Field Guide to American Houses - The guide tha enables you to identify, and place in their historic and architectural contexts, the houses you see in your neighborhood 
and across America. 

American House Styles: A Concise Guide - From the Publisher.  "Colonial," "Victorian," "Neoclassical," "Modern" - what distinguishes one architectural style from another? How and where did these different styles develop? America has an abundance of fascinating and varied house styles, as fascinating and diverse as its people. When we explore our neighborhoods and travel around the country, how do we recognize the kind of architecture we see? Even people interested in houses can rarely identify the style of their own homes with any precision. This unique book will allow readers to recognize the architectural features and style of virtually any house they encounter. To create this guide, architect John Milnes Baker designed a simple, two-story house with four bedrooms. From it he developed the basic plan for each historical style - from the steeply pitched roofs of Early New England Colonial houses to the turrets and grand porches of the Queen Anne style, the austere geometry of the International style, and today's Postmodern multiple eclecticisms. By starting each drawing with the same plan and adding the essential characteristics of each style, Baker ensures that the reader does not become confused by additions and later embellishments to the buildings. Each section of American House Styles begins with a historical overview of the period, followed by a concise commentary on each style. The author then highlights the specific design details that distinguish one style from another. He shows how different styles developed and what influenced their development. His beautifully wrought elevation drawings, each with a floor plan, illustrate the details of style clearly and with precision. Through an understanding of earlier styles, we develop insights into the architecture of our own era. Not only is it fun, but the study of architecture also nurtures a critical sense and allows us to make informed judgments about what is being built today.

American Homes: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Domestic Architecture - From the Publisher. A landmark of architectural history, American Homes surveys over 100 American housing styles and illustrates them through nearly 1000 line drawings. Using his own unique combination of "exploded" diagrams and floor plans and easy-to-follow text, award-winning architect and author Lester Walker has created the definitive bible of home design, fully practical but wonderful, too, for armchair browsing and dreaming.

Walker describes each style's signature features, and how, where, when and why the style developed in response to the landscape. The full evolution of American residential architecture is represented, including Dutch Colonials, Log cabins, Southern plantation mansions, Carpenter Gothics, Neo-modern styles-and more.

For anyone who has ever designed or owned a home--or just lived in one--American Homes is the quintessential reference to our country's dwellings, past, present and future.