Originally, adobe homes were circular and often built half underground. As the style developed, they took on a rectangular shape that is commonly seen today. As colonizers began blending different architectural styles into adobe-style houses, Pueblo houses were created. These were often reinforced with other materials, such as cement or asphalt.

The early adobe-style homes had a distinctive circular design but later adopted a rectangular prism interior which is more in demand today. Modern adobe-style houses feature some interior updates, but the indigenous architectural elements remain intact. Most adobe homes have flat roofs with rounded edges.

The first adobe-style houses were circular homes called pit houses that were half in the earth and half above. Around 800 AD, Jojola says circular adobe-style homes evolved into rectangular buildings. At that time, people began to break the homes into separate rooms, using different soil types for different parts of the house.