And as an aside, when you're in areas with houses like these, you get churches like this:

It doesn't have a case of the pox, it was being painted. The required scaffolding on the back of the building was impressive. As well as vertigo-inducing.

Anywho, the church dates from the first settling of the area by the Dutch, contemporaneous with the brick farmhouse above.

That yellow one is so cheerful; I'd smile every time I drove past that house!

[...] (often fouled up by later "remuddles". I spare you the particularly egregious examples with very bad pasted on bay windows). [...]

My sister has a very old (100+ years) farmhouse, where 2 previous owners mucked around with the original structure, creating dark interiors. :-( She keeps talking about adding onto it (again), and I keep begging her to talk to a few architects, hoping to preserve some character (and reverse some damage).

I just love old houses. And I love new old houses, where folks tried to recreate the spirit of the style. <3 I mean, it doesn't have to be an exact replica of an old house, but you can tell when someone really respected the history of a place and architectural style. So much of today's residential architecture is lacking poetry and grace. It's just so cool to see those things, especially in "every man" houses.

Thank you for the enjoyable pics!

Love the photos. I don't think any are ugly. I don't blame folks for wanting bigger windows though, and for adding a garage and porch. It's nice to learn about how to do these things but stay in character with the house.

For some reason, I've been having a thing about yellow houses lately. I suddenly love them!

One story

BT - yes, there are exceptions to everything. And I did spot a few places with 50-60's ranches. Always on a main drag so I couldn't slow down and take a photo. Most of these probably are from splits of the original parcel so that each kid could have a portion of the land. That doesn't happen SUPER often around here, as most of the original parcels were 80-160 acres. That's about as small as you could go for a working enterprise for a long time.

Still, 95% or so of farm houses in my area are two stories. Most of them have had some sort of work done to them, for good or for ill.

Mrs. S, I agree they are all lovely in their original forms. And I can sympathize with the window thing, too. While still wishing it had been done with more sympathy for the original house. ;-) Really, ALL of these houses probably started out with divided light windows. I think the vinyl replacements almost everybody has with just plain glass in them tend to make the windows look like empty holes in sockets. But it was the "modern" thing to do when they replaced the windows.

Holly, thanks for starting this posting on farmhouses. Hopefully it will become a valuable and much read resource for those interested in and searching for farmhouses.

In my experience, farmhouses have always been very simple, straighforward houses most often characterized by region--the region's climate, available building resources and the talent and knowledge of local builders. In a great many cases the homes are often simple two-story shapes, and may have a series of additions added on to the original house as generations of a family return to the home with their new families. In Amish country in central Pennsylvania, it's not uncommon to see several generations living together in the same house which has an addition for each generation.

Here's some more photos which illustrate farmhouses in the central US:

A 1760s farmhouse in Lancaster, PA with an addition visible at the rear (left) of the original house:

Another Lancaster, PA farm, unknown if Amish or not. Farmhouse appears to have at least two additions:

1700s farmhouse in Chadds Ford, PA. This was the headquarters of Gen George Washington at the Battle of the Brandywine:

Central Pennsylvania (and other areas in the US) has a great deal of common fieldstone. The German and Dutch settlers, used to stone masonry in their former countries, cleared the fields for agriculture and used the stone for their houses and fencing. Another small farmhouse from Chadds Ford, PA, the Gideon Gilpin house, is where the wounded Lafayette was treated during the Battle of the Brandywine:

One of my favorite farm photos, from an unknown location (Pennsylvania), clearly shows the additions, over time, to an original farm house, or perhaps inn:

Other farmhouses from various Middle Atlantic states:

And finally, a good reference book on farmhouses:

Hope this has helped to expand the farmhouse discussion.

Central Illinois. Farms galore. Lots of fine brick four square homes especially near the U of I. Lots of houses around our area similar to #6 of Virgil’s pics. And lots of Amish farmhouses that are simple white homes that are often added on to many times. Many farmhouses like Holly’s #1 pic. As they age beyond repair, they are often replaced by simple or not so simple ranch style homes and once completed the old farmhouse is torn down.

I grew up on a farm with our large family in a not so large or well appointed farmhouse. Not nearly as fun and idyllic as lots of folks imagine, lol.

Well...thanks to HGTV, Houzz and myriad other similar sites, we seem stuck with the misnomer "modern farmhouse". For most architects, architectural historians and perhaps many others "modern farmhouse" is a huge red flag, since it has no accepted architectural or historical meaning. Nevertheless, some consumers persist in the term.

So what would a "modernized" farmhouse look like?

Well...here's a wonderful example of a 1700s farmhouse in Pennsylvania which has a modern remodel added to it. From an architectural perspective, the wonderful thing about this approach is that the historical building retains its historical identity, the modern addition establishes its own identity and the old and new live together harmoniously.

