What defines a Federal home
Federal (or Adam) homes are the most delicate of the colonial styles. Born just after American independence, they trade heavy ornament for slender proportions, smooth facades, and a few exquisite focal points — above all the elliptical fanlight over the front door. The result reads as understated good taste rather than show.
Signature features
- Elliptical fanlight
- A semi-elliptical window of radiating muntins over the front door — the defining Federal detail.
- Slender sidelights
- Narrow glass flanking the door pours light into the foyer and frames a graceful entrance.
- Delicate Adam-style moldings
- Fine, low-relief plaster and millwork — swags, urns, and slender reeding rather than bold profiles.
- Flat, smooth facade
- Brick or clapboard kept calm and planar so the entry ornament stands out.
- Low-pitched or hipped roof
- Often with a roof balustrade; chimneys are paired and restrained.
- Pale, refined palette
- Soft whites and warm creams with subtle contrast.
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How it feels to walk up to
Guests should feel quietly impressed — welcomed by grace and refinement rather than grandeur. The eye is drawn to the delicate fanlight and slender sidelights, and the overall impression is of effortless, cultivated elegance.
