I like the cpartist version, the only changes I would make would be to add some bright colored chairs on the porch and more color in the landscaping..

Why would the upstairs not be useable space?

The Tucker Bayou has always been one of my favorite models and the upstairs has quite a bit of useable space.

Tucker Bayou modular

gardeweb discussion on Tucker Bayou

Thanks Sunnysmom! The Tucker Bayou does seem to be a popular plan. However, it's larger than what we want (or need).

The upper half story looks like it might be an unused attic because the roof eaves encroach on it and there is only one window shown.

"JDS, I was only looking for "casual reactions" (also known as opinions)."

I was about to show you how I would improve the designs but I'll just say I don't like any of them.

Tjm, is that only over the garage? I'm afraid DH is entirely too practical to build something that 'could' have a usable upstairs but doesn't. :/ I do love this plan and if we would ever end up building something like this I'm sure we would rework it to make the upstairs usable.

Well, I do have a way to know what the floor plan looks like.

TinEye is your friend - and is up to the OP to share it.

RE what Virgil said: That is exactly why I preferred the C option. Its a nice abstraction of farm houses that you see across America. It's almost an abstraction of house B.

RE dormer: I am not seeing what a few people see. I think the proportion is right. Not need for it to be wider.

I'd keep/make the porch flooring/steps all brick (as shown) to give it warmth.

I'd love to see JDS suggestion

farmer, if your hubby only wants a true upstairs, he won't like this plan then. The bonus is above the garage (or as my hubby calls it, "man cave"....which is probably exactly what it would turn out to be).

naf_naf, I didn't include the floorplans because this isn't what I was asking about because I like those equally. But, they're on the web so, yes, anyone can see them. :)

A. Because it's classic. (Sorry, Virgil). I do not like C because it's trendy and I do not like B because it's too fussy.

This is a great thread, where we can all just sit back and say which option we like. Simple!

Now, if only we had a thread where we could just sit back and say what we don't like.

Nested gables...bronze anodized aluminum...humongeous roofs...snout garages...more than a couple of materials on the exterior...

>>>The dominant architectural feature of the 3 options is an odd porch roof that isn't steep enough to reach the main roof leaving a narrow band of siding above it and it isn't shallow enough to allow windows in that wall space.<<< This bugs me too.

If I had to pick then C minus the stone wainscot.

I like the middle one (b).

I don't like the first one because I don't care for vertical siding.

I dont' like the last one because there are too many posts on the porch and it looks less inviting.

I like the regular shingle look of the middle one, the spaced out porch posts which make it look more open and inviting, the double windows instead of seperate windows and the brick.

A & B have the cliché gable within a gable that was overused in the 80's and continues to this day by want-a-be designers.

C dumps water off the roof in front of the house entry.

I vote for D, the one your architect comes up with.

I can tell you that I looked at the plans for A and C and I don't particularly like either one. Why is it people like plans where you have to walk through your kitchen or kitchen/dining area to get to the master bedroom?

When the house I grew up in was built, there was a small bedroom and bathroom off the kitchen. It was for the housekeeper which was supposedly common back in the 20's if you were upper middle class. (That room was turned into my Mom's office when we were growing up.)

And why do doors to master bathrooms need double doors? There are other things wrong like having to walk through your kitchen to bring stuff to the pantry, or bump outs for closets in the kids wing, or a 5' x 5' kids closet facing front having a window, but those are minor issues.

A but without that extra gable bump out.

I'm just going to keep it simple and say "C", if you're looking for a more modern approach. I really like it!

On the off chance someone is interested in the history of this eclectic house style, I offer this information.

The steep centered gable is a characteristic of the mid 19th century Gothic Revival style. These designs are reminiscent of a vernacular version of that style sometimes called "Carpenter Gothic" or "Rural Gothic". Small versions of the Gothic revival style were championed by AJ Davis in "Cottage Residences" and further popularized by AJ Downing.

Here are some examples:

What is unusual about the 3 designs originally posted is that the upper story has been compressed until the central gable feature is more like a dormer which I find more suited to an accessory building, garage or guest cottage.

Thanks to JDS for this interesting information about historic farm houses. The "folk houses" of the mid-1800s are very interesting, I think. By 1800s, saw mills and sawn, dimension lumber was common almost everywhere and enabled these houses to be replicated easily in many parts of the U.S.

