Home » Misc » Modern saltbox house

Modern saltbox house


Everything You Need to Know About Saltbox-Style Houses

There’s something about an old house with good bones—and the New England saltbox is the mother of all relics. Drive northbound on I-95 along the Atlantic coast in what has come to be called Yankeeland, and these picturesque homes will start to crop up. “It’s a distinctive profile on the New England landscape,” says Maine state historian Earle G. Shettleworth Jr. “In its rural or coastal setting, it creates a wonderful sense of 18th-century time and place. You can’t look at that without wondering who built that and what their life was like.”

The story of saltbox homes goes beyond brick and mortar, or rather—shingle and clapboard. These humble landmarks are vestiges of early European settlers and the tough realities of everyday living. And while this quaint home style has roots going back centuries, many contemporary architects have reinvented its design in modern revivals. Here’s all you need to know about saltbox-style homes.

What Is a Saltbox-Style House?

Viewing the house from the front, one could easily mistake any saltbox for a colonial-style home—with its flat exterior and simple symmetrical facade—but a few steps to the side and that classic steep-pitched roof will give it away.

The saltbox takes its name from a popular wooden box used to store salt. In early colonial America, salt was hard to come by and valuable enough to merit display in decorative wooden boxes. These boxes, which hung on their walls, had slanted lids—thus a fitting name to also be bestowed upon their houses, which imitated that charming “lopsided” shape.

A mixed-wood saltbox, late 19th or early 20th century, Shenandoah Valley.

Courtesy Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates

Saltbox homes were typically built with two stories in the front and one in the rear, accented by a single chimney rising from the center. They were often sheathed with shingles and painted shutters. As it would be a few centuries before electricity was invented, saltbox windowpanes were strategically placed to get maximum sunlight.

Inside, there is often a great-room entrance and a rear kitchen. With the abundance of mature trees in dense forests, these homes had wood flooring with thick-cut planks. The second floor of the salt box was usually a loft where the kids slept or things were stored.

Original designs—those built in the 17th and early 18th centuries—incorporated exposed wood ceiling beams and stone or brick fireplaces, but in the 18th century there was emphasis on plaster finish even in the more modest houses. “Obscuring those wooden beams was a way to put their frontier past behind us,” says Shettleworth.

So What’s the History of Saltbox Houses?

Dating back to the 1600s, saltbox homes were built by European settlers immigrating to New England throughout the colonial period and into the early Republic—most prominently in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. This architectural style, in its creative simplicity, is a testament to the inventiveness required to combat the harsh realities of early Colonial life and farmstead living. The signature high-pitched roof—known as a gable roof—is a holdover from the days of thatching and a way for early settlers to combat roof damage from the weight of heavy snow and brutal winds, winter after winter.

Features of a traditional saltbox-style house.

Courtesy free.woodworking-plans.org

The saltbox style also persisted largely because of its ability to facilitate low-cost expansion. Early colonists started building lean-to additions on the rear to accommodate their continually changing wealth and family size. The look eventually caught on and became an established part of the design.

In their heyday, the mid-1600s to the mid-1700s, saltbox houses were common in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and what is now northeastern Ohio and continued to be built until around 1820. These houses might have remained in obscurity had there not been a surge in popularity in the late 19th century, according to Shettleworth: “During the 1870s a whole new generation of architects born in the years before the Civil War came of age, and they were fascinated with American history and colonial-period architecture,” Shettleworth says. “Many architects were visiting these old colonial houses in the coastal towns of New England and sketching them and then in their own very innovative way, using those roof forms to create a new form of American architecture that we call today the ‘shingle style.’”

The saltbox house has continued to be influential to the neo-shingle-style architects of today, including New York City–based architect Robert A.M. Stern, one of the pioneers in rediscovering colonial-revival shingle-style houses and employing their features in more contemporary-style houses. “Saltboxes had a lot to do with inspiring that generation of architects to create these free-flowing roof forms, which you’ll still see in new homes today,” Shettleworth says.

Where Are Saltbox Style Houses Found Today?

Today, most older saltbox homes have been reworked by design firms to preserve the sleek, angular architectural lines of the exterior but include a more contemporary interior with modern features. For that reason, original structures are currently harder to come by, compared with their more common counterparts like Cape Cods and colonials. Of course, the history of these houses lives on through those who continue the legacy.

A contemporary saltbox style house in Iceland.

Cavan Images//Getty Images

As principal at Massachusetts-based firm Latady Design, Kevin Latady specializes in historic home renovations, where he says “excavator” is the more fitting word for what he does. “I feel as if I am unearthing history, and the house is a kind of archeological site,” he says. “I remember peeling off the layers of this one saltbox to expose the wooden beams and finding unexpected insights into each generation that had lived there. [Once] before [peeling back] that last [layer of] plaster, we found that someone had wallpapered it. What a surprise.”

