Here are the pics:

Oops - here

And one or two more

Wow - that looks like an English cottage to me.

Very curious what the exterior style looks like right now?

SD Bor - I’m not sure what I’d call your “style,” anymore than I could describe my style! But looking at your pictures, I’d say you’ll know what you like when you see it! Just look at a lot of house plan styles and see what moves you (and what will look right on your property). I love your style, whatever it is. 😉

Thanks y’all. I guess it’s hard to define your own style unless you adopt a named style like traditional or modern or whatever. Anyway I guess that’s why I was thinking folk style for new build. It’s not really a named style either. Just a mish mash of what’s available and not expensive to build.

It is an intriguing question, to define a style, especially when you have eclectic tastes and need to work with what you have inherited or picked up along the way, as you said. Even if I had nothing and could start from scratch, I would probably have a hard time sticking to a particular style. I like that “collected over time” look. It’s homey and inviting. Have you purchased a piece of property where you plan to build? The area you plan to build in will dictate, to a rather great extent, what type of exterior style you should choose.

Folk Victorian houses were popular from 1870 to 1910. They were usually simple modest homes with Victorian ornamentation on front proches.

Another Victorian style is the Shingle Style popular from 1880 to 1900. I believe it's more compatible with and adaptable to modern lifestyles and eclectic interiors.

Folk Victorian interiors:

Shingle Style interiors:

Thank you! Love the shingle style photos. Will research that more.

I would call that interior style updated 18th Century New England colonial or New England Captain House traditional!

If you google "18th century American home interiors" and look at the images, you will see photos that show the original versions of your style.

Your current house has a lot of original architectural details ... you won't get any of that in an average new construction, unless you are going to spend a lot of money to build an 18th century replica with modernized features and mechanicals.

Or you could choose to focus on contrast—for example a Colonial house with Modern/Bauhaus interiors…or vice versa…!

I like your "style". I would not consider it Victorian at all. Cabin, New England, Colonial come to mind instead.

I think something a bit classic with a twist.I can see your style in here for sure . I love that you surround yourself with what you love I do that too and really that is your style .IMO your style will have different things waeaving through it over the years and this house style could hnadle all of that. My"style" has had many changes in my life and I am 76 and still find I move my likes and dislikes over time.

You're not buildin that. Take awhile just to find the parts. You could build something that feels like it. 21st and all.

Labels are only useful if they communicate what you mean to the people you're trying to communicate with. I don't think "folk Victorian" is a very good label. I think you'd do better to put together a list of likes and dislikes. From your pics, the lists might look like this:

Likes:

• cozy
• traditional
• informal
• comfortable
• decorated (as in lots of pictures and objects)
• personal

Dislikes:

• minimal
• modern
• over-scaled
• plain

Patricia - thank you for seeing that and putting into words. And for the house pic. Feels very right to me and oh that yellow door…

"Which I would define as making the best of what was given to you/picked up along the way."

Years ago, my wife decided to collect tea pots. She told her friends. Now that we are cleaning out our basement, she has decided next time she decides to collect anything she will not tell anyone.

I get that. The things that made it through the fire were my Christmas village. Less a village then an urban area with suburbs. It was cute when I had 6.

Houzz needs a hahaha response option!

Not about the fire- obviously. Terrible trauma, John3582.

I do agree you don't need to give your style a name exactly but you do need to have a way of explaining what you like and so the pics are great for doing that.

Interiors/exteriors can often reflect a similar feel as that’s what a person is drawn to. Given you are building, you have the opportunity to do that. The inside can be very different from the exterior though, so don’t let that limit choices. I’d focus less on narrowing down to a specific style and start considering the features you are drawn to and provide your wishes and examples.

Thanks to all of y’all, I’m ready to move on to the next step. I really appreciate everyone’s input.

As long as it's a new build I would put in a sprinkler system.

SD Bor, will you kindly let us know when you do choose a design? I, for one, can’t wait to see what you pick!