Anyone heard of National style? (houses, plan, room, architect)

[Jamesnana]

My daughter bought a house which is newish(1995) but unique. The closest I can find for an architectural style is called the National style which is basically a farmhouse less fussy than Greek revival. There are quite a few similar in the town which are probably 100+ years old. Most newer houses are pretty much cookie cutter center entrance colonials. The house has kind of a weird layout with two front doors, two foyers and a front and back staircase. They love it--huge house almost 4000 sq ft if you caount the finished basement.
Supposedly a builder built it for himself. Any thoughts?

[Chango]

"National Style" is really Greek Revival; though maybe with a more Romanesque bent, and is usually applied to public/federal government buildings built in the first part of the 19th century like the White House or capital building, not housing of the period (which are generally classified under plain old Greek Revival or Georgian styles).

If the house was built in '95 it's probably "officially" Neo-eclectic in style, the catchall for postwar housing that very roughly seeks to recall previous historic styles.

[T. Damon]

Your description of a National Style being a farmhouse lacking the Greek Revival detailing (entablature) is most accurate, the style describing simple American folk houses post railroad era, when building materials started becoming readily available and simple housing forms with balloon framing; front or side gabled, front gable with a wing, usually with steep roofs were built around the country. The style is not generally ascribed to public buildings such as the White House (Georgian) or other Greek Revival, Classical Revival, Beaux Arts or Richardson Romanesque municipal buildings that one typically finds in older cities.

I can't imagine a circa 1995 house being designed or labeled as a National style but your description of it having two front doors (I'm imagining under a simple, wide front porch) is actually not that uncommon in many side gabled examples of the style 130 years ago. It must have been a fairly eclectic builder/designer who had a strong affinity for this simple and mostly forgotten house style that constructed it.

A more contemporary version might lean towards a Quaker farmhouse, or some examples in Neo-Traditional or New Urbanist housing developments.

[Chango]

Originally Posted by T. Damon

Your description of a National Style being a farmhouse lacking the Greek Revival detailing (entablature) is most accurate, the style describing simple American folk houses post railroad era, when building materials started becoming readily available and simple housing forms with balloon framing; front or side gabled, front gable with a wing, usually with steep roofs were built around the country. The style is not generally ascribed to public buildings such as the White House (Georgian) or other Greek Revival, Classical Revival, Beaux Arts or Richardson Romanesque municipal buildings that one typically finds in older cities.

I can't imagine a circa 1995 house being designed or labeled as a National style but your description of it having two front doors (I'm imagining under a simple, wide front porch) is actually not that uncommon in many side gabled examples of the style 130 years ago. It must have been a fairly eclectic builder/designer who had a strong affinity for this simple and mostly forgotten house style that constructed it.

A more contemporary version might lean towards a Quaker farmhouse, or some examples in Neo-Traditional or New Urbanist housing developments.

And my post sounded so smart...

I looked it up this time and you are right. Looks like I confused "National Style" with "Federal style" and crossed it in my mind with Neoclassical and Greek Revival.

I could have sworn I read somewhere about the federal government aiming for a specific version of the the three for DC, drawing heavily on Ancient Roman architecture for inspiration and calling it "National Style". Does it ring any bells?

I would have called official "National Style"... "Vernacular Farmhouse".

[T. Damon]

^^^
Haha- I tried to answer without completely trashing your wayward and incorrect response. Not that I don't often fail in my answers and assumptions.

Other than the Founding Fathers drawing heavily from ancient Rome and Greece for the democratic principals in forming this country and deliberately using a classical architecture language for the first few buildings to espouse those principals in recognizable solid form, I don't know of a particular consensus for an architectural style for the young government.

I would say Federalist Architecture- Georgian Style with Neo-Classical embellishments is a good way to describe much of both private and public buildings (with Ãœber embellishments like domes and massive pediments for Federal buildings) constructed during that era.

Your labeling of National Style as being Vernacular Farmhouse is a great way to describe it.

[Jamesnana]

Thanks for the replies. The house has a side gable attached to a 2-car garage. The first time I saw it on the MLS I thought it was a very old house, but it has all the new bells and whistles-central air, central vac, granite and stainless in the kitchen. Very un-modern room layout--3.5 baths. Very nice house
They plan to be in the house for 30 years which is good because it's not to everyone's taste. They paid $629,000 for it and it appraised for $650,000 which is almost unheard of lately. Very nice neighborhood with virtually no turnover.