House Construction Details

Homes Are Lacking Design Details

House construction details are one of my biggest pet peeves in the design business.

Today's house plans have made subdivisions appear faceless and cookie-cutter.

We live in a three dimensional world. And yet, when you drive through a subdivision in any city or town, you’ll see that designers have homes articulated beautifully on the front elevation. They look best when viewed straight on.

But if you go around the side or back of the house, you’ll find it hard to believe that this is the same house. It’s almost like they forgot to continue the architectural details.

Craftsmanship is a Bygone Era

Take a look at the house construction details of older homes. Homes that were built 75 years ago had scale, architectural details and integrity.

Designers back then carried those details to the sides and rear of the elevation. The homes’ architectural design was congruent on all elevations. In other words, the back and sides of the house look the same as the front.

Even in simpler and more modest older homes, architecture details evolved around the entire home.

It’s a shame that in order for builders to save on housing cost, they have sacrificed the architectural integrity of our homes of today.

Why Builders Lack Details?

Of course the reason that builders and designers minimize architectural features on the side and back of subdivision homes is simply cost. Features cost money. 

On these side and rear elevations, you’ll see windows and roof lines with no thought as to their placement. There is no relationship to the other homes around it or to the architecture at the front.

We Live in a 3D World

Here’s the thing. You don’t look at houses straight on. You view houses from many different angles, distances and locations. So should all the architectural beauty be left to the front elevation?

I don’t think so.

As a designer, I believe that features should permeate all four sides of a house. Designing features on subdivision houses is one thing. But when someone takes a subdivision plan and plots it on a lot that commands customization, that’s a shame!