Most of these styles are pretty standard throughout the real estate industry, however, there are a few local terms that I thought might be beneficial to share with you. What was interesting to me was that more than half of the homes in our current MLS were placed in the wrong architectural category. I’m not throwing my local members under the bus, but I couldn’t believe how inaccurate this category ended up being under my search.
GAMBREL STYLE:
Well known for it’s barn style shape roof, there are different variations to this type of construction in our area of Big Bear. This type of home was popularized in the 1960′s and 1970′s by several well known local builders. In the 1960′s Hillcrest Construction (where Butcher’s Block is) would advertise on their lumber yard these affordable homes as a “you-finish-it” project. They would frame the house, put the windows and doors on and let the owner hang the sheet rock, install cabinets and flooring and do all the finishwork. John and Joe Voss (local builders in the 70′s and 80′s) were two of the original sales people who later made a big influence in construction in our Valley. Then in the 1970′s and 1980′s builders such as Rafferty, Looney, and Nootenboom made their living building these types of homes under speculation.
*This particular home is currently listed with Tyler Wood at Coldwell Banker. To see more photos of this home and to get specific information click here.
SIERRA STYLE:
This style of home generally has a rectangular shape to it with a steep A-frame pitch in the middle of the house, usually right above the door, for dry access during the wet seasons. This home was also built in the 1960′s by Hillcrest Construction and has a nice mountain flare to it.
MALTBY STYLE:
If you are not familiar with the Big Bear area, you probably wouldn’t recognize the term “Maltby”. This is because it is named after Gus Maltby, a local builder who used to build up here in the 1920′s, 30′s and 40′s. Some of the main features that separate this type of construction are the exterior half log siding, the local natural rock he used to make the fireplaces, large porches, and the custom cast iron lighting fixtures. He owned the Bear Valley Milling and Lumber Company and milled the log siding for all of his cabins there. He is most notably known for the Peter Pan Woodland Club, which he built and also built cabins on the land that members of the club belonged to. The term “Maltby” in our community is more commonly referred to the builder’s own style of craftsmanship and time period, not necessarily a particular shape of construction.
LOG STYLE:
Right now, this is the most popular type of construction in Big Bear because it looks like a mountain cabin. There are full log homes (which typically are more expensive to build because of the labor involved) and there are log-sided constructions in Big Bear. The log-sided homes are built just like a typical home would be built (stick frame construction), they just add log accents to make it look like a log construction. Normally the builders incorporate the Chalet style, the A-Frame style or Ranch style architecture when they build these types of homes. Builders who have specialized with the full log construction include Bruce Picciolo (Country Heart Homes), and Brad Lindley (Lindley Log Home Construction). Bob Gilligan (Gilligan Log Homes) has built more log sided homes in the valley than any other builder, but there have been dozens of other builders to specialize in this type of construction.
A FRAME STYLE:
This style of architecture is popular for vacation homes in ski resort areas so it is obviously popular in my area. This type of construction is more typical in wintery conditions because it ensures good snow melt. With the dramatic sloping roof (shaped like an “A”) it has a very distinctive style.
CHALET STYLE:
This is another popular style because of the number of vacation homes people own in Big Bear Lake, CA. The chalets are typically rectangular shaped with a fatter pitched roof than an A-frame. They generally have big lofts or second floor balconies and have exposed beams on the inside. This type of construction is also good in snowy conditions because of the ease of snow melt.
RANCH STYLE:
This type of home is noted for its long low to the ground profile. Some features might include but are not limited to: single story, retangular shaped, simple long floorplans, large windows, and low simple roof lines.
*This property is currently listed with Steve Hirschler at Coldwell Banker. For more information regarding this home click here.
CONTEMPORARY:
This type of home is not found very often in my particular area. This style is much more modern and high tech. There are many different variations of contemporary that I won’t get into. I think the picture is self-explanatory.
VICTORIAN STYLE:
This style of home was popularized by the Victorian Era and normally is characterized by multiple stories, smaller sized rooms, it usually has a turret and long sweeping covered balcony. There are many types of Victorian style homes, but this is another type of construction that we don’t see much in the mountains. I would say there are approximately 50 in our area.
I hope this has been helpful and if you have any questions or if I can help you with your mountain home search feel free to contact me.
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