A Sweet Dutch Colonial Revival Cottage in South Portland, Maine. The Colonial Revival style is perhaps America’s most enduring residential architectural style. They ranged from “Dutch Colonial” cottages like this one to grand mansions.
Houses like this were a popular option in mail-order kit house catalogs by Aladdin, Sears, and others in the early twentieth century. They also appeared in house plan catalogs, where the blueprints could be ordered from the publisher.
The gambrel roof form is the character-defining feature that distinguishes a Dutch Colonial Revival house from other Colonial Revival houses with simple gabled or hipped roofs. Often built with full-width shed dormers, as here, these were functionally two-story houses with the character and charm of a one-and-a-half story house.
Understanding these stylistic elements is key to identifying the character-defining features of the house, which should be the first step in any restoration plan. It’s also just fun to analyze a house to understand its style.
Colonial Revival is one of 25 styles described and illustrated with multiple examples in Chapter 2 of “Restoring Your Historic House, The Comprehensive Guide for Homeowners.”
Signed and personalized copies of the award-winning and bestselling 720-page hardcover book are available from the author in our shop at YourHistoricHouse.com/shop/.
The classic volume on identifying historic house styles, “A Field Guide to American Houses” by Virginia McAlester, is available in our shop, along with select restoration titles by other authors.
© Scott T. Hanson 2024.
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