In my experience, clapboards are typically 3 3/4" to 4 1/4" to the weather and radially sawn to be vertical grain. When larger they are usually called bevel or bungalow siding and are not radially sawn and have ransom grain. The example photo might be of an imitative material.

Untapered lap siding is usually larger and often of imitative materials. Cedar Dutch lap (aka, Novelty, German, Drop) siding has a rabbeted edge overlap is also larger. In your example the drop is larger than normal and a bit odd looking.

Clapboard all the way.

This is the house - but majority of the homes have board and batten so I am unable to visualize just horizontal siding.

What happened to Scandinavian Modern? This is just another "modern farmhouse".

For a more modern style try T&G real wood siding instead of the American traditional vernacular..

Walter Gropius used vertical clapboard on some of the interior walls of his house in Lincoln, MA.

The interior of the house is scandi modern....I want to make the exterior look as modern as possible.

Vinyl comes in Board and Batten. That would be SO MUCH BETTER THAN YOUR SELECTIONS!!!

https://www.plygem.com/siding/mastic/board-batten-designer-series/

If I look up Scandi design this comes up and it has features you could incorporate in your plan. Wood, brick posts, and vertical siding.

https://drummondhouseplans.com/plan/olympe-scandinavian-1003208

The interior of the house is scandi modern....I want to make the exterior look as modern as possible.

Guess what? The best way to do that is to work with a person of design talent to create a house that ticks all your boxes and not just pull one off the internet and then try and make it something it ain't.

There is nothing modern about clapboard or Dutch lap siding. You may know what you want but your words are not transmitting it.

There is no need to be condescending about it. We cannot afford anything other than vinyl siding and certain things outside other than siding would be added to bring the modern flair outside.

All I wanted to know was whether clapboard or dutch lap seemed more modern than one or other...guess I should have just asked my family in Denmark

@Kathy - omg that house is beautiful

It reminds me of your plan. I think if you stick to simple black and white with some wood you will be close to the look you want. I actually like the board and batten too.

Between clapboard and lap siding I don't think either looks particularly modern.

I found a picture a bit like your house with clapboard.

I think I like it just a bit more than lap siding.

@emmarene9 I kind of like the more narrow siding like that. It reminds me of lath walls, which is what houses used to be made with up in here rather than shiplap. Kind of a cool change.

If all you can't afford is vinyl siding, that should have been explained in the original post. Its not fair to expect us to know your constraints. The first rule of problem solving is to define the problem well. It all starts with you..

Did my explanation of clapboards being radially sawn with vertical grain not suggest to you that your description of the problem needed elaboration?

but also not required to be snarky or rude. not you but somebody saying that I should have just gotten "a person with actual design talent"
could have just asked why those were my limitations but in also did not think I would get harped on like she thinks she can do a scandi modern home, this house is modern farmhouse.

Whatever you build, if it has vinyl siding, do NOT use J-channel. Use rabbeted trim and other ways of eliminating the need for J-channel. By doing this, it makes it harder to detect that the house is covered with vinyl siding. AND you can call it a "modern farmhouse" if you have five cows and three goats and a dozen chickens (no roosters) (the eggs are to live for).

Do be cautious in trying to shoe-horn one style onto a home that was designed in another style. Architectural style is not created with peel-and-stick materials, but is baked into the structure of the home.

Of the two choices you are considering using, the clapboard is probably seen on designs of a more modern style than is the Dutch lap.

It might be worth your time to try to hunt up someone who can create some mock-ups for you of the elevation in different claddings so that you can visualize what they will look like. Such services are usually fairly inexpensive and worthwhile if they help you avoid something you will hate once it's up.

@holly stockley I totally agree and I just fell in love with the layout of this floor plan that I was willing to try and and do a more modern farmhouse look. especially since we are building on 9 acres. But I am from Denmark and switched my design style for the interior and now I think I am just having a hard time trying to give some sort of flow from the outside to the inside.

@mark well we do plan to have 20 chickens on our 9 acres so partially I guess it counts ha

but also not required to be snarky or rude. not you but somebody saying that I should have just gotten "a person with actual design talent"

No one, including me said any such thing. Where did you read that?

could have just asked why those were my limitations but in also did not think I would get harped on like she thinks she can do a scandi modern home, this house is modern farmhouse.

I'm sorry I don't understand what you were trying to say.

If you're trying to say that you're worried that working with a person of design talent might be too much money, then say so but then again there are some folks who will create a wonderful design for a price that is doable too.

Oooooo fresh eggs are delicious.

Are you planning for a ceramic wood stove?

Also, hit Pinterest and start a board with exteriors on Danish modern-style homes you DO like. That will help you start to choose which elements of the style really appeal to you.

There are lots of them on Pinterest, you just have to get the search terms right. I found any number of them while searching for images for my Swedish farm house. It took me a while to learn to filter them OUT.

In general houses in Sweden and Norway have siding that is vertical. Are there any vertical vinyl options in your price range?

Stucco is another common siding material and I know it is often used in Denmark too. I have no idea how the cost compares to vinyl so it may still be too expensive for you.

If clapboard style siding is what you have in your budget just go with it. It will look nice on the house and then your interior will be more modern. Only people visiting your house will notice it and I doubt they will think less of you for it so to me it is not a huge deal if it all works for you as you are the one who is going to live there.

"The best way to do that is to work with a person of design talent ..." was misquoted by the OP as: "somebody saying that I should have just gotten "a person with actual design talent"".

It all seems to me like sloppy reading and writing. We all try to avoid that face to face but on the internet its easy to be sloppy.

Its common for some of us to struggle to avoid using the term "architect" when referring to someone with professional experience but to substitute "a person of talent" is just as bad and possibly worse. Perhaps we should try " an experienced designer" or better yet, avoid such terms.

When pointing out a flaw in a design, one should offer a solution or at least a path to one and not just recommend hiring a professional. If everyone took that advice the designers would be talking to themselves which seems to be the way the forum is heading anyway.

RES you are correct. I should have just said architect and normally do but then I get flack for saying that so went more general this time. :)

As for offering suggestions, in this case it was a bit difficult to do because the OP was a bit too general in what she wanted and what she considered to be her style. We are all just guessing.

I say ‘architect’ because I assume they have design talent; I am not always right. I decided not to skip all that was involved in becoming an architect because I felt it was in everyone’s best interest to do it right.

I like "person of design talent". I personally know some architects I wouldn't trust to design a house for my dog. And the examples of poorly designed homes posted on this forum by actual architects are abundant.

And "experienced" implies some sort of progression of skills. Many folks walk through the same door everyday for 20 years and call it "experience", their stagnant skillset notwithstanding. Again, we've seen abundant examples here of poorly designed homes on this forum by, at least according to the OP, their "experienced" designers.

ETA: Sorry, hit the "post" button before I was done and then had lunch.

Being from Denmark, you probably know much better than most of us what Scandinavian architecture is but to me, that house doesn't look like it. Also, I would worry about using vinyl in trying to pull off that vernacular. I know vinyl is cost effective but as in anything, if a desired goal can't be reached via a certain method, best to fall back and regroup with another approach.