plants to grow. Look for perennials that don't grow taller than 24" so they don't obscure the lower windows. Finally, if you haven't already done so, enclose the side of the stairs and deck with lath or trellis work.

The Cargo ship house is about the closest I can find, so thanks for the tip. I don't think it's a colonial because of the front facing gable. Truth is, this was one of the many mass produced homes in the 70's that didn't really have a defined style. That said, I actually really like the simplicity of it and think it has lots of potential. There's nothing really special about it, but at the same time, there's nothing glaringly WRONG with it either. Did any of you have any thoughts on my front porch dilemma?