Recommendation points
The construction of a country house is a unique opportunity to get your dream home that will meet all the requirements and wishes of the customer. In addition, it is a country house that allows you to choose the style of not only interior decoration, but also the exterior of the building, allows you to experiment with architectural solutions and realize your imagination.
In general, a private house is a much more individual structure than city apartments, even with an improved or free layout. The freedom to choose external parameters gives wide scope for the implementation of the ideas of the future homeowner, as a result, the streets of suburban villages turn into a real exhibition, where each house is something special and unique..
Of course, in suburban housing construction, there are also typical projects, to a greater extent it concerns economy-class buildings, when architecture fades into the background – the main thing is to invest in a rather meager budget. But even in this case, the visual appeal of the house is very important..
What architectural styles are in demand among homeowners in the Moscow region, Europe, America and the East? What do homeowners from different countries prefer??
Moscow suburbs
According to research carried out by Penny Lane Realty, classic style is still extremely popular among owners of houses and cottages in the Moscow region. According to the company, almost 40% of homeowners choose projects in the classic architectural style..
In many respects, this is a win-win; symmetrical, slender buildings without unnecessary details and pretentiousness always attract attention. As proved by many centuries of the existence of this architectural style, which appeared in ancient times, the classics do not go out of fashion and always remain relevant.
Perhaps this popularity of classical architecture is also due to the fact that many homeowners seek to emphasize the solidity and high status of their mansion. And it is for these purposes that slender columns and snow-white balustrades are best suited – an invariable attribute of the classics. This theory is proved by the fact that among the buyers of elite houses in the Moscow region, and most of them are officials aged 40 to 60, the percentage of classics lovers is even higher than among other buyers.
Classic mansion in one of the villages of the Moscow region
A country house in a classic style in the most elite village near Kiev – Koncha-Zaspa, an analogue of Rublyovka near Moscow
By the way, classic mansions are popular not only in the Moscow region, a significant part of elite mansions near Kiev or in Sochi are built in this style..
Of course, classicism in architecture has several varieties, there is the so-called English classical style, Russian classicism, neoclassicism and so on. However, mansions near Moscow rarely have pronounced features of one of them, more often the main distinctive features of the classics are taken as a basis.
In second place in popularity are the so-called “Canadian houses” sheathed with siding, based on a wooden frame. They have been popular in America and Canada for over 200 years, they are very warm, lightweight, quickly erected and have a relatively low construction cost. If in the classical style large mansions of two or three floors are more often erected, then Canadian houses, which are chosen by about 17% of homeowners near Moscow, can be quite modest, but at the same time they are quite attractive and very different in terms of external decoration.
Small Canadian house with artificial stone decoration
Another frame house, finish – wood
The third place in popularity among the styles of country houses in the Moscow region is occupied by the so-called Northern European or Scandinavian style, which came to our country from Norway, Finland, and Sweden. Houses are built in this style in Germany, in particular, in Bavaria, and in Switzerland, and in the Moscow region this style is preferred by about 16% of homeowners.
Its main difference is the desire for naturalness, the use of natural materials in decoration, such as stone, wood – beams or logs, the absence of bright colors in the facade decoration and harmony with the environment.
Bright, cozy house in Norway
Half-timbered houses also belong to the Northern European style, which do not “hide” their wooden frame, but, on the contrary, expose it to the public, which becomes the main decoration of the facade and the highlight of such suburban buildings.
In modern Germany, there are more than 2 million of such half-timbered houses, they are especially popular in Bavaria
Now the half-timbered houses are experiencing a new wave of popularity, but the architects are offering current homeowners a new, up-to-date version of such suburban buildings: with a large glazing area, huge panoramic windows. The frame in this case no longer plays such a big role as before and is usually painted over in the main shade of the facade.
Modern half-timbered mansion – light, bright, spacious
The Art Nouveau style is somewhat inferior in popularity to the Northern European direction of architecture among homeowners near Moscow – it is chosen by only 13% of owners of country houses. The main features of this architectural style are the almost complete absence of straight lines, simplicity of design and harmony of forms. The facades of such buildings in most cases have amazing dynamism and fluidity of form..
Bright, unusual and very attractive Art Nouveau house
Another version of an asymmetrical house with rounded walls, which are one of the distinctive characteristics of the Art Nouveau style
The rest of the styles of architecture in the vastness of the Moscow region are represented to a much lesser extent. If you list them in terms of popularity, then the traditional Alpine chalet is chosen by about 6% of homeowners; hi-tech, which has only recently begun to gain popularity, but has not been able to win the hearts of Russians – only 3% of owners of country houses; the same number of homeowners mix different styles of architecture and build houses in the eclectic style; about 2% more try to build houses in the American loft style – industrial and deliberately rough, and Gothic castles are not in demand at all – they are chosen by less than 1% of homeowners.
Analysts at Penny Lane Realty noted that the “Russian avant-garde” and the magnificent palace French style, as well as the pretentious baroque, and even more so, too “gingerbread” rococo, which were never in great demand, practically went out of fashion.
