You’ve seen them. You might even live in one. Those sturdy, symmetrical houses with the white pillars and the black shutters that seem to anchor every "nice" neighborhood from Connecticut to California. They feel permanent. They feel like "home." But honestly, what we call colonial revival home plans today are kind of a weird architectural remix of what people thought the past looked like, rather than a direct copy of 1776. It’s basically the greatest hits of the 18th century, remastered for modern life.
The style exploded after the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Americans suddenly got very sentimental about their roots. They looked at the fussy, over-the-top Victorian gingerbread houses and decided they wanted something more dignified. More "American." Architects like Charles McKim and Stanford White started sketching old houses in New England, and before you knew it, the Colonial Revival was the most popular house style in the country. It still is.
What Actually Makes a Colonial Revival?
It’s all about the "face" of the house. If you’re looking at colonial revival home plans, the first thing you notice is the symmetry. If there’s a window on the left, there’s a matching one on the right. The front door is exactly in the middle. It’s balanced. It feels stable. Most of these homes are two stories, though you’ll see the occasional "Cape Cod" variation that’s a story and a half.
The roof is usually a simple gable or a gambrel—that’s the one that looks like a barn roof. You’ll see a lot of brick, especially in the South, or narrow clapboard siding in the North. But the real giveaway is the entryway. Architects call it the "pediment." It’s that little decorative triangle or arch over the door, often supported by pilasters (those flat, fake columns) or actual columns. It’s meant to look like a Greek temple, but scaled down for a family of four in Ohio.
The Misconception of "Authenticity"
People think these houses are exact replicas of what George Washington lived in. They aren't. Real colonial houses from the 1700s were actually pretty dark and cramped. They had tiny windows because glass was expensive and hard to ship. They had massive central chimneys because that was the only way to stay warm.
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Modern colonial revival home plans flipped the script. They kept the outside look but gutted the inside logic. They swapped the giant central chimney for smaller ones on the ends of the house. They tripled the size of the windows. They added hallways—something original colonials rarely had, as you usually just walked from one room directly into the next. It's a "revival" in name, but a totally different beast in practice.
Why Builders (And Buyers) Can't Quit This Style
Efficiency. That’s the boring, honest answer.
A rectangular house is the cheapest and easiest shape to build. It’s easy to heat, easy to cool, and easy to roof. When you look at colonial revival home plans, you’re looking at a box. Builders love boxes. You don't have the weird roof leaks you get with complicated Victorian turrets or the structural headaches of some modern glass-and-steel monstrosities.
But there’s also the psychology of it. We associate this look with stability. During the Great Depression, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) actually favored these designs because they were seen as a "safe" investment. They weren't trendy. They didn't go out of style. If you built a Colonial in 1935, it still looked like a respectable house in 1965. It still does today.
The Regional Flavors You Should Know
Not all Colonials are created equal. If you’re browsing colonial revival home plans, you’ll start to see patterns based on where you are.
- The Dutch Colonial: Look for that gambrel roof. It gives you more headspace on the second floor without the tax bill of a full two-story house (back in the day, anyway).
- The Southern Colonial: Usually features a massive, two-story porch. Think Gone with the Wind. It was designed for airflow before AC was a thing.
- The Garrison Colonial: The second floor hangs out over the first floor by a foot or two. Legend says this was for shooting at intruders, but that's a total myth. It was actually just a way to get more floor space on the second level while using standard timber lengths.
- The Georgian Revival: This is the fancy one. More ornate trim, maybe some "quoins" (those decorative stone blocks) on the corners, and a very formal feel.
The Problem With Modern "McMansion" Colonials
We have to talk about the 90s and 2000s. This is where colonial revival home plans kind of lost the plot. Developers started taking the basic Colonial template and inflating it. They added "great rooms" that were too big to heat and "lawyer foyers" that wasted 20% of the house's square footage.
The symmetry—the most important part of the style—got thrown out the window. You’d see a classic Colonial face, but then a massive three-car garage would be tacked onto the side like a giant growth. Or the windows would be different sizes and shapes for no reason. It’s what critics like Kate Wagner of McMansion Hell point out: when you lose the proportions, you lose the soul of the style. A good Colonial Revival relies on the "Golden Ratio" and specific mathematical relationships between the door and the windows. If you just slap some shutters on a random box, it’s not a Colonial; it’s just a house with a costume on.
