I'd just call it a mess and be done with it.

It may be the angle at which the photo was taken, but the center section looks too narrow in proportion to the rest of the house. That style of house is so prevalent in Ladue (suburb of St. Louis) that we used to call it a "Ladue house." It's a mash up of styles and materials and yes, I think in some cases it can look better than good--- as long as the proportions are right, the colors are right (fit the brick or stone or whatever underpins the siding), etc.

You got it -- a bad rendition of colonial, stylized for 1960s/70s suburban America. Typically built with white aluminum siding and black shutters.

I've seen a few exterior renovations to this style that look pretty good ... example: deep blue siding and wide white trim and new shutters and a portico added. I'll see if I can find a photo.

Description by realtor says colonial..gotta assume he knows his business. The pic looks photo shopped to me.

I saw a lot of those when visiting family in Canada, but no idea of a particular name for them.

I can't tell from the photo if there is the second floor overhang that makes it a Garrison Colonial. Some expanded version of that, perhaps.

I just looked at my Field Guide to American Houses and couldn't find a roof line quite like that anywhere. The house borrows from the Colonial Revival era, but I think it would fall under the Neoeclectic, Neocolonial (post 1940) category. The authors say, "This style grades into the preceding Colonial Revival style but differs in showing less concern for precisely copying Colonial prototypes." They go on to talk about the way this style often has lower (in this case) or steeper roof pitches than earlier Colonial styles.

Further, in the Colonial Revival section of the book, they talk about the Garrison Colonial and the use of stone veneer on the lower half and wood cladding above. That was popular from the 1930s through the 50s.

I have to admit, I can appreciate this house and can envision it looking quite good.

Mid century colonial revival where they seem to be trying to make it look like three colonial row houses linked together. I 've only seen it in SEPa. Not my favorite. The scale seems off.

I've never seen that in my life!

It's not photo shopped. That house sold in like a day, so if you hate it, that's what the market is like here!

We're looking at another one that doesn't have the garrison overhang, but has asymmetrical windows, which is a little weird.

Maybe in other markets you can be picky, but not around here. I wish I could find a nice PA fieldstone house, but they do not exist for less than $850 in the good school districts with land. This is what there is.

This post was edited by KevinMP on Fri, Sep 19, 14 at 21:28

Sorry I have no idea of the style, I live in the land of houses with many styles thrown into the mix. Maybe thatâÂÂs why I donâÂÂt understand the negative responses on this house. I like it. There is something to be said for the mixy house and that is that it is gloriously open to eclectic interiors and artist imagination. You are not as restrained as you would be with a house that has a solid identity.

I have never seen that before. It isn't bad in my opinion. Is it 1970s? I think right now that 1970s and 1980s are sort of the ugly ducklings. They will probably come back just like MCM did. And what a nice area!

I've never seen that type of colonial before. It almost looks like townhouses but it's one house. The interior looked like it had good bones, though.

I'm not surprised the house sold so fast. At $700k it was a very good buy even with the cosmetic work that awaits.

Kevin, I'm not sure how much money you'd want to sink into renovations, but if it were me, I'd update the look by painting/changing shutters to a more muted tone and adding a portico or long front porch on the front elevation.

I couldn't find exactly what I'm envisioning, but here's an idea. I also picture a metal-roofed porch working well with that home style.

Here is a link that might be useful: Porch addition

If they're going like hotcakes, who cares what the "historical" evolution of style is. If you google images for PA colonials, you might fall off your chair if you think this one is bad. Frankly, I think it's a beautiful house. Let's see the one with asymmetrical windows; I'm not a big fan of symmetry. :)

jujubean71 that house makeover is fabulous. I think KevinMP will appreciate that look. It's beautiful.

Looks like a generic colonial to me except that (a) the middle is sticking out, and (b) it's 6 windows wide instead of 5.

I've seen them, just assumed they were a colonial, perhaps modified somewhat to suit the trend in the era in which they were built.

Do you have to stay on the Main Line? I can say for certain that in my school district (which is much further out from the city but still considered the burbs) you can find tons of 200 year old PA fieldstone farmhouses with a couple acres for $300-500K. And our high school was recently ranked in the top 20 in the state so it's an excellent district -- just much more remote.

If the choice was mine alone I'd head more toward Gwynedd Valley, but I'm no longer solo. I love parts of the Main Line, but I cannot compromise on the travel time to Center City. Radnor is as far as I'm willing to go.

When we were on our way to the club last evening for dinner I noticed two homes that were dead ringers for this one style wise. We live in PA also, though a much less expensive area than you are in. I thought both homes were quite lovely as is the one you posted. Both homes are on the road leading to the club and it is a very nice area.

We have homes like that here in Kansas City. Neo Colonial is how they are sometimes described. In reality, they are suburban houses that were trying to keep the look of 1930s colonial revivals (we have lots of those too) and also have the additional rooms that suburban homes for larger families wanted in the 70/80s. What usually makes them not "work" is the 2 car attached garage, though nicer once will have a side entry garage preserving some sense of a common themed facade.

To me the big issue with these homes can be the abundance of unusable formal spaces, with too little square footage devoted to the kitchen/family room area. Their Ranch-basesd side to side flow often gives narrow pass through rooms that make furniture arrangement difficult.

Well the house was worse on the inside, so fortunately, it's been bagged.

The thought of Kevin not being in his gorgeous home that he put so much time and work into making it so perfect is beyond me. Anyone else remember the posts of him worrying about the proper placement for his bust of Jefferson? Or was it Washington?

I think it was Jefferson because he was at University of Virginia grad

Mtn's right - it was TJ. If you scroll down you'll find a photo.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2484453/tj-has-arrived-for-the-mantel?n=55

Yes, he took a real- life wife and dumped us all. Phooey! Was such fun watching his townhouse progress. He was in Phil., like Pal, I think.

His home was in Washington Square West, a lovely old section of Philly. My DS rented a home very much like his, built in the early 1800's and about 750 square feet spread out over 3 floors, but ah..... let's say that's about the only resemblance. DS was not into interior decorating. Those homes are tiny and it's an interesting feat moving your furniture. DS's had been redone and the landlord put the kitchen in the basement with a high window in a large window well and he only had one room on each floor but it was still tight quarters.