Palladian window
puh-LAY´-dee-uhn A Palladian window is a large, composite window made of three vertical sections. The middle section, which is wider than the side sections, has an arched top. Palladian windows, […]
Architecture
enfilade
EN´-fuh-layd An enfilade is a series of aligned internal doorways that forms a long vista when the doors are open. Enfilades were an important feature of palace architecture in the […]
loggia
LOW´-juh A loggia is a roofed porch, gallery, or hall open to the outside air on one or more sides. Loggias evolved in the Mediterranean region as open sitting rooms […]
veranda
vuh-RAN´-duh A veranda (also verandah) is a platform, usually roofed, and usually level with the ground floor, attached to the side of a building. The name comes from Hindi (varandā) […]
lanai
luh-NIGH´ Lanai is the Hawaiian term for ‘porch,’ ‘veranda,’ or ‘terrace.’ Lanais, which can be on any level of a house, are generally associated with dwellings in tropical areas, and […]
dacha
DOTCH´-uh The term dacha, which originally meant ‘land grant’ in Russian, now refers to a Russian country house, especially one used as a second home during the summer. Dachas range […]
brownstone
A brownstone is a multistory residential building—usually a row house in the Eastern United States—faced with red-brown sandstone carved in elaborate designs. In general, brownstones have a ground floor, a […]
hôtel particulier
oh-tell paw-teak-oo-LYAY´ An hôtel particulier is a large French townhouse, usually freestanding, set between an entrance court and a garden. Hôtels particuliers typically have at least three stories, with steep Mansard […]
prewar apartment
A prewar apartment is a unit in a type of elegant apartment building constructed in New York City prior to 1941, the year the U.S. entered World War II. Prewar […]
duplex
DOO´-plecks In flyover country, a duplex is a two-family home, usually divided down the center, and often rather downscale. But in larger cities, especially New York, a duplex is an […]