What Is Colonial Revival Architecture?

Colonial revival homes typically feature two stories, wood siding, prominent front doors, and symmetrical windows with shutters. One of the most popular and lasting examples of American architectural design, it’s derived from early American home styles of the 17th and 18th centuries.

The Colonial style was “revived” around the late 1800s and was most popular through the 1940s, but this style is still prominent today. Colonial architecture is a broad umbrella, and it includes other styles such as Colonial revival, Spanish revival, and Georgian. Read on for more details and a history of this architectural style, along with its defining features. 

Colonial revival style architecture as we know it was first introduced in the late 19th century. The United States' first centennial celebration in 1876 renewed interest in the patriotic American Colonial style—this was the style in which most early American homes were built in the 1600s and 1700s. 

While various European styles, like British, French, Dutch, and Spanish, influenced the Colonial style, the American Colonial had a more simple, practical, paired back look. It typically featured two stories, wood siding, and symmetrical, box-like facades.

Colonial revival architecture tends to be more ornate than those first early American structures. The style gained popularity through the early 20th century, and tapered off in popularity post-WWII. However, it remains a common home style in areas like New England and the Mid-Atlantic.

The defining features of Colonial revival architecture are symmetrical facades and window placements, central front doors, and wooden clapboard siding. Here are more details on how to identify a Colonial home.

From the front view, a Colonial revival home is usually symmetrical. It has two stories, a centered front door, and an equal number of windows on each side. The main box is an exact rectangle or square—though there might be an addition (or several additions) on either side or off the back.

There’s no mistaking where the front entrance is on a Colonial revival house—and the front door is often the only visible entrance. It’s right in the middle of the main box, it’s sometimes painted a bright or distinctive color, and it can be adored with pillars, a portico, or other classical decorative elements.

The windows on the first and second stories of the main box are typically in perfect alignment. These windows often have decorative shutters—or space for decorative shutters, which would have been functional in a true Colonial-era home.

Colonial roofs are usually side-gabled (though they’re sometimes front-gabled or hipped), with a symmetrically sloping front and back and triangular gables on the left and right sides. Sometimes the roof has dormer windows that give natural light to the third story/attic. The roof pitch is never below 7:12 or above 10:12, and the roof is covered in shingles.

Colonial revival architecture typically has wood clapboard siding. Today that siding is sometimes solid cedar but sometimes made of composite or engineered wood materials. In a traditional Colonial home it would have been solid wood of whatever variety was available locally.

The home usually has a central staircase immediately accessible when you walk in the front door, and the interior is divided into small, separate rooms.

Colonial architecture is a wide umbrella encompassing many different styles, from traditional American colonial architecture to Spanish revival and Georgian revival. Read more about the different kinds of Colonial architecture below.

American Colonial architecture encompasses all the building styles brought from European countries to the American colonies. The oldest, most classic American colonial buildings have symmetrical facades, small windows, and steep roofs, and were built with whatever materials were available in the 1600s and 1700s—mostly wood in New England and stone in the Mid-Atlantic. Later American Colonial styles are described below.

Spanish Colonial revival architecture has elements of Spanish Colonial, Mission revival, and even Pueblo revival. It’s historically popular in US states like Florida, Texas, and California. The style is characterized by terra cotta roof tiles, stucco wall finishes, and interior or exterior courtyards. Unlike Colonial revival homes, Spanish Colonial homes don’t often have symmetrical layouts.

While similar to Colonial revival buildings, Dutch Colonial revival homes have double-pitched gambrel (or “barn” style) roofs. They typically have a central entrance, dormers, clapboard siding, and two stories, the second within the pitched roof.

Georgian Colonial revival architecture, also known as Georgian architecture, has similar design elements to a Colonial revival—the biggest difference is its exterior is usually brick rather than wooden clapboard, and its roof is typically hipped rather than gabled. The Georgian style also has two stories and symmetrical window and door placement. 

Besides two stories, shutters, and symmetrical door and window placement, French Colonial architecture often has other elements that distinguish it from Colonial architecture—like tall windows, balconies and verandas, and high ceilings. The style is popular in the Southeast and Midwest, especially Louisiana and Illinois.