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Northwest Regional (AKA Northwest Modern) Our region's answer to the International style, NW Regional centers local wood with ample unpainted lumber throughout. These minimalist homes often feature floor-to- ceiling windows and flat, shingled roofs with ample eaves to keep things dry. Mid-Century Modern Mid-Century Modern is all about clean lines, functionality, wide-open floorplans, big light-flooding windows, connectivity with outdoor space via sliding-glass doors, and no-frills aesthetics. The perfect abode for sipping cocktails and listening to Martin Denny records. Ramblers and Ranches Low-slung and hugging the ground seem to be major themes of this era. As a rule, these paeans to the expansive landscapes massive shanty towns called Hoovervilles popped up overnight. Building resumed with the introduction of federally-subsidized affordable housing developments and later wartime construction to accommodate Boeing employees and other workers during World War II. This was not an era of beauty but function first and foremost, with thousands of lookalike homes mass-produced across the region. WWII-Era Cottage These mass-produced homes might not look like much, but they got the job done: housing GIs and their families after the war. Little more than plain 1,000-square-foot structures that sometimes flirted with Art Deco, these "war boxes" were built on basic wood frames with simple siding or shingles. Despite their modesty, many of these are now highly prized by tiny house aficionados. Homes of the Future 1946 to 1970 After the privation of the Great Depression and War years, housing started blasting off in leafy suburban-style tracts as post-war Americans started careers and kicked off the baby boom. The dawn of the Jet Age had begun in Jet City, and Modern architecture, art, and design were in full swing. Boeing-era prosperity meant people were buying a lot of automobile-friendly single- family homes promising all the latest doohickeys and amenities. These were the "homes of the future," filled with ample space, modern appliances, and other conveniences that seemed beamed in from the future. of the American West offered casual living, asymmetrical but mostly rectangular layouts, open floorplans, low-pitched roofs, and just one highly accessible story. Split Levels The classic split-level is is a charming throwback, recalling beloved suburban family sitcoms of the 1970s. Similar in most ways to other modern homes, these feature multiple staggered floors connected by short stairs leading from the main floor to the master bedroom and basement. Fun to look at, but you had better enjoy stairs. Beyond Modern 1970 to 1990 The 1980s saw the intensification of master- planned housing and suburban tracts with homes of hitherto unseen spaciousness. While a lot of homes in this era generically mimicked what came before, there was a noticeable push among some homebuilders for wildly eclectic and bare-bones minimalism. Minimalist and Postmodern Less of a style and more of an idea, minimalist homes have been around since the Bauhaus movement in the 1920s. A fairly common approach in the Northwest—where it melded with Japanese influences—this PHOTO: COURTESY NIP TUCK REMODELING PHOTO: COURTESY PALMER RESIDENTIAL PHOTO: JJEFF HOBSON FOR LOCHWOOD-LOZIER CUSTOM HOMES PHOTO: COURTESY CARLISLE CLASSIC HOMES 42 master BUILDER | SPRING 2023