Having spent his childhood in a saltbox built in 1726 and later raising his three children in a saltbox that he himself restored, Latady fondly articulates their appeal. “I called our basement ‘the dungeon’ and played in the crawl spaces of my childhood home, letting my imagination go as I speculated on the lives of those who lived there before me,” Latady says. “These houses are a living history, something that reverberates, something you’re spiritually connected to.”

Beyond the hand-worn banisters and the concealed attic doors, these old houses not only hold secrets to be unearthed but suggest there are new ones to be made. “That’s the beauty of these older homes,” Latady says. “The Yankees were always evolving, and their homes were made to be easily modified—and have been for centuries. So it’s about preserving the nature of the historic house and the spirit of those original homeowners, while understanding the needs for the now with an eye on the future. ”

See the Most Noteworthy Historic Saltbox Homes Still Standing

Rachel Silva

Assistant Digital Editor

Rachel Silva, the Assistant Digital Editor at ELLE DECOR, covers design, architecture, trends, and anything to do with haute couture. She has previously written for Time, The Wall Street Journal, and Citywire.

Saltbox house style – the ultimate guide |

(Image credit: Alamy)

Whether you’re looking for a new home or trying to find a chic Airbnb for a summer getaway, drive a few hours north up the Atlantic coast and by the time you’ve reached New England a familiar shape of home will start to line the streets of suburbia. 

Saltbox homes date back to the earliest days of America, as colonial settlers began constructing these two-level homes to support their growing families and create a distinctive style for their way of living. Here, we take a closer look at this distinctive house style.

See: House styles – your complete guide to architectural styles and eras

What is a saltbox house?

(Image credit: Alamy)

Known for their flat front and symmetrical facade, saltbox homes go way back to the 1600s. A single chimney traditionally rises from the center of the home, which in the earlier days provided heat evenly throughout the whole home. 

Today, the homes are considered more traditional than their modern counterparts, and commonly feature wood shingles on the exterior and painted shutters. On the interior, many saltbox homes have a more antique-forward design, with patterned wallpaper and exposed beams being common to show off the older models’ history. 

What does a saltbox style house look like?

(Image credit: Alamy)

Saltbox houses are typically two stories at the front, and one at the back, with a pitched roof with unequal sides. A saltbox house is flat at the front, with a central chimney.

The key feature in identifying a saltbox house is the sloped roof that slants down in the back to be just one story. These homes were originally designed this way both to increase the volume of the space as well as to meet a taxation loophole from the colonial restrictions of the 1600s that specified two-story homes would be taxed more than ranch style houses.  

Saltbox-style homes were technically considered only one-story given the shape of the roof. The sloped roof is also said to have been developed so that the heavier snowfall in the northern states would slide off easier as it melted and create less of a weight burden for the rooftop. 

Where are saltbox houses popular?

Saltbox houses are popular in New England today, but have always been well-regarded – in fact President John Adams was born in a saltbox house in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1735.

The style has remained popular for the centuries since inception because of the history and detail in every preserved home. There are several examples of meticulously cared for saltbox houses on the National Register of Historic Places . 

The style has become so tied to New England culture that saltbox homes have also been created elsewhere to remind people of their northern vacation homes. 

Where can saltbox houses be found?

Saltbox houses are most commonly found throughout New England, with the highest density being in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Additional examples can be found as far north as Labrador and Newfoundland in Canada. 

Why is a saltbox house called a saltbox?

A saltbox house is so-called because it is named after the wooden salt containers from the colonial period. 

How to decorate a saltbox house

(Image credit: Alamy)

The truth is, you can decorate a saltbox house the same way you would any reasonable home. There are ways to make it modern, and (more obvious) opportunities to go for a more traditional look. The important thing is to know what to look for when matching elements together. 

1. Make the most of historical parts

(Image credit: Devol)

Saltbox houses, especially the older ones, will have plenty of charming antiquities to highlight in any interior design. Older windows can be repainted and brought to life with a new shine and some upholstered pieces throughout the living room and dining room to let the history show.  

Exposed ceiling beams can also create a more historic look, and rounded, weathered-looking beams won’t have the same quality if you’re pairing them with stainless steel appliances. 

(Image credit: Douglas Gibb)

Because of the angular exterior, and therefore interior ceilings, of saltbox homes, building off these clean lines can leave room for juxtaposed modern furniture in the interior. Sure, the wooden shingles might need to be replaced with something more contemporary, or the exposed ceiling beams worn down to a straighter edge, but being bold with your interior design can pay dividends. Layer in bright colors with sharper edges for a modern look.

3. Match colors appropriately

(Image credit: Havenly)

With natural elements poking through the walls in most saltbox houses like wood paneling, wood-slat roofs, and central chimneys, be sure to pair the structural elements of the home with more natural, organic colors like earth tones and textures.  

Timothy Latterner is a writer and editor living in New York City. His work has appeared in GQ, Conde Nast Traveler, Playboy, Vice, and Architectural Digest, where he also worked as the local news editor. He typically covers all things design, travel, and pop culture. 

