The End Of An Era: 14 Maryland Home Styles Becoming Obsolete By 2030
Maryland’s architectural landscape is changing faster than crab cakes disappear at a summer picnic! As a designer who’s watched housing trends evolve over decades, I’m seeing certain beloved home styles fade into history books.
Market demands, sustainability concerns, and changing aesthetics are pushing these once-popular designs toward extinction. Let me walk you through the Maryland home styles that likely won’t survive this decade.
1. Overly Ornate Colonial Revival
Gone are the days when columns and pediments ruled Maryland neighborhoods! Those grandiose Colonial Revival homes with excessive moldings, unnecessary columns, and ornate entryways are quickly becoming dinosaurs in our design ecosystem.
Homeowners now crave cleaner lines and less maintenance. The formal symmetry and decorative overload that once signaled wealth now scream ‘outdated’ to younger buyers who prefer functional spaces over showpieces.
2. Split-Level Facades
Those awkward split-level homes with their disjointed facades are heading for extinction. You know the ones, half the house sits higher than the other, creating that choppy, unbalanced appearance that dominated Maryland suburbs in the 70s and 80s.
Modern homebuyers crave cohesive designs that flow naturally. The practical interior advantages of split-levels can’t overcome their jarring exterior appearance and difficult curb appeal.
3. Faux-Tudor Exteriors
Fake Tudor exteriors with their stick-on half-timbering are quickly becoming the mullets of Maryland architecture! Once considered sophisticated, these homes with decorative non-structural beams slapped onto stucco now look like costume jewelry in a fine art gallery.
Authenticity matters to today’s homeowners. The maintenance nightmares and dated appearance of these pseudo-European facades have buyers running toward more honest architectural expressions that don’t pretend to be from another century.
4. Excessive Victorian Trim And Details
What do you think is driving the shift away from heavily ornamented Victorian homes toward simpler, low-maintenance designs? Victorian homes drowning in gingerbread trim are losing their charm faster than a sandcastle at high tide!
Those houses with every eave, corner, and porch dripping with ornate woodwork are becoming maintenance monsters nobody wants to feed. Weather takes a toll on all that fancy trim.
Homeowners increasingly reject the endless painting, replacing, and repairing that these decorative elements require. The elaborate Victorian look is giving way to designs that honor historical character without the crushing upkeep demands.
5. McMansion Brick And Stone Combo
McMansions with their confused mix of materials are finally facing the wrecking ball of good taste! These oversized homes featuring random combinations of brick, stone, stucco, and siding on a single facade look like they got dressed in the dark.
Material consistency matters in design. The hodgepodge approach that defined early 2000s luxury homes now signals poor planning and dated aesthetics to buyers. Home seekers prefer intentional design choices over scattered material sampling.
6. Builder-Grade Brick Facades
Builder-grade brick facades with their flat, uniform appearance are becoming the beige wallpaper of Maryland neighborhoods! These one-dimensional fronts with perfect machine-made bricks in monotonous patterns lack the character buyers increasingly demand.
Texture and depth create visual interest. Modern homeowners crave bricks with variation, handmade qualities, or alternatives altogether. The cookie-cutter brick front with vinyl sides and back screams “developer special” in a market that values authenticity.
7. All-Brick Boxy Designs
Those boxy all-brick ranchers and split-foyers that populate Maryland’s older suburbs are falling faster than autumn leaves! Their rigid rectangular shapes and unbroken brick exteriors create a heavy, dated appearance that younger homebuyers actively avoid.
Visual variety keeps architecture interesting. Modern designs incorporate multiple materials and varied rooflines to create more dynamic facades.
The monotonous brick box has become shorthand for “needs updating” in today’s real estate listings.
8. Heavy Stone Veneer Overuse
Heavy stone veneer slapped across home facades is crumbling from popularity faster than ancient ruins! Those houses with massive cultured stone applications covering entire walls or awkwardly wrapping columns have become the shoulder pads of Maryland architecture.
Balance is essential in material application. The overwhelming stone look that dominated early 2000s custom homes now appears dated and excessive.
Designers are returning to thoughtful stone accents rather than stone-covered fortresses that feel imposing rather than inviting.
9. Synthetic Shake Siding
Fake shake siding with its too-perfect patterns is losing its grip on Maryland homes! This synthetic attempt to mimic cedar shakes often results in a plastic-looking facade that fools absolutely nobody standing closer than fifty feet away.
Authenticity trumps imitation every time. While real cedar shakes remain desirable, their poor synthetic cousins with uniform colors and repeated patterns are falling from favor. Today’s improved alternatives either embrace their modern nature or more convincingly replicate natural materials.
10. Plain Vinyl Siding Without Character
Basic vinyl siding installed in boring horizontal strips is becoming the flip phone of exterior materials! Those plain-Jane facades with nothing to break up the monotony of straight siding lines are increasingly viewed as builder-basic and uninspired.
Visual interest requires texture variation. Modern exteriors incorporate mixed materials, varied siding orientations, or architectural details to create dimension.
The flat, characterless vinyl box has become synonymous with “starter home” in a market where buyers at all price points expect more personality.
11. Over-Decorated Front Porches
Fussy front porches drowning in decorative brackets, spindles, and gingerbread trim are being swept away by design evolution! These over-embellished entryways with more ornamental elements than a Victorian jewelry box create maintenance headaches and dated first impressions.
Simplicity brings sophistication to outdoor spaces. Clean-lined porches that prioritize function while maintaining character are replacing their overdressed predecessors. The trend toward minimalism has homeowners removing decorative clutter for more timeless porch designs.
12. Excessive Decorative Shutters
Fake shutters that couldn’t possibly close are being shut out of modern design! Those skinny decorative panels flanking windows, often screwed directly into brick and completely wrong-sized for the openings they pretend to cover, are the architectural equivalent of clip-on ties.
Functionality matters even in decorative elements. Today’s homeowners either install proper working shutters or none at all.
The plastic pretenders that dominated suburban homes for decades are finally being recognized as the useless appendages they always were.
13. Oversized Gables And Dormers
Massive gables and oversized dormers that dominate rooflines are tumbling down in popularity. These disproportionate features that made homes look like they were wearing ten-gallon hats created awkward exterior proportions and often indicated poorly planned interior spaces.
Architectural harmony depends on balanced proportions. The trend toward enormous dormers and towering gables that peaked in the early 2000s has given way to more restrained roof designs. Today’s homes feature properly scaled elements that complement rather than overwhelm the overall structure.
14. Overly Themed Nautical Or Chesapeake Bay Styles
Homes that scream “I LOVE BOATS!” through excessive nautical theming are sailing into the sunset! Those houses with anchor motifs, lighthouse details, and wave-patterned everything have become the architectural equivalent of a souvenir shop.
Subtle references beat heavy-handed themes. While Maryland’s maritime heritage remains important, today’s homeowners prefer nuanced nods to coastal living rather than houses that look like they’re wearing a sailor costume.
The ship wheel door knocker and blue-and-white striped everything approach is finally walking the plank.
