There are so many home designs out there, both traditional and contemporary, it can be overwhelming to choose exactly what style you’d like your building contractor to create for you. Fortunately, what you have on your side is the freedom to choose from any number of classics.

Go West: Three of the Most Popular Home Designs

Choosing from among some of the most popular and practical home styles for warm weather locales can be as easy as…1, 2, 3!

1. Mission Style (or Spanish Mission) – These homes feature stucco walls, exposed rafters, and rounded tile, gabled roofs with parapets. Look for the use of round arched doors, windows and porches, and heavy squared piers with slanted sides. (Square or rectangular masonry or wood piers support a building, carrying the weight of it down to the ground). Square towers and a full-width one-story porch are often part of the plan for these homes. The roof may have a wide eave overhang, boxed with brackets.
2. Spanish / Mediterranean – This home design is typically found in warm climates where their clay tile roofs help to keep them cool during the hottest months. They are generally stucco- or brick-finished in white or pastel shades, and have architectural accents such as arched openings in the stucco or wood beams, plus patios. The unique features of these homes include courtyard entrances (formed by extending side or front walls), heavy tile roofs with low pitched gables and wrought iron features on railings. Windows may be framed by wooden or wrought iron grills.
3. Italian Renaissance – The walls of Italian Renaissance home designs are usually of smooth, rusticated stone with exaggerated joints and round, arched doors, windows and porches. Square towers may also be incorporated. Look for pilasters to the side of doors; a pilaster is an architectural element that gives the appearance of a supporting column with a purely ornamental function. The hipped roof is symmetrical, either flat or with a low pitch, with a slight eave overhang. The roof covering may be either rounded tile or flat pantile (a kind of fired, S-shaped, usually clay roof tile). Classical one-story columns and full-width, one-story porches complete the look.

Florida and California have warm climates in common, so there’s no reason why some of the traditional Southwestern or Mediterranean period home designs can’t make the shift from the west to the southeast coast. If you like the look and feel of a particular classic, then why not duplicate or adapt it? To get started, consult with an experienced building contractor in the Tampa Bay and Clearwater area.

Greg Nelson
Greg Nelson is the owner of Nelson Construction & Renovations Inc. He is a Florida State Certified Building Contractor, creating artistry in all areas of design and construction projects. He is a musician, and artist. A husband and father, Greg appreciates all the wonderful elements of family life.

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