Colonial, Neoclassical, Queen Anne, Craftsman-what distinguishes one architectural style from another? This unique book will allow readers to recognize the architectural features and style of virtually any house they encounter. Here, architect John Milnes Baker explains the historical, cultural, and technical influences that shaped each of these styles and many more. Organized in periods, from Early Colonial (1600-1715) to the Modern Movement (1920-60) and beyond, this tour of America's varied residential architecture is rendered in elevation drawings that precisely illustrate the key characteristics of each style. Nearly 25 years since the original publication of American House Styles, this updated edition includes a new preface and house styles from the mid-1990s to the present-from the rise and fall of the McMansion to energy-efficient, regionally influenced homes. The illustrations, now in color, are more delightful than ever in a new, larger format. This a must-have volume for anyone interested in architecture or adding a bit of style to their home.

The then private residences showcased in this monograph have been designed in by Garegin Yeghoyan (Professor of the International Academy of Architecture) and are testimony to the International Style set within the context of ancient Armenian architecture. These buildings can be seen as analogous to islands of contemporary architecture amidst an ocean of bland structure. They may be viewed against a backdrop of the natural environment and the 'structured chaos' of the vernacular fabric. Garegin Yeghoyan thus draws on the long tradition of Armenian architecture, which bears the hallmark of the simplicity and homogeneity offered by the rock-type known as tuff, with all its nuances of colour. This surface of natural stone constituting the ultimate Armenian building material offers an antithesis to modernist forms in concrete and metal and thus embodies the unique feature of this architecture.