Interior Layouts: The Traditional vs. Open Concept Debate
Inside, the classic Colonial is a "four-square" or a "center-hall" layout. You walk in the front door, there’s a staircase in front of you, a living room on one side, and a dining room on the other. The kitchen is tucked away in the back.
This layout is polarizing now.
Younger buyers often want "open concept" where they can see the stove from the sofa. But there’s a growing backlash against that. People are realizing that if your kitchen is in your living room, your living room smells like fried fish and sounds like a dishwasher. Traditional colonial revival home plans offer "defined spaces." You can have a messy kitchen and still host a clean dinner party. You can close a door and have a quiet home office. It’s a layout that acknowledges that humans actually need privacy sometimes.
Modern Materials and the "Plastic" Problem
One thing that has definitely changed is what these houses are made of. A 1920s Colonial Revival had solid wood siding, slate roofs, and copper gutters. Today? It’s mostly vinyl and composite.
There’s a tension here. Vinyl is low-maintenance, which is great. But it doesn't have the "shadow lines" of real wood. It looks flat. If you're looking at colonial revival home plans today, the "trim package" is where the battle is won or lost. Using wide, chunky trim around the windows instead of thin plastic strips makes the difference between a house that looks like a toy and a house that looks like an estate.
Designing Your Own: What to Watch For
If you're actually planning to build or renovate one of these, don't skimp on the windows. The windows are the eyes of the house. Cheap windows with "snap-in" grilles look fake from a mile away. You want "simulated divided lites" (SDL) where the bars are on the outside of the glass. It creates depth.
Also, watch your shutters. This is a huge pet peeve for architects. Shutters are supposed to look like they could actually close and cover the window. If you have a giant picture window and tiny little shutters stuck to the siding next to it, it looks ridiculous. They should be half the width of the window they’re framing. Even if they’re just decorative and screwed into the wall, the scale has to be right.
Why It's Still the "Safe" Choice
In a world of "Modern Farmhouses" that will probably look dated in ten years (sorry, Chip and Joanna), the Colonial Revival remains the blue-chip stock of real estate. It’s the "Little Black Dress" of architecture. It handles additions well. You can tack a sunroom onto the back of a Colonial and it doesn't look like an alien spaceship landed on your house.
It’s also incredibly flexible. You can go "Colonial Minimalist" with white walls and dark floors, or you can go full "Grandmillennial" with floral wallpaper and oriental rugs. The house doesn't care. The architecture is a neutral backdrop for whatever life you're living.
Finding the Right Plans
When searching for colonial revival home plans, avoid the sites that offer 50,000 generic designs. Look for architects who specialize in "Traditional Neighborhood Development" (TND) or firms like Historical Concepts or Marianne Cusato. These designers understand that a 2,500-square-foot house doesn't need to feel like a warehouse. They focus on "the scale of the human," which sounds like marketing speak, but basically means the ceilings aren't so high that you feel like an ant, and the rooms are sized for actual furniture.
Actionable Steps for Homeowners and Builders
If you are currently looking at colonial revival home plans or living in one that needs a refresh, here is how to keep it authentic and valuable:
- Audit your Proportions: Before changing windows or doors, check the "alignment." Colonial style relies on vertical and horizontal axes. If you move a window, make sure it stays in line with the ones above or below it.
- Invest in the Entryway: If you only have money for one "high-end" feature, make it the front door and the surround. A heavy wood door with proper brass hardware does 80% of the heavy lifting for the home's curb appeal.
- Choose "Historic" Paint Palettes: Don't just go to the hardware store and pick a random blue. Look for "Historic Collections" from brands like Benjamin Moore or Sherwin-Williams. These colors are formulated with different pigments that look better on the large flat surfaces of a Colonial.
- Fix the Shutters: If your shutters are too small or made of flimsy plastic, replace them with properly sized composite or wood shutters with actual hinges and "dogs" (the little metal pieces that hold them open). It changes the entire vibe of the exterior.
- Landscaping Matters: These houses look best with "formal" landscaping. Think boxwood hedges, brick walkways, and symmetrical plantings. A wild, messy wildflower garden can look great, but it often fights against the rigid symmetry of a Colonial house.
The Colonial Revival isn't going anywhere. It’s survived world wars, economic collapses, and the invention of the internet. It’s the architectural equivalent of comfort food. It reminds us of a past that maybe never quite existed exactly as we imagine it, but it’s a past we’re very comfortable living in. By sticking to the rules of symmetry, scale, and traditional materials, you can ensure that a Colonial built today will still be a sought-after home a hundred years from now.