3 Most Popular Home Styles in East Texas

Your home is a reflection of you—your personal style, personality, and aesthetic values. When you have the opportunity to custom design your home, making all elements of your style speak is paramount. But where do you begin?

First, let your research be your guide. Compile a folder, list, Pinterest page, or whatever helps you gather the types of homes that strike you and the features you like. Then share your list with your JennRand Diversified project manager. Our team loves working with you and using your ideas when designing a custom home just for you!

To get your research started, here are some classic and iconic Texas home styles that you’re likely to find popping up in cities, suburbs, and throughout the countryside.

1. Ranch House

The ranch home (a.k.a rancher or rambler) is that iconic one-story home that Americans have fallen in love with since the 1940s. It is favored by older homeowners who want fewer stairs in their house, but the style is ideal for anyone.

Its open floor plan is ideal for entertaining or handling large families, and the style encourages indoor-outdoor living with its large, picturesque windows and multiple outdoor access points. Add instant charm and functionality by incorporating outdoor porches, kitchens, and living spaces that take advantage of the warm Texas climate.

Ranch homes look beautiful with nearly any kind of siding, brick, or stone facades, and there’s no limit to the color combinations you can use to make these homes stand out, blend in, or suit your style.

The ranch style is also one of the easiest homes to care for, with few hard-to-reach places to clean, easy navigation in its spaciousness, and quick access to its utilities and appliances. It’s no wonder a ranch house is so popular!

2. Craftsman Bungalows

Craftsman homes are all about detail, simplicity, and using local materials, like Texas limestone, in their architecture. Featuring handcrafted woodworking and subtle earth-tone colors, this style of home accentuates simple elegance in one or two stories.

Model your home after the true Arts and Crafts movement and customize built-in bookshelves, pantries, and window seats. Incorporate carved wood railings and banisters on your staircase, let exposed beams be shown in ceilings, and include stained glass windows for added pops of color throughout your home’s main rooms.

This adaptable home style typically uses lower-sloped roofs, wider eaves, and triangular bracketing and looks just as good with or without a porch. Having a porch definitely adds helpful shade as the weather heats up and looks stunning when featuring thick wood columns holding up a slightly sloping roof.

3. Modern Homes

What we love about modern homes is how they combine some of the best features of ranch and Craftsman-style homes while emphasizing the use of sustainable materials and energy efficiency. This increasingly popular home style takes beauty and function to the next level!

Similar to ranch homes, this style utilizes an open floor plan and is guided by function over ornamentation. It stresses logical floorplans, useable space, large windows for allowing natural light in, and streamlined indoor-outdoor living areas complete with sliding glass walls and walk-out patios.

Like Craftsman houses, the modern home also blends local, natural, and sustainable materials into the architectural design, often featuring local stones with concrete, steel, and glass in minimalistic, straight-line patterns that are visually striking.

The main focus of the modern home is to help homeowners live with more energy efficiency. In Texas, these homes rely on reflective colors that don’t trap heat and allow your A/C not to work as hard to cool your space. The layout also contributes to better airflow and efficiency in your home.

Build Beautifully With JennRand Diversified

No matter what stage of researching and planning you’re at when preparing for your custom home project, JennRand Diversified is here to help! Check out our portfolio of past projects to encourage your search. Then bring your ideas, lists, scrapbook of images, and anything else, and let our team design and build the gorgeous home you’ve been dreaming of in the style that suits you best.

From home remodeling to commercial construction projects, our experts have been helping East Texans build original homes and sustainable buildings that last for generations. With 20 years of experience, our team is dedicated to building for your future!

Start the conversation for your home building project by calling 903-557-1070 or connecting with us online!