PLEASE do something different!

Any recommendations on what @moore4?

I need to see your house that is being designed I will tell I do not like the hoise in the link you provided the dark wood is too heavy looking where it is . IMO white houses with black windows were around long before the term modern farmhouse but without seeing the house you are planning ans understanding why that style I have no idea.

Hi @patricia, thanks, it’s the screenshot I provided in the post.

Well, everything will be be dated someday. Then it will be classic. or retro. Do what YOU like.

But … even in the farmhouse, most people might come through a door that leads to a kitchen, but there was still a front door that avoids the kitchen.

Change details & you could make it more European

or you could make it more contemporary

Or more classic

Quit calling it a modern farmhouse.

Thank you so much @BeverlyFLADeziner, great ideas!

@Mark Buschak ..why? That’s what the plan is named. What else am I supposed to call it?

First, it will not be dated like split levels. This is really just about color/materials which can be changed down the road if you choose to change it. Split levels can't be easily changed.

That said, the first thing to decide is if the floorplan works perfectly for you. If that is a yes then figure out what you want the outside to look like.

Drive around and look at homes and decide what you love. The plan shows a white home with black windows, but you can pick any color/materials combination that you want.

Don't just think about the outside, but also what you love on the inside. I love MCM furnishings, my sister loves Queen Anne antique furnishings, my sister-in-law has all country styled oak furniture, my nephew very modern. Lisa's furniture (my SIL) would look great in that home. My furniture would look all wrong as would my sister's or my nephews.

Not going to debate "modern farmhouse", but the white and black seem appropriate to the house. No fake gables, either! You didn't ask, but the use of board and batten and clapboards doesn't work very well.

It's a design developed for a narrow lot in a sub development. That's its limitation. It hasn't been designed for energy production or efficiency, sun orientation, view orientation or to meet the personal needs of your family. White is a neutral non color with 'no feeling'. Perfect for this fully outdated last century design. A complete and utter compromise and capitulation. A long-term waste of resources.

I wish they had a rendering of this in its entirety, I really like the color:

You asked — yes, I’d research other colors and materials besides white and black and these elements. Although it’s a color scheme that has been around forever (lots of old homes have it), it has been run into the ground in recent years as paired with the materials and other elements on the house you show.

I’d consult with a pro for other options, it’s worth it for you to love and feel confident in moving forward.

There are some great ideas above. I too like the idea of fresh colors, and doing away with the wood accents helps also.

I think Mark's point is to ignore the label and think about what you really like. Create an idea board on here of exteriors that speak to you- maybe you are attracted to all white with black windows, maybe you really like more contemporary, maybe you like a little more traditional. The overall massing of your pictured home is nice but there are aesthetic changes I would make if it were my house which you might not make...

A lot of the old (authentic) farmhouses here in the midwest have what appears as black windows.

they are not. the wooden frames on the screens however are often black.

one of the problems with actual black windows is that in about ten years they will be faded im afraid.

@stiley Wow! All those look good. And each looks different with it's own identity. We had four houses built in our neighborhood last year and they ALL have black windows and white siding. Now THAT's a trend.

Hallett thinketh correctly.

Some people call a hollow sheetmetal tube a duck and in many minds it becomes one.

Mostly all houses will look dated eventually Each era had its own style and material commonly used. Just because a home is built in a specific style or era doesn't make it any less desirable many years later.

"Modern farmhouses" from around the world, labelled as such by their architects.

Spain

Quebec

Alabama

Tasmania

Years ago real estate agent called anything with a roof and walls a "Cape Cod".

I agree with Mark that some styles are made up. Real estate agents don't have a clue, because there is no style label that can be assigned to a some homes . . There are many styles of homes that don't have style label. My house is listed per real estate as colonial. I have a 70s quad level side split home. It looks as much colonial as a corvette looks like a VW bug. Lol

I use to own a modern farmhouse. What made it a modern farmhouse was that it was modern for 1955 (the year it was built) and it was on a farm.

I believe Modern Farmhouse will be dated like split levels. Go for a classic farmhouse if you don;t want a dated home.

Beverly posted some beautiful farmhouse style homes that will always be appealing to a large audience. If you like modern farmhouse style, incorporate it through the interior.

Random thoughts:

- Nothing about this house is farmhouse. Farmhouses are tall and thin, simple with a front porch and single windows.

- No to black windows. These are a trend, and you know what happens with trends. Of course you know 'cause you mentioned split levels, which were the height of cool when I was a kid in the 70s /now are considered old-school.

- Yes, some things become classic or retro, but other things become avocado green /harvest gold. Personally, I think black windows will be the later.

Another question to ask yourself is whether a "modern farmhouse" (a phrase that I think is silly and useless) fits in the location that it will be built. For example, in an urban location that has mostly older houses (no modern houses and no farms or farmhouses), a modern farmhouse would look out of place AND a fad.

For whatever reason, I've never been a fan of the steeply pitched roofs often seen on this kind of design. Every so often, people need to go up there, and I have just always preferred that it doesn't seem death-defying to do so. I guess that's just me.

I have always liked white houses, whether they have black windows or white windows. But, they are seeming to become rather common. I would also like to see a tone-on-tone soft gray-green house like @stiley posted. Or paint the house a creamy color and keep the windows white. Sometimes it's rewarding to do something others aren't doing. But if you like white with black windows, I do think it's a classic color combo. Dated? That color combo on that style of home maybe... but I don't think black windows are necessarily trendy.

I remember when MCM were considered dated and undesirable. Everything goes full circle.

Some things belong in the circular file from the get-go.

As long as real estate agents put down the toilet seats before open houses or photo sessions, I don't care what they call it!