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Dormer Types

As architectural styles have shifted, architects and builders have invented more ways to build dormers, the little rooms that project from a roof and allow more space and light in the top floor or attic.

Arched top dormers

Photo: Nancy Andrews

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Arched top dormers often point to architectural styles that originated in France. These include the Second Empire style (popular 1855-1885), named for the period when Napoleon III ruled France; the Beaux Arts style (1885-1930), favored by Americans who had studied at the leading French school of architecture, Ecole des Beaux-Arts; and the French Eclectic style (1915-1945), based on traditional French houses.
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