American Architecture: The Elements of Federal Style
Federal home design style comes with another confusing name. In design, the word "federal" simply indicates the time period (1780–1820) when the style, known among architecture aficionados as the American phase of the Adam style, prevailed in the fledgling United States. The style borrowed heavily from contemporary European influences, particularly the English Adams brothers. The brothers had traveled to Italy and are credited with popularizing architectural details from original Roman and Greek buildings instead of their Renaissance interpretations.
Where to find it: All along the Eastern Seaboard, from Provincetown, Massachusetts, to Savannah, Georgia.
Why you'll love it: If you're an American history buff, you pride yourself on your patriotism and you're drawn to places like Boston, Georgetown in Washington, D.C., and Savannah, Georgia, this style has got your name all over it.
What Makes It Federal
A symmetrical facade. The typical form of original federal, or Adam, houses is a simple box shape, usually two to three rooms deep, with a symmetrical arrangement of doors and windows, especially on the front. Additions to the sides and rear are common.
A symmetrical facade. The typical form of original federal, or Adam, houses is a simple box shape, usually two to three rooms deep, with a symmetrical arrangement of doors and windows, especially on the front. Additions to the sides and rear are common.
A centered gable. The most common embellishment to the simple box form is the addition of a projecting gable, centered on the house's entry. Sometimes the facade beneath the gable, or pediment, remains on the same plane as the rest of the facade, while sometimes it projects slightly forward. Columns can often be found aswell.
Clapboard siding. Federal houses in the northern U.S. tend to be built with clapboard siding, often painted white with details like doors and shutters painted black.
Brick siding. In the southern U.S., or in urban row house variations, these homes tend to be built with brick.
A cornice. Federal-style homes typically emphasize the cornice (horizontal trim that marks the crown of a building element, like a wall or a window) with decorative molding, most typically toothlike dentils or blocklike projections.
A fanlight above the door. These semicircular or elliptical windows bring in additional light above paneled doors. They're often accompanied by sidelights (window panes flanking the door) and an elaborate crown and surround.
Double-hung windows. Federal-style homes almost always have double-hung windows, typically with six panes per sash. Windows are symmetrically arranged around a central door. The most common window configuration is five on the second story and four on the first.
Palladian windows. Named after Venetian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, these three-part windows, with a central light capped by a semicircular fanlight and flanked by a pair of sidelights, are common. They typically appear either on the second floor centered over the front door or in front or side gables.
Other decorative windows. In addition to Palladian windows, semicircular, elliptical or round windows sometimes embellish federal homes, typically under front or side gables.
A decorative balustrade. A roofline balustrade (a row of repeating supports that hold up a railing), either on top of the main building or on an addition, is another common embellishment. Due to their placement, these balustrades are typically purely decorative.
There's also a townhouse version in federal architecture. Many original Adam townhouses, both attached row houses and narrow detached urban houses, still exist. They're concentrated in cities like Boston, Philadelphia, Georgetown and Savannah.
Townhouse developments are becoming increasingly popular as part of an effort to conserve space and facilitate pedestrian zones. Most such developments built today are modeled on federal style.
Tell us: What do you think about the federal, or Adam, style? Are you ready to embrace it, or do you prefer to admire it from afar?
About the Author:
After studying art and architectural history in college and honing my journalism skills as a healthcare reporter, I combined my academic and professional lives as a design editor for Cottage Living, then Coastal Living. I'm now a freelance writer and editor and live in Birmingham with my husband, son, and puppy.