The Washington metro is known for its traditional architecture, Federal and Colonial style homes in particular, with some Arts and Crafts neighborhoods thrown in. But there are plenty of modern and contemporary homes that are a bit more cutting edge, if you know where to look and what to look for. The average layperson tends to use "modern" and "contemporary" interchangeably but the two are distinct styles that carry common elements.

"When you talk about modern, you're generally referring to a very specific time period," according to Michael Shapiro, an agent with Long & Foster based in Bethesda and founder of ModernCapitalDC.com. In this area that generally means homes built in the Modern style between about 1945 and 1970. Modern style is a broad term but modern architecture had its start in Germany at the beginning of the last century. It was a reaction against the opulence of the Victorian period and was propelled by a desire to meld form and function into design. Among the most famous modern architects are Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, both Germans who eventually migrated to the United States.

Frank Lloyd Wright probably is the best-known architect of Modern style in America and influenced many of the German architects after publishing his Wasmuth Portfolio in 1910. Modern design is not an American tradition, however, and it flourished more on the West Coast than in the East. So, while you can find modern architecture in and around the District, there is not a lot of variation in style.

You are likely to see Mid-Century Modern homes in the California Modern style more than any other subgroup of the genre. California homes tend to be open and full of light with a strong connection to the outdoors. They feature lots of glass and often are characterized by post-and-beam construction of wood and steel. Lines are clean and simple without much ornamentation.

International style, of which there are fewer examples in the area, is a bit more severe, characterized by a more mechanical structure and appearance with highly contrasting and simple colors, like black and white, and lots of windows.

"In D.C., modern homes are all over the place, just not in large quantities," said Joan Brierton of the D.C. Preservation League. You will know a modern, she said, by its often boxy design, floor to ceiling glass, low rectilinear forms and free and open interiors. "In a modern house, the landscape is often just as integral to the house as the house itself." Brierton noted.

Many people get Modern style confused with Contemporary, in part because the latter borrows a great deal from the former. Shapiro said the simplest classification of contemporary architecture is that it's "an architecture of the time."Bill Luza, design coordinator for Objet Design in the District, explained Contemporary style as a "Crate and Barrel" look.

"Modern strips away decoration and excess," he said. "It's about form following function. Contemporary, on the other hand, is a modern aesthetic, but you're almost always covering up the means. Whereas with modern, you see the construction elements."Luza said a lot of people are not comfortable with the polished concrete floors and steel beams characteristic of a lot of modern architecture, so they gravitate toward the warmer look of contemporary homes.

"People like the aesthetic of modern architecture but don't necessarily understand how to live in it," Luza added. "Modern architects want every detail to be pristine like a magazine image, but there is a disconnect between liking the aesthetic and actually living in it."

It is not always easy to find examples of either style in the metro area. There are, however, complete neighborhoods of Mid-Century Modern homes around the region, including Glen Echo Heights and Rock Creek Woods on the Maryland side and Hollins Hills in Virginia. Shapiro said as in other areas of the country there are "little pockets of modern houses and modern builders."

"But it didn't really take off and cement itself in D.C.," he added. "There's quite a bit of it, but you have to look for it.""If you want to see modern architecture, go down the alleyways," Luza said. "D.C. is all about what you can see from the street." A lot of modern homes, however, are set back from the street. Homebuyers are attracted to modern homes because they like how they are sited on the lots, typically taking advantage of the surrounding landscape, maintaining trees and creating a "green" feel, Shapiro said.