Remodeling Guides
Architecture
Shingle Style: Warm Home Design for Seaside to Suburb
Gable roofs, unfinished shingles and towers mark America's first "modern" home style
First popularized by the Vanderbilts, Astors, Morgans and their peers, the Shingle style developed in New England in the mid to late 1800s in reaction to the highly ornamented Victorian revival styles. Simple forms and a minimum of ornamentation made the Shingle style America's first "modern" style, suitable for the new suburban home as well as seaside "cottages."
The Shingle style's most telling feature was that it treated the house as one large volume of space that the exterior wrapped around and enclosed. Like a balloon, the Shingle style exterior was all taut and tensioned to hold the interior space in place.
The Shingle style fell out of favor at the turn of the 20th century when the Colonial Revival style came into vogue. It wasn't until the 1980s that the style came back in popularity, having been resurrected by architects in New England. Today, new homes built in the Shingle style can be seen from the Northeast to the Southwest, from the rocky coasts of Maine to the sunny suburbs of Southern California and everywhere in between.
The Shingle style's most telling feature was that it treated the house as one large volume of space that the exterior wrapped around and enclosed. Like a balloon, the Shingle style exterior was all taut and tensioned to hold the interior space in place.
The Shingle style fell out of favor at the turn of the 20th century when the Colonial Revival style came into vogue. It wasn't until the 1980s that the style came back in popularity, having been resurrected by architects in New England. Today, new homes built in the Shingle style can be seen from the Northeast to the Southwest, from the rocky coasts of Maine to the sunny suburbs of Southern California and everywhere in between.
Unfinished shingle siding, white trim, green fabric awnings, gable roofs and deep recesses are all hallmarks of the Shingle style. In contemporary updates, the relaxed curves and volumes of the original style are converted to more severe, angular shapes.
Another trademark feature of Shingle-style homes is the extensive use of pergolas and patios to extend the living space to the outdoors.
Shingle-style homes love to be located where there are large yards so that a strong inside/outside connection can be created. In this case, terraced landscaping and multiple porches connect the home to its yard.
Bold gestures and oversized elements, especially at the entrance and porches, add to a Shingle-style home's grandness.
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See more of this house
Shingle-style homes need towers, preferably with windows all the way around, to create places to gather in the sunlight and capture the surrounding views.
Here, the Shingle style is adapted to the Southeast. It has the same collection of shapes and forms, the oversized gestures and tower — but with a broad, sheltering roof to provide shade from the hot Florida sun.
With its plain stucco base and simplified forms, shingle siding, eyebrow dormers and a strong vertical element, this home incorporates elements of both the Shingle as well as the English Arts and Crafts styles.
An explosion of roofs, turrets, balconies, porches and more, this home has all the distinguishing features of the new Shingle style.
This Shingle style home is seemingly built from the rocks on its site and anchored to its coastal landscape. Anchored in place, this home provides a perch over the rugged coast in true Shingle-style fashion.
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More: Capes Across America
Houzz Tour: Craft Modern
Houzz Tour: Shingle Style Meets Soho on the Jersey Shore