European Styles

There are many vastly different home styles which fall under the definition of 'European.' There are the stone castles of Ireland, the sprawling villas of Tuscany, the breezy cliff top Spanish houses, the stepped domes of seaside Greece, and the heavy, Gothic stylings the German architects. Because of Europe's long, rich history and exotic perception to Western eyes, no other subset of home styling is ripped off more frequently in North America. Hundreds of companies are developing ways to replicate European home styles.

This tradition goes back hundreds of years to when European settlers first moved to the continent and brought their architectural styles with them to make the place feel more like home. This is why you end up going for interviews in Edwardian styled converted offices when you're looking for jobs. New York alone probably has more Gothic-inspired architecture than half of the cities in Germany where the style originated, and the southern United States are littered with ranch-style homes settlers built to look like the ones they'd left behind in Spain.

Wheels Automotive Dealer Supplies Inc. (see website) graciously provided the Gothic style home photo:

However beautiful our rampant ripping-off of these home styles may look to us here, it doesn't hold a candle to seeing the real things in their natural environment. A stone cottage looks quaint to us nestled between a post office and the gardening store's banner advertisement for on a New York street, but on the top of a rolling plain in the English countryside surrounded by wooden fences to keep the cows in, it's simply divine. That's why real connoisseurs of European architecture don't just build houses in the style, they live in Europe.

The Tuscan style is a particular favorite for dream homes because in their natural environment in Italy they are associated with sprawling vineyards and romantic sunsets. The houses themselves were designed that way to have room for the equipment associated with a winery, grape presses, underground storage rooms, etc, but many of them are nonfunctional now that they've been sold to rich people looking for big houses and nice views.

In the same way, the stone cottages of England, Scotland and Ireland used to be home to the servants who looked after the vast lands and property associated with the castles, which sometimes were miles away. Today, though, you don't see clothing on washing lines much any more. The cottages have become suburban homes to big city commuters or vacation lodgings. The castles have mostly been converted into museums because it has become so economically unfeasible to heat, light, and maintain such enormous, drafty structures. Those that are still family homes belong to enormously wealthy clans, while the rest that are private residences have been leased or sold to eccentric rock stars and actors. Please visit homeplans.com to see some European designs.