Tudor house styles are types of Medieval architecture houses built in England that sprung up during the Tudor period around (1485–1603) and even beyond. The word Tudor is generally not used to refer to the whole period of the Tudor dynasty but to the style used in buildings of some prestige in the period roughly between 1500 and 1560.

Characteristics of the Tudor House Style

What makes a house a Tudor House? The most important characteristics are their distinct appearance which makes them easily recognizable.

They are mostly characterized by their steeply pitched gable roofs, playfully elaborate masonry chimneys (often with chimney pots), embellished doorways, groupings of windows, and decorative half-timbering, this last an exposed wood framework with the spaces between the timbers filled with masonry or stucco.

Steeply pitched gable roofs: With the Steeply Gable roof design, this consist of two sections sloping opposite in direction and placed with the highest and horizontal edges which meet to form the roof ridge. Most of these type of designs are achieved using roof trusses, rafters or purlins. Most roof pitches and the height of the gutters vary greatly. Most Gable roofs are inexpensive, can be designed using different variations and are based on a simple design principle. This design principle is to prevent roof tiles to keep out rain, and are traditionally made from locally available materials such as terracotta or slate. Modern materials such as concrete and plastics are also used and some clay tiles have a waterproof glaze. playfully elaborate masonry chimneys (often with chimney pots): 

With the masonry chimney design, an adequate and strong concrete footing is used to support the weight of the chimney and fireplace. Most masonry chimneys are constructed using Flue liners, Refractory Mortar, Mortar, Concrete Blocks, Fire Brick and Natural stone.

One of the best examples of a Tudor style house in Montgomery County, Maryland, is the landmark Newlands/Corby Mansion in Chevy Chase at the juncture of Chevy Chase Circle, Connecticut Avenue, and Brookville Road. The residence has a variety of characteristics that make it a highly stylized Tudor, including dormers, richly decorated chimneys, uncoursed stone, half-timbering, wide, decorated vergeboards, and a stone porte-cochere.

The Tudor style fell out of popularity around World War II when a resurgence of patriotism encouraged an appreciation for a more American style, that is, Colonial Revival. Tudor architecture was also expensive to build, not easily replicated and prone to maintenance issues.

Tudor Style House Interior Characteristics

Most Tudor ceilings look like cathedral styles because they mimic the old Traditional Gothic styles. With box-beams stained dark served as both structural support and aesthetic. Today’s decor uses faux beams with lightweight which are easy to add to a modern ceiling. Ceilumes or Tilton Coffered Ceilings offer several options for customizations.

They also use a Coffered ceiling with stained dark like woodwork. Ceilings are sometimes painted to avoid dark room appearance. 

Tudor House Wall Treatments

Most of the time, interior walls are also repeated with stucco and rail. Some are also made with stones and plastered over with panelling. Most panel designs consist of squares and rectangles. Mostly made dark stained oaks. Panels are also used to cover two-thirds of the height of the wall mostly called wainscot.

Tudor House Painting: Most Tudor homes are typically painted with whitewash on the plaster walls. However, there are different choices of colours to choose from. Most colours for Tudor houses are dark, drab effects from traditional Tudor designs. Warm colours are used to contrast the dark colours like yellow, amber, red or gold.