Conch style homes originated in Key West in the 19th century, a creation of Bahamian immigrants. As people moved North, the Conch style followed, making its way into Miami, specifically into the Coconut Grove and Overtown areas.

Similar to the shotgun home, a Conch/Bahamian/Key West-style home was also originally built of wood, and had an elevated floor via mounting on posts or piers for air circulation.

Sometimes two-storied, but more commonly one, they featured full-front porches, high ceilings, large windows and louvered shutters "(Bahama shutters"). Horizontally installed weatherboarding or clapboarding, low gabled or hip roofs and metal or shingled roofs round out the Conch home's characteristics. Simple in exterior adornment, carved braces, brackets and/or rafter ends on porches were the only general types of ornamentation on these types of homes.

Today, as you walk through the neighborhoods of Key West you can enjoy the colorful exteriors of these picturesque homes.   Each painted in a select choice from a rainbow of colors (pinks, bright blue, soft greens, yellows and even tangerine or lilac) with contrasting or coordinating trim and shutters they create a casual, fun, beachy, feeling.

In downtown Punta Gorda, there are a variety of homes that are styled and painted in the Key West fashion. In particular, houses that are being used as retail shops and restaurants (whether new construction or refurbished structures) in and around Sullivan Street and Taylor Street have taken on the colorful exteriors of the Conch home. It definitely creates an enjoyable shopping experience for our historic area!