European House Plans | European-style Cottages (2024)

FAQs

What makes a house European style? ›

A common characteristic of the European style design is the use of metals throughout the interior and exterior of the home. You'll often see gabled and hipped roofs and dormers around the top windows, and front porches with their own roofs supported by pillars and columns.

The exterior of European house plans often features natural stone or stucco walls with roofs made of clay tiles or wooden shingles. Outdoor Spaces. European farmhouse style integrates outdoor spaces like patios, courtyards, or terraces, emphasizing the connection between indoor and outdoor living areas.

European style home plans often use brick or stone and include high steeply pitched roofs, tall windows often with shutters, and traditional ornamental details like pediments and keystones. Arched openings are another common feature of European homes.To see more european house plans try our advanced floor plan search.

European homes tend to be built with concrete or wood and older homes from stone, and the walls tend to be built thicker. European roofing almost always uses clay tiles, adding a minimum of 50 years of protection.

What style is European cottage? European cottage style blends rustic charm with elegant simplicity. Wood and stones, muted colors, and vintage touches. It embraces cozy aesthetics, floral patterns, and antique accents, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere reminding of a European countryside retreat.

On the other hand, Europeans prefer heavy-duty materials that can withstand the test of time and last for hundreds of years. Their homes are usually made from stone and wood. While Americans prefer shingle roofs, Europeans have either wooden roofs or those made from more rigid tiles.

Half-timbered and fully-timbered houses are common all over Germany, and although these arose in the medieval era, the style was used in rural areas until the 20th century. Modern homes in Germany are frequently built from a brick masonry formed of sand and limestone, along with asphalt roof tiles.

European Interior Design overlaps multiple styles such as Italian, French, Tuscan, English, and Spanish. Classic European design trends usually incorporate detailed moldings, high ceilings, beams, paneling, checkerboard floors, wood tones, old-world art, marble, and stone.

Cottage house plans are informal and woodsy, evoking a picturesque storybook charm. Cottage style homes have vertical board-and-batten, shingle, or stucco walls, gable roofs, balconies, small porches, and bay windows. These cottage floor plans include.

What is a Mediterranean house plan? ›

Mediterranean house plans draw inspiration from Moorish, Italian, and Spanish architecture. Mediterranean style homes usually have stucco or plaster exteriors with shallow red tile roofs that create shady overhangs.

If you've ever visited Europe, you know Baroque architecture. It's characterized by undulating forms, gorgeous curves, ornate (even gaudy) decorations, and the manipulation of light and shadow. Baroque emerged in the 17^th century in response to what came before it: the Renaissance.

Countries use the building material most available to them. In much of Europe that's stone because wood has mostly been harvested to the point of extinction (and wood is expensive to transport long distances). Whereas in North America wood remains an inexpensive building material.

For example, it is common in the EU to intermix the terms drywall and plasterboard. Common to both continents, drywall can be applied over masonry substrates. Europe refers to this as “dry lining.” While North America tends to use furring, Europe prefers the dot-and-daub system to affix gypsum panels.

The European façade is full of refined Old-World elements. Stone, brick and stucco were common cladding materials with some timber and half-timber elements surfacing. The combination of two or all three of these materials was common, one of which typically used as an accent detail material.

'Modern European interior style is characterized by a blend of contemporary design elements with traditional European influences. It often features clean lines, minimalism, and a focus on functionality and comfort,' says Katy Davis, of Urbanology Designs.

Textured walls, interior archways and high ceilings are featured in many European homes. Grand foyers with sweeping staircases, elegant formal rooms such as libraries offer luxury frequently associated with the European design style.

American homes tend to be more open and spacious, while European homes are more compact and cozy. In an American home, you're likely to find a living room, kitchen and dining room all in one big open space. On the other hand, in a European home, these rooms tend to be smaller and separated from each other.