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Like Southern writers, Southern food, and Southern hospitality, there is a Southern style to homes. If you are living in the South, you’ll find certain elements to many of the homes which adds to the region’s ambiance and makes it feel distinctly…Southern.
Style History
There are several traditional architectural styles associated with Southern homes, including Antebellum, Greek Revival, and Neoclassical styles. These styles are not tied to specific house designs, however. They can be applied to different home designs also often associated with the South, including Colonial, Cottage, Plantation, Georgian and Federal. Such houses often include classic architectural details that contain elements of symmetry, order, elegance, grace, and balance, utilizing features such as columns, triangular gables and verandas.
Importance of the Porch
Many Southern homes seek to accommodate, and even take advantage of, the climate, moderating the heat and encouraging people to enjoy the outdoors and to socialize with their neighbors. Perhaps the most iconic Southern home feature is the front porch. A deep front porch is a sanctuary from the heat and a place to be social and visible. A sweeping veranda found on more formal home designs encourages people to spend much of their time outside the house proper, be it for dining, working, napping or relaxing with a cool drink.
Ranch Homes
Ranch homes, a design that originated in the West and Southwest and is unique to the United States, are the most popular home style for sale in most states. Known for its ease of single-floor living with open floor plans and attached garages, the ranch took a popularity backseat in the 1980s and 1990s but is now rising on a new wave of popularity. In some Southern states, the vast majority of homes for sale are now ranches. The ranch holds particular appeal to maturing Baby Boomers who grew up in them and are looking to return to their ease and simplicity as they age.
Mortgage Investors Group has been matching people with dream homes for nearly thirty years. We specialize in helping first-time home buyers and we offer a diversified line of residential mortgage products, including government and conventional loans, for purchase and refinancing. We are headquartered in Tennessee and have nearly 400 employees in 25 offices in six other Southern states. If this is your year to buy a home, we can help.
