Keeping up to date with artistic and stylistic trends isn’t easy. Unless you study it at college, you can find yourself confused by all the terms and expressions people use. It’s not easy keeping track of all of them.

Furthermore, there are sometimes descriptions which sound like they are describing the same thing, but are actually very different. The best example of this is “modern” and “contemporary” homes. While we might use these words interchangeably in everyday life, they mean very different things. A modern home is not the same as a house built in the contemporary style. In this case, “modern” doesn’t mean new or up to date, as it does in many others. It means a particular art movement. 

Do you want to build a modern house? Here’s the definition. 

What Is A Modern House?

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Modern doesn’t just mean “new.” It is also a historical style form, created in the 19th late century by designers who wanted to create something alternative to the extravagant styles of the era. The modern style was more basic, stripping away embellishments and flair to create something simple and straightforward. 

Architects instructed house builders to construct homes with large, rectangular floor plans, lots of glass fronting, and deliberate asymmetry. It was very much ahead of its time and was so influential it even had an impact on what the word “modern” actually meant. No longer was it just a period in style – it also came to describe anything new and broke with tradition, hence why we still have the term today. 

Modern homes do not look attractive alongside nature. However, the proponents of the style believe they do. The idea is for the house to use geometric designs to slip into the background so that “nature can live its own life.” If you’ve ever seen a modernist home in context, you’ll know that this is not true. However, it is something that architects like to claim. 

What Is A Contemporary Home?

The definition of a contemporary home is similar to how many people think of the term modern colloquially. These are simply homes that reflect the predominant styles of the time. In the past, modernist designs were contemporary, but not anymore. 

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Contemporary is becoming harder to define. The reason for this comes down to the sheer range of styles home builders now construct. The fact that architects today take cues from the designs of the past also muddies the water. Thus contemporary isn’t something separate from the past but builds upon it. There are modernist influences in contemporary design, but they tend to be subtle. Very few people live in pure modernist homes. 

The thing that sets contemporary homes aside from those of the past is the newfound focus on eco-friendly living. It’s not so much a style movement, but a functional one. People don’t just want homes that provide shelter. They also want to live in buildings which protect the environment. 

So that just about sums it up. What kind of home would you prefer to live in?