Prior to this time, farm houses tended to be characterized by the region's climate and by the most commonly available materials and by the building skills of the local people. Thus, in the 1600s and 1700s, farm houses were quite different, ranging from small and compact structures in colder New England and the Middle Atlantic states, and more open and "rambling" strectures (AKA dog-trot and variations) in hotter, humid Tidewater and southern states.

For example, in eastern and central Pennsylvania, farm houses were masonry structures, simple and small, built by German and Dutch immigrants who brought their masonry building skills with them, and delighted in the natural stone found in their new region. Since the stone had to be cleared sufficiently for farming, it was only natural that it was used for houses, out buildings and fences. Over time, and as the family size increased, generation to generation, these small houses had simple masonry and/or timber additions added, increasing the charm and appeal.

Here's a good example: the late 1600s of the John Chadd house in Chadds Ford, PA. Mr. Chadd, for whom the township was named, was a farmer and he ran the ferry crossing the Delaware River. The small, two-bay house has a basement, main living level, and bedrooms in the upper and attic levels. Nothing was wasted! The small lean-to roof protects the projecting bee-hive oven used in the basement kitchen for cooking. The kitchen also had a very large fireplace also used for cooking.

Here's the 1700s farm house of a prosperous Quaker farmer, Benjamin Ring, and which was the headquarters of George Washington at the Battle of the Brandywine in Sep 1777. It is an unusual three-bay house with entry on the right bay, rather than centered in the more common way, with a later addition on the right of the original house. The Battle of the Brandywine pitted Washington and the young Marquis de Lafayette against the British generals Howe and Cornwallis and their British and Hessian troops. Out flanked and out fought, Washington and Lafayette retreated to Valley Forge and the British and Hessian forces occupied Philadelphia for the winter.

When the young Lafayette was wounded, he was taken to the property adjacent to Ring's farm, the farm of Gideon Gilpin, shown below--a simple two-bay house, with a framed addition barely visible on the right. Typical Quaker barn shown in background. The handsome, four-square farmhouse on the far right is from a much later era.

Finally, here's an example of how the simple Pennsylvania farm houses grew over time. I'm guessing that the original house was the two-bay house on the left, below, and typically, over time additions were added to the right. This is large enough to have been either a very prosperous farmer, or more likely a tavern and inn. Barely visible behind the stone house (and in front of the red frame house) is a log-construction addition which makes me think this was the original house. The roofing and chimney in front of the log-construction would have been the bee-hive oven and summer cooking area.

Of course, all of this is much more than one might want to know--and it goes way beyond the OP's original question--but I hope some of the historical aspects of farmhouse architecture are as interesting to many of you as it is to me.

We now resume our original broadcast...

"By 1800s, saw mills and sawn, dimension lumber was common almost everywhere and enabled these houses to be replicated easily in many parts of the U.S"

Sawmills in forested areas provided wood "ballon" framing and siding that sparked the building of unstyled Folk Houses but it wasn't widely available until after 1850 when the railroad system began to expand.

The use of these wood framed houses was not unique or limited to farmhouses. Gable front folk style houses were common due to the popularity of the Greek Revival style from 1830 to 1850. Farmhouses in New England from that period are commonly of the Greek Revival style.

Greek Revival farmhouse in Brandon, VT 1850

Folk style farmhouse in Lancaster County, Nebraska 1860's

Gothic Revival house, South Crosby, Ontario

Gothic revival homes, now called century homes, are very common and highly sought after in my area of the world. They are just so beautiful.

We love Gothic...

C. I love it.

I love the stone house posted by Virgil. In central Illinois the landscape is dotted with large brick four square farmhouses. Beautiful old homes.

Well...since you asked, many of the old, historic stone masonry farmhouses in Pennsylvania are very prized and many of the old houses and masonry bank barns are renovated into highly desirable modern homes. Here's an example by Wyant Architecture. It doesn't get much better than this IMO!

I prefer 3 and then 1. I lean towards 3 because it's a little more contemporary. I'm biased though because we are doing a contemporary version of a barn/ranch house

Thanks all! :) Seems like several prefer C.

P House this home is the across the street from a small movie theater I visit a couple of times a year. It always catches my eye.

Chat; love it, I wonder who lives in it...brave soul to have painted it pink, just so adorable.

Look at the textural band in the roofing about a third of the way up from the fascia...! :-)

If anybody else wants to pile on with more historic farm house pictures, I appreciate them! In my neck of the woods, Gothic Revial is almost nonexistent. Most farmhouses are Greek Revival with a share of four square. There are a sprinkling of gambrel roofs and the rare Italianate if it was a particularly prosperous farm.

