Over the last 10 years Shingle Style has experienced a revival, as it has become a popular choice not only in new construction, but home renovations and remodels. One of the primary characteristics of this style is the celebration of the ability of wood to create curved forms and single roofs with multiple slopes.
The garage below received a lot of compliments for feeling warm and cozy. Part of that has to do with the materials, part to do with architectural elements such as authentic shutters (these create rich shadows and a sense of depth) and part of it has to do with the sensual curved roof line.
You can see here how adding little curved and framing elements and extending pieces of the roof can really break up the scale of a house and make it feel more human and inviting.
If you are walking near a construction site you can often times see some pretty cool details. A Mansard Roof can be a very attractive design feature. It has a certain Parisian elegance, and though its history is one of economy (it was basically a way to get an extra story in your house without being taxed because it was a roof) it has become an element that is typically used on some higher end homes.
If you look at the finished product (on the right) you might wonder how they built it. The framing stage on the left gives this away. It is basically a fairly steep pitched roof truss with a second piece of wood tacked on at a very shallow slope at the base.
Framing is analogous to the skeleton of the building. If a building has good bones, nice posture and a few interesting lines thrown in, it can be a pleasure to look at as well as to live in.