According to experts, modern homeowners are becoming more sophisticated in their preferences, striving to imitate Western fashion and restrained styles, close to natural forms and harmony with nature..
And yet, about 3% of Moscow region country houses do not lend themselves to any classification and cannot be attributed by experts to any well-known architectural style – this is a real figment of the imagination of their owners, and if the owner feels comfortable in such a house and has managed to make his dream come true – who said, that’s bad?
The chalet-style house is clearly divided into two levels – the first is faced with stone, the second is wooden, with an obligatory outdoor terrace
An abundance of glass and concrete – high-tech houses look ultra-modern
West
As mentioned above, the main trend in home construction in the United States and Canada is frame houses, which are quite simple, lightweight and at the same time warm and economical. Other popular trends in the United States include the colonial and neo-colonial styles, which are more modern and slightly modernized..
Such buildings are also usually divided into several types: English, French, Spanish, Georgian, Dutch colonial style. All these areas have several distinctive characteristics – usually such buildings are two-story, rectangular, rather simple, symmetrical, and the door is always located in the center of the front facade.
Typical English colonial style house, simple and solid
The exotic styles of private houses that are still popular in America include ranches – with minimal external decoration, usually one-story, with a large area and a profile as close to the ground as possible. Such houses are popular in Texas, but are considered the prerogative of farmers, and in the suburbs they are not widespread.
A small, one-story ranch-style house, such buildings can be built not only from brick and stone, but also from wood. The interior is most often designed in country style, also of American origin.
Antebellum houses, which means “before the war” in Latin, were widespread in the Southern States before the outbreak of the American Civil War. Outwardly, such houses are very similar to a somewhat simplified classicism and are still very popular in America, especially in the south. By the way, judging by the description, it was in such a house that Scarlett O’Hara, the heroine of the novel “Gone with the Wind” lived.
This is what Tara could look like – Scarlett’s estate
A distinctive feature of European country houses is the respect for ancient buildings. It is very difficult to imagine a house in Russia in which generations of the same family have been living for several hundred years, but for small towns in Italy and France it is rather a rule. Moreover, such buildings are not just architectural monuments, but really quite comfortable and inside are fairly modern houses that have managed to preserve their historical appearance.
The Italian style is a building with an almost flat roof with low ramps that are barely visible from the ground, brackets supporting the eaves, a small tower or even a bell tower and a belvedere.
The facades of Italian houses are most often simply plastered, painted in natural, not too bright shades.
In France, elite mansions are still often built in the chateau style – such buildings have many turrets, a very complex roof shape, with protrusions and depressions, the facade is faced with natural stone, which makes the house look like a small castle.
House in Italian style, with a turret and an open terrace on the ground floor
A luxurious chateau-style mansion must be surrounded by a French garden
We have already talked about other European styles – half-timbered houses and chalets, which are popular in our country. Among the other areas demanded by Europeans, one can mention minimalism, but this style is still much more often used in the design of interiors, and not the facades of buildings, the modern and neo-Gothic style already familiar to us with its strict facades and pointed towers.
East
Both Japanese and Chinese houses are characterized by an original roof, which immediately distinguishes such a building from ordinary modern cottages. Peaked ledges that end with such a roof make residential buildings look like religious buildings – pagodas.
Wood is most often used in the construction of Japanese and Chinese houses, but the ground floor can also be built of stone.
The Japanese pay great attention to the improvement of the local area, even on a small piece of land, managing to break a beautiful, albeit rather laconic Japanese garden.
Traditional Japanese house surrounded by a picturesque garden
Chinese house, the roof is somewhat similar to the roof of its Japanese “colleague”, often additionally decorated with carvings
Unfortunately, today in overpopulated China and Japan, which suffers from a lack of land, more and more often the choice is made in favor of ordinary, typical buildings, all the same Canadian houses that have proven themselves well in terms of resilience during earthquakes. So it is not so common to see new houses in traditional style in these countries now..
As you can see, architectural styles in different countries today do not differ so much. Of course, historically, each state has its own, traditional styles of house building, the same Russian huts made of shredded logs, Ukrainian clay huts, massive stone castles in Italy and France, but now during construction it is most often about investing in the budget and making a building comfortable, and not about strict adherence to one or another direction.
As noted by Ilya Anurov, general director of RCF Capital Trust: “The better the house is sustained in a certain architectural style, the more expensive it will be.” That is, if a prospective homeowner wishes to receive a building in a particular style, such as Italian, he must be willing to pay for it. That is why real estate developers, which are “trendsetters” in the suburban real estate market, usually offer houses with individual elements of classics or half-timbered houses, which in the end cannot be attributed to any of the main styles of architecture, but at the same time look quite attractive, and the main thing is that they are cheaper than their “stylish colleagues”.
What factors should one consider when choosing the style for a country house? Are there any specific architectural elements or design principles that can help create the perfect ambiance for a country retreat?