We've decided on our plan....WOOHOO!! As for this thread, carry on :)

Which one did you chose?

Hey holly...as per your request from my neck of the woods. Tho stunning from the outside, they are hard to heat and cool, so I have been told.

Any building is hard to heat and cool if it isn't insulated.

What??? You have to insulate a building?

OP you are going to have us vote knowing your vote is highest of course but not tell us what you chose? Don't worry I won't protest or anything....but inquiring voters wanna know.

P House, I beleive it's a cafe now. I'm not sure if anyone lives in it. Here's three more homes listed as Gothic Revival in the same town. One is in pretty bad shape.

This is my little farm house, located in the top of the hill country in Texas. Built in 1897 by German immigrants. Very similar floorplan to what was posted above. Don't get me started on why my father put on a blue metal roof 12 years ago. We all voted for silver and he changed the plan, without telling us. But it is, what it is. Underneath the house is a root/storage cellar with 8 ft. ceilings. stone lined walls and floor (you can't dig her 1" without hitting limestone rocks where the house sits). The 1 bathroom and the back porch, as well as a little entry vestibule was added in the 1960's. The original double door framing is still inside but now just part of a longer hallway. I wish I had interior shots without people in them. The house faces north and south and has a long, centered hallway, to catch the breeze. New Hardi siding (then painted) was installed 8 years ago. The origial siding was long ago replaced, back in the 60's, before my dad bought it in 1980. Check out the foundation. Limestone and Bois 'de Arc tree stumps and it is as sound as ever. Solid original hardwood floors except kitchen, bath and hallway with barely a squeek. The grandson of the builders, was our neighbor, who still owned part of the original farmland. He passed two years ago at 97.

The front. The window up top is in the landing. It's pretty high up off of the floor. Master bedroom is on the right and family room on the left. Kitchen is behind the family room.

This is the back. The two lower windows on rt are in the kitchen and the two upper are one of the boys rooms. The porch and bathroom are added on. The window you can barely see on the left is the master bedroom. It has windows on the side as well. Lots of light coming in.

Check out the foundation

The bathroom is soon going to undergo a gut to the studs and renovated.

Zookeeper. This is so charming, just lovely. Thank you for sharing and if you get a chance, love to see interior pics. As for the metal blue roof, it is what is it...and it will last a lifetime.

tjm, please let us know what plan you chose. And I guess we hijacked your thread. ):

ChatCo...that second picture that you posted looks like a classic one room school house with an addition on the front. I grew up on a farm and our farmhouse was originally a large one room schoolhouse with additions. Very high roof with windows similar to those.

Virgil...love the stone house you posted. Interior is surprisingly contemporary. But nice.

Yup, ILoveRed, that's the most appealing thing about it to me: a happy marriage between history and today, with the language of each reinforcing the other.

I am still wondering if the previous comment,

"A but without that extra gable bump out."

is suppose to be,

" 'A', but without that extra gable bump out.",

or,

"A butt without that extra gable bump out."

I like all of them-but prefer the second one. We're in the process of building a similar home. Good luck with your choice!

I prefer either cpartist's version of A, or I prefer C. That gable on the right of A in the original does not work for me. Again, I shudder at the shutters.

I don't mind shutters, but I feel like they should look like they COULD actually cover the window - and some of those don't.

I'm not all that fond of the "modern" farmhouse, as it seems to cherry pick elements of traditional farmhouses without any thought to what works and what doesn't.

I have been looking at these floorplans as well and have the same idea as cpartist on the exterior changes. I love the simple, more traditional look of removing the shutters an the extra garage bump out. I love the interior layouts of all of them as well, but am trying to cut corners (literally) to lessen the amount of bump outs in hopes that we can make it work with our budget. There are about 4 floor plans from the same designer that have a similar layout and range from 2000-2600 sqft.

Here's the smallest of the floorplans

I like the farmhouse that is on an actual farm. Just as I have liked mid-century modern, that was actually built that way. Otherwise? Chasing a trend.

Well... *waggles hand in the air* In my neck of the woods, at least, many used-to-be farmhouses are now in neighborhoods. In fact, even within the city limits, where I live, it's fun to drive around and pick out which house USED to be the farmhouse for that 80 acre parcel. I think they can blend nicely, when it's done well.

OTOH - the whole "modern farmhouse"/Joanna Gaines thing leaves me cold. And the up-and-coming attempt to make "glam farmhouse" a thing is even worse.