1920's Courtyard House Plan

The 1920's courtyard house plan was just one of the many architectural styles that marked the decade. It defining quality was the decade after the First World War and the decade of the great depression. Society was changing and the old houses of the Edwardian era with their vast servants quarters were no longer needed, the word was becoming more egalitarian. Yet the period was also marked by a massive increase in the number of houses built. In America the number of houses went up by fifty percent there were eight million dwellings just after the war and by the outbreak of the Second World War there were twelve million.

Houses were in fact downsized for a variety of reasons in the twenties the primary reason was less servants. However activities in the home became less separated and children became more visible. So although the vast nurseries were no longer necessary children did need play spaces and more individual bedrooms. Whilst houses were smaller than the Edwardian era they were still large houses and none more so than the 1920's courtyard house plan.

The majority of house plans were still terraced or semi detached because most of the buildings were speculative and were funded by the last completed house project. The detached cottage style built around a courtyard epitomized the 1920's courtyard house plan. The characteristics were herringbone brickwork; wooden frames surrounded by iron casements with diamond shaped leaded window panes. The inspirations of these houses were the Tudor buildings and the arts and crafts movement.

The standard 1920’s courtyard house plan had a front room off a hall, with a dining room at the rear and a kitchen. The master bedroom was upstairs with a bathroom and toilet and the other bedrooms were built around the small courtyard. The 1920’s courtyard house plan was only popular for a short time and it was eclipsed by the art deco movement popularized during the thirties but begun in 1925. House owners decorated their houses with flowers and foliage and art deco wallpaper and fabrics which often featured abstract and geometric designs. Colors became brighter and more garish and this represented the modern style of the thirties which is still highly collectable today.

The 1920’s courtyard house plan included an attic in many cases, but the attics were left open so that the home owners could finish them later when funds permitted. It became popular because it reduced the selling price of the home.