What to build a house in Astrakhan?

The season of active private construction begins. Someone is thinking about expanding the existing area and making an extension, someone is thinking about moving from an apartment to their own separate home, someone is thinking about a country cottage.

Those who are planning cottage construction today should know what materials are presented on the Astrakhan market and how they differ.

Fifteen or twenty years ago, the main material for building a house in the Astrakhan region was brick. At the same time, saline soils and low-quality clay do not allow local bricks to have the proper quality. It quickly collapses under the influence of sudden temperature changes, so characteristic of our climate. When you walk around the city, you can see that the old brick facades are crumbling, cracking, falling into disrepair. Brick is a heavy material and requires capital foundations, since the land in our region is capricious, and the sharply continental climate increases the risk of destruction. On the other hand, many people like the solid look of red brick and are willing to go to extra hassle and expense for the sake of appearance. Although, in reality, Astrakhan red brick is not the best material for construction.

It is for this reason that in the early nineties, the well-known claydite block replaced the red brick. Expanded clay (fired clay) is a good heat insulator. Therefore, large and warmer blocks began to displace brick everywhere. Unfortunately, the technology for manufacturing a claydite block is simple and unpretentious, therefore, soon these blocks began to be made everywhere, and their quality became, to put it mildly, unusable. In Astrakhan there are single large manufacturers who can provide claydite blocks with quality that meets state standards.

At the same time, those who recklessly built houses from expanded clay blocks without additional insulation faced the fact that in such houses it is still cold in winter and stuffy in summer. And the heavy weight of the blocks also requires strong and expensive foundations. Therefore, the trend towards lightening the material and increasing its thermal insulation continued.

Thanks to the construction of a new gas silicate plant in the city of Volzhsky, Volgograd Region, gas silicate blocks appeared on the Astrakhan market, which disappeared after the closure of the local plant in Streletsky. Blocks from the Volgograd region of good quality, made on German equipment. They are warmer and lighter than expanded clay concrete, it is even easier to build from them. To improve sales, the current gas silicate was called aerated concrete. Although, there is some trickery in this. The so-called aerated concrete mostly does not consist of cement, but of ground sand, which, after molding, is baked in an autoclave. Therefore, it must be remembered that gas silicate is a very hygroscopic material, that is, it absorbs moisture well, and is also quite fragile. Therefore, a wall of gas silicate-aerated concrete must be protected from moisture (for example, by lining). And also, as in the case of a claydite block, a gas silicate wall needs a powerful and expensive foundation, since at the slightest movement the gas silicate wall cracks.

Another recently known block for construction in the Astrakhan market is polystyrene concrete. Polystyrene concrete, like gas silicate, belongs to lightweight concrete. Gas silicate was invented in the twenties of the last century by the Swede Ericsson (the same, whose name is the current concern Ericsson). Polystyrene concrete material is even younger, in 1952 it was patented in Germany by the well-known company BASF. If gas silicate was actively used in the USSR, however, with restrictions in housing construction, then polystyrene concrete received GOST in Russia quite recently - at 1999 year. Polystyrene concrete is a mixture of foamed polystyrene granules (polystyrene) and cement. Unlike aerated concrete, it does not contain sand and air pores. Thanks to this combination, polystyrene concrete has an even lighter weight and, accordingly, even greater thermal insulation. Due to the absence of sand and non-porous structure, its moisture resistance is several times higher than that of gas silicate. The advantages of polystyrene concrete include its high bending strength. Styrofoam granules create, as it were, internal reinforcement inside the block, so it is very difficult to “break” it. During construction, this is manifested in the fact that such a wall does not need a powerful and expensive foundation. Small wall movements will not cause cracks. Opponents of foam in construction will, of course, prefer to choose a different material. Although, in terms of thermal insulation and speed of construction, polystyrene concrete today is unlikely to have competitors, and this is logical. The more modern the material, the more convenient and effective it is.

Also, some consumers are looking towards ready-made panels for frame construction that have spread in our region. Such panels consist of pressed wood chips and insulation. This is a good option for cheap and fast construction, at the same time, an aggressive wood bug does not allow wooden houses to spread in the Astrakhan region. In addition, some consumers complain that the insulation in such panels can sag and let the cold pass inside the house.

In the Astrakhan market, the technology of fixed formwork has also been successfully used for a long time - when concrete mortar is poured into the formwork made of polystyrene (polystyrene). The technology is also one of the most modern and most heat efficient in the world. With a small wall thickness, it has excellent heat and sound protection properties. Some consumers fear the consequences of fires in such houses. Although such fears are devoid of logic. A fire in any house - whether in expanded clay block, in brick, or from fixed formwork, will make the house uninhabitable.

In any case, the choice of any building material should be stopped at a proven and large manufacturer. Since handicraft wall material can bring big losses to someone who wants to save on construction. The miser pays twice - just about this case!


404 Page not found