About European House Plans Styles & Characteristics

Spanish Home Designs

The Spanish architectural influence and Spanish home design throughout America was brought forth under Spanish rule that lasted for centuries. Many Spanish influences of residential homes are found in different regions of the United States, mainly Florida where Spanish first settled and in the southwest where influences from Mexico and Native American culture evolved into a truly unique home design style.

English Home Styles

England also impressed with Italian architecture personified their design with a British elegance. Especially a British architect, Inigo Jones along with his contemporaries, developed their own unique style by enveloping Palladian design concepts with a British blend. The country homes and cottages of the 16th and 17th centuries can best capture England's contribution to residential home design.

French House Plans

Impressed with Italian architecture, French architects extended design concepts of scale and site relative to homes with a finely tuned sense of splendor and luxurious detail. French residential design reached it peak under the tutelage of French kings that wished to emulate the rich house design features and translate them into a unique French house plan style.

Italian Home Designs

True marvel in architecture can be experienced in Italy. Italy has impacted not only government and commercial architecture but has profoundly influenced residential architecture today. Italy is known for some of architecture’s finest designers, such as Vignola, Palladio, and Bernini who employed such perfect skill, and pride in their craft. In fact, Andrea Palladio archived his designs and ideas into a series of books dedicated to the art of architectural design.