Why Are So Many American Houses Made of Wood?

A European Interior Designer’s First Encounter with American Construction

When I first started working in the United States, there was one thing about American homes that genuinely confused me.

I would walk into a house and see walls being opened, renovated or rebuilt, and I kept asking myself:

Where is the concrete? Where is the brick? Where is the solid structure I was used to seeing in Europe?

Instead, I kept seeing wood.

Wood studs.

Wood framing.

Wood floors.

Wood everywhere...

And for a long time, I simply couldn’t understand why.

Coming from Europe, I was used to a very different construction culture. In much of Europe, residential buildings have historically been associated with brick, concrete and masonry. The walls often feel and literally are massive. In the European residential building stock, concrete and brick remain the dominant materials.

So when I first encountered the American way of building, I honestly wondered:

“Is this really how houses are built here?”

The answer is yes.

And there is actually a very interesting reason behind it.

America and Europe developed very different building traditions

In the United States, wood-frame construction became deeply integrated into residential construction.

Today, wood framing is still by far the dominant method for new single-family homes. According to the National Association of Home Builders, 93% of new single-family homes completed in the U.S. in 2023 were wood-framed. (National Association of Home Builders)

That number surprised me when I first learned it.

But once you understand the history, geography and economics behind American housing, it starts to make much more sense.

The United States has enormous timber resources, and wood-frame construction developed as an efficient way to build large numbers of homes relatively quickly.

There is also an entire construction industry built around this system, from framing crews and subcontractors to standardized materials, building codes and supply chains.

In other words, it isn’t simply that Americans prefer wood.

The entire building ecosystem evolved around wood.

So why does Europe feel so different?

Europe has a much older and more diverse building history.

Cities and towns developed around masonry construction for centuries. Brick, stone and later reinforced concrete became deeply embedded in European architecture and construction.

European building traditions were also influenced by different fire regulations, local materials, climate and historic urban development. The European Commission notes that concrete, steel and brick have historically been the major structural materials for residential construction across much of Europe, while timber remained particularly established in places such as Scandinavia and the UK.

That distinction is important.

Europe is not “anti-wood.”

It simply developed a different relationship with structural materials.

And that is exactly why my first reaction in America was so strong.

I wasn’t looking at a bad construction system.

I was looking at a construction system that was completely different from the one I had learned to expect.

-Does a wooden house mean a less durable house?

This was another question I had to rethink.

As a European designer, I initially associated a solid masonry wall with permanence, strength and durability.

But a wood-frame house is not simply “a wooden box.”

The structural system consists of engineered framing, sheathing, insulation, membranes and multiple layers that work together.

The performance of the house depends on how all of those components are designed and assembled.

And wood construction has some very practical advantages.

It can be relatively fast to construct, materials are widely available, and the system allows flexibility in how walls are insulated and finished. The U.S. building industry has also developed an enormous amount of expertise around this construction method. (National Association of Home Builders)

That last part is especially important.

When an entire industry has been built around one construction method, changing it is not simple.

The biggest difference I noticed as a designer

The most fascinating part for me wasn’t actually the wood itself.

It was how much this construction system influences interior design.

In Europe, the architecture often gives you a very different starting point.

Thick masonry walls.

Concrete structures.

Different ceiling conditions.

Different window proportions.

Different ways of running electrical and plumbing systems.

In an American wood-frame house, the possibilities and the limitations can be completely different.

For an interior designer working across both European and American projects, understanding this distinction is essential.

Because interior design doesn’t happen independently from architecture.

The structure underneath the walls affects what we can do on top of them.

Where we can move a wall.

Where we can run plumbing.

How we create openings.

How we approach built-ins.

How we think about insulation.

Even how certain renovations are planned and executed.

And this was one of the biggest learning curves for me when I began working in the U.S.

My European perspective changed

Eventually, I stopped asking:

“Why do Americans build houses this way?”

And started asking:

“What made this system the right solution for this country?”

That change in perspective was important.

Because there isn’t one universally correct way to build a home.

Construction is shaped by history, climate, available materials, labor, regulations, economics and local traditions.

The European approach taught me to appreciate mass, permanence, craftsmanship and materiality.

The American approach taught me to appreciate flexibility, efficiency and a construction system that has been refined for generations.

And as a designer, I think understanding both is an advantage.

European eye. American reality.

Today, when I walk into an American home, I no longer look at a wood-framed wall and wonder why it isn’t concrete.

Instead, I see the system behind it.

I understand why it is there.

And I know how that structure can influence the design decisions that come next.

Perhaps that is one of the most interesting things about working as a European interior designer in America:

You don’t just learn a new design market. You learn to see buildings differently.

And sometimes, the biggest cultural differences aren’t visible in the furniture, colors or architecture.

They’re hidden behind the walls.

⸻

At RT Interior, We bring a European design perspective to residential interiors in the Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland area , combining European aesthetics with an understanding of American construction and the way people actually live in their homes.