What Is a Georgian-Style Home? (2024)

FAQs

What defines a Georgian style home? ›

Georgian houses are characterized by their: Rigid symmetry in building mass as well as window and door placement. Brick, stone, or stucco (brick is most predominantly used) Hip roofs, sometimes with dormers. Window decorative headers.

Georgian homes 1714 to 1830 / 1837

Externally these homes are of symmetrical proportions with high ceilings, flat or shallow roofs partially hidden behind parapets, stucco-faced external ground floor elongated rectangular windows with fan windows frequently positioned above the main entrance.

Georgian architecture in the American colonies was most commonly seen in large, rectangular houses with two stories, high ceilings, and a taste for white-trimmed windows and doorways. Symmetry was highly encouraged, and was most visible through the common repitition of 5 windows on each floor (or 4 windows and a door).

The Georgian period covers the reign of George I to George IV. Broadly speaking, it covers the 18th century and is generally identified by very simple facades. It is all about symmetry, and Georgian properties often appear quite plain. They are often built with brick and stone, sash windows, and later with stucco.

A significant difference in the exterior façade is the presence of a projecting portico at the main entrance that is frequently present in the Federal style and not common absent in the Georgian style.

This fascination with the classical period become a chief theme of Georgian interiors. Marble surfaces and stone flooring were used in Georgian houses to emulate the grandeur of an ancient temple. Columns were also used for this purpose, as well as arches and pediments positioned above doors.

- Design Features of Georgian Architecture -

These houses typically have a large central main body, smaller hyphens (connectors between the main body and wings), and symmetrical wings. Floor plans are most commonly two rooms deep and are one or two stories tall, with pitched roofs.

Fun Facts about the Georgian period

Georgian houses didn't have carpet on their floors – they were mainly just bare floorboards, which were sometimes covered in part by ornamental rugs. Larger houses often had stone or marble floors.

One of the biggest indicators of whether a property is from the Georgian era is what material was used to build them. Many Georgian homes have thick walls built from stone with Portland Stone being incredibly popular as a building material in Central London.

Why are they called Georgian houses? ›

Georgian architecture is a popular style named for the reigns of the first four King Georges of England. These graciously proportioned classical buildings are marked by an understated elegance. Their pleasing symmetry, in part achieved by applying the golden ratio, is easy on the eyes.

A classic Georgian home is square or rectangular, made of brick, and features symmetrical windows, shutters, and columns. “Grand entrances were often embellished with pediments, arches, and columns, and interior spaces featured high ceilings, window headers, and crown molding,” says Muniz.

If you ask most people to sketch a Georgian house, it will most likely be a rectangle with a door in the center, double-hung windows, a hipped roof and brick.

Symmetry and proportion are two of the most fundamental principles in a Georgian aesthetic. The Georgians were great subscribers to mathematical ratios when determining their approach to space. You can expect to see buildings erected in precise cuts of stonework that follow the same form throughout.

Georgian homes typically have well-developed classical cornices, often with larger block modillions or smaller teeth like 'dentil' moldings. After 1750, entry porticos, dormers, decorative quoins, central belt courses, central gables with two-story pilasters, and roof balusters became more prevalent.

If you ask most people to sketch a Georgian house, it will most likely be a rectangle with a door in the center, double-hung windows, a hipped roof and brick. It's true that most Georgians have some combination of those characteristics, but not necessarily due to lack of originality.