Georgian Style Vs Colonial Style Homes (Easy Ways to Tell) » Old Historic Houses (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between Colonial and Georgian style? ›

Georgian style homes are typically more formal and symmetrical in design, while colonial style homes often have a more relaxed and eclectic style. Additionally, Georgian homes are more common in urban areas, while colonial homes are typically associated with more rural areas.

If you ask most people to sketch a Georgian house, it will most likely be a rectangle with a door in the center, double-hung windows, a hipped roof and brick.

Georgian style houses have high ceilings, usually 10-12 feet high, with decorative molding and cornices. Rooms are defined and boxy, with all spaces on the first floor designed for gathering, and private spaces like bedrooms and bathrooms relegated to the second floor.

Georgian architecture is a popular style named for the reigns of the first four King Georges of England. These graciously proportioned classical buildings are marked by an understated elegance. Their pleasing symmetry, in part achieved by applying the golden ratio, is easy on the eyes.

American Colonial homes are generally characterized by a square or rectangular facade, a central entrance and windows symmetrically placed on either side of the entrance. They are typically made of wood, stone or brick and will generally have uniformly sized doors and windows with shutters.

At a glance, you can identify a Georgian home by its flat, hipped roof and small window panes, a Victorian home by its Gothic detailing and slate roof, and an Edwardian home by its squat stature and red-brick facade.

Georgian homes typically have well-developed classical cornices, often with larger block modillions or smaller teeth like 'dentil' moldings. After 1750, entry porticos, dormers, decorative quoins, central belt courses, central gables with two-story pilasters, and roof balusters became more prevalent.

One of the most distinctive aspects of Georgian colonial architecture is its symmetry and proportion. Buildings from this period feature a balanced, rectangular layout, with a centered front door and evenly spaced windows. Columns and pediments added a sense of grandness and formality to these structures.

Georgian houses are characterized by their: Rigid symmetry in building mass as well as window and door placement. Brick, stone, or stucco (brick is most predominantly used) Hip roofs, sometimes with dormers.

What are typical Georgian features? ›

The Georgian Period

Broadly speaking it covers the 18th century and is generally identified by very simple facades; buildings were designed in symmetry and often appeared quite plain. They were usually built with brick and stone and have sash windows.

In New England, Colonial architecture is also referred to as "Georgian." The first example of Georgian style in America was the Wren Building (begun in 1695) at the College of William and Mary, and soon after that the Governor's Palace and the Capitol in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Georgian architecture in the American colonies was most commonly seen in large, rectangular houses with two stories, high ceilings, and a taste for white-trimmed windows and doorways. Symmetry was highly encouraged, and was most visible through the common repitition of 5 windows on each floor (or 4 windows and a door).

In the Georgian period, choosing a colour for your home was often a matter of price. Colours made from pigments that were easy to obtain were used to make relatively inexpensive 'common colours'. These included stone, earthy yellows, lead grey and white.

One difference between Georgian Revival and Colonial Revival is that, in general, Georgian Revivals do not have a large porch or portico, whereas Colonial Revivals do.

From towering, feather-topped wigs and embroidered frock-coats to ribbon-tied bonnets and empire-line gowns, Georgian fashion arguably boasts some of the most iconic trends in British history.

Although both Georgian and Federal styles are based on symmetry and classical orders, the former was built strictly on a central cubical mass with an emphasis on square rooms and square or rectangular windows, while the latter incorporated circular or elliptical rooms and fanlights into a similar style with a central ...

The archetypal Georgian church is St Martin-in-the-Fields in London (1720), by Gibbs, who boldly added to the classical temple façade at the west end a large steeple on top of a tower, set back slightly from the main frontage.