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The Best Types of Home Additions for Every Home Style


A well-planned home addition is a great way to boost your property value and enhance your living space. In Southeastern Pennsylvania, varied architectural styles range from historic Colonial and Victorian homes to newer, more contemporary builds.

This means your home addition needs to meet your family’s needs while honoring the existing structure’s architecture. Considerations that help the addition feel integrated rather than tacked on include the proportions of the new structure, the materials used, and the roof style.

Meridian Construction has remodeled homes of many common architectural styles in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and we have addition ideas for each:

Choosing the Best Addition To Complement Your Colonial Home

Colonial style home addition

The Colonial style has symmetrical designs, two-story construction, gabled roofs, and intricate ornamentation, such as large columns and arches. The interior features a grand entrance, a wide staircase, and a fireplace.

Here are some seamless addition ideas for your Colonial home:

  • Adding a bedroom or home office over the garage enhances privacy and taps into unused space.
  • Expanding the kitchen with a strategically planned first-floor addition opens up the most important room in the house.
  • A dormer addition adds valuable space and light, enhancing your home’s structure without straying from its original character.

Ideal Addition Types for Victorian-Style Homes

Victorian brick home exterior addition

Victorian homes have complex, asymmetrical shapes, elaborate detailing, and vibrant colors. Key features include pitched roofs, ornate gables, rounded towers, and impressive bay windows.

Decorative woodwork often adorns the exterior. Interiors are equally lavish, offering a unique canvas for additions:

  • A second- or third-story addition maximizes your living space without increasing the home’s footprint.
  • Creating a new primary suite is your chance to enjoy a luxurious and spacious area that’s larger than the other bedrooms in your home.

Perfect Home Additions for Ranch-Style Homes

White ranch style home with black shutters, manicured green front lawn, one-car garage on right, and trees on either side. Dormer addition.

Ranch-style homes are one-story properties with long, low profiles and attached garages. Key characteristics include open floor plans, large windows, and sliding glass doors.

Consider these additions that are well-suited to a ranch-style home:

  • An accessory dwelling unit near the main house provides excellent guest accommodations or a potential rental space.
  • A second-story addition can effectively double the living space of a single-story ranch home.
  • Installing a dormer addition in the attic increases curb appeal and adds living space with taller ceilings and natural light.

Enhancing Your Cape Cod Home: The Right Additions To Consider

Cape Cod style home with white siding, red front door, two-car garage addition on the left, small one-story addition on the right, and three dormers across front of roof.

Cape Cod homes feature a charming, straightforward design. They’re characterized by steep roofs, symmetrical designs, and multi-paned windows flanking a central front door.

Traditional Cape Cods are one-and-a-half stories, with dormers providing light and space to the upper level. Cape Cod homes are perfect for these practical expansions:

  • A kitchen addition or a bump-out provides more functional space in the heart of your home.
  • Adding an ADU increases your property’s value and versatility, offering an additional living area that’s great for family members looking to age in place.
  • A dormer addition makes the upper floor more usable without altering the Cape Cod’s iconic silhouette.

Best Home Addition for a Contemporary Home

Two-story light brick contemporary style home with black-framed windows, A-frame roof, and sunroom addition on the left.

Contemporary architecture encompasses a range of styles developed in the last 50 to 75 years. This style focuses on streamlined materials, visible structural elements, and expansive window walls.

There are plenty of opportunities for sleek, modern additions:

  • A primary suite addition adds a luxurious setting to your contemporary home where you can unwind after a long day.
  • A garage addition provides space for storage or vehicles while complementing your home’s modern aesthetic.
  • A sunroom addition allows for even more natural light and living space inside.

Expand Your Home With Meridian Construction

The Meridian Construction team would love the opportunity to enhance your Southeastern Pennsylvania home with an addition that suits your home’s architectural style.

If you ever decide to sell, buyers want a home that feels cohesive. These upgrades will only make your home more attractive, so you’ll get a good return on your investment.

We promise to handle the design and construction process from start to finish, creating a stress-free experience and lasting results you’ll love.

Contact Meridian Construction for a free home addition consultation in Montgomery or Bucks County, PA.

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