If only we saw more "modern farmhouses" with such strong past and present identity.

Architect Wyant and Associates.

Thank you so much for this thread! My husband and I are at the starting point of building a “new old” farmhouse on 100 acres in SC. This land used to be a working farm and while the original structure had to be torn down (it was basically a fire hazard, unfortunately) our goal is to keep the spirit of the farm alive with our house. There are some astoundingly ugly “modern farmhouse” designs out there and we’ve had little luck in finding a simple design that we truly love. We initially wanted to build the Four Gables by Mitch Ginn, but feel like it’s too narrow (and it seems like a lot of people are building that same plan). We’ve also considered his American Farmhouse plan. Has anyone found a simple design that they would recommend?

I can think of a number of options for you, Kelley. First would be to contact a local architect and have a home designed for you that would be both amenable to modern living and your land as well as sympathetic to the tradition of South Carolina farm houses (which would be different from these here in the Great White North).

If that doesn't seem to be working out for you, consider contacting ARG - one of the architects here on the forum - and setting up a charette. He does remote design work, and you can then take his concept to a local draftsman to have full building drawings made.

If neither of those ideas appeal, give a look at Allison Ramsey's stuff. They're in SC, and I bet if you go trolling through the plans here, you might find some SC farm house inspired plans. (You could also check and see what their rates are. Though for value for money, I recommend finding a solo practioner who doesn't have to pay for a snazzy office, staff, etc. with your design fee.)

https://www.allisonramseyarchitect.com/

Thanks Holly! I am familiar with the architect you suggested - she has some beautiful stock plans. We are actually in the market for a builder here in Upstate SC and have reached out to several, preferably one with an in-house architect. Thank you for the suggestion of the remote member of the forum. That may also be an option. This is our first time building a home, so we have a lot to learn!

I can also offer a few reading suggestions:

"Creating a New Old House" by Russel Versaci

"A Place to Call Home" by Gil Schaefer

"Roots of Home" by Russel Versaci

Awesome pictures!

The mention of Gil Schaefer reminds me of my all time favorite “farmhouse”. I’ve been in love with this house since the first time I saw it.

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/gil-schafer-farmhouse-article

Another example of an actual modern farmhouse:

https://www.period-homes.com/palladio-awards/southern-farmhouse?utm_content=95973138&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&hss_channel=fbp-123909377619232

More farm houses, you say?

I live to serve:

A large brick version with a not-brick addition on the back:

A classic yellow farm house that has managed to hang onto it's original window trim:

The quintessential Midwestern farm house that is lovingly cared for:

A simple, aging four square with an actual fieldstone foundation on the porch. And real rust on the Galvalume! How's THAT for "authenticity" ?!?!

Four square with a porch on the front and a gabled edition on the back.

Sorry about the weeds. But this one just stopped me dead. In my car. And I didn't have clearance to get out and try to get a better photo.

Another classic farm house that's been maintained and remodeled here and there. I loved the gardens. And I wish I'd thought to get better pics of the barn, because it was fabulous, too. We don't see TOO many with the curved roof style up here.

Another I had to sort of sneak up on while NOT getting hit by a car. But there are a few Italianate style homes out here, too.

The next two photos are the same house. A gravel pit bought the property, so the house is just sort of rotting. But she was a lovely girl, in her day.

This'un is a head scratcher. I don't know if that odd little corner window thingy is original, or not. Or why the inhabitants need a feed dispenser attached TO the home.

And, for thoroughness, a simpler, less well cared for example. I'm not sure the addition of the "stone" look on the front of the porch does it any favors, either.

And, because where you have farm houses, you have farm children, and therefore schools...

Some one room schoolhouses from the same area

This one has been purchases by the local hysterical, er, historical society. The plaque gives dates of establishment, when THIS building was erected, when it closed, etc.

This one is the same brick style as many of the homes around it. The little "shed" entrance is a later (rather awful) addition. This one belongs to a local boy scout troop.

Finally, this one was a private residence for a while. Then it was bought up by another local history group and restored pretty thoroughly:

And finally, proof for Mark that the Ottawa School restoration went down to the last detail...

Well done, Holly--thank you.

Mostly I was killing time while my daughter was at therapy. Mid morning is not the best light, but it was a lovely day and a fun drive.

(Also, clicking the pictures gets you a larger version, if anybody wants to inspect more closely)

I am drooling... beautiful examples. All of them in their own unique way! Well done Holly!

Thought I would add an image of the farmhouse I use to own in northwest Michigan built in 1955.

And a few examples from a creditable source Sears, Roebuck and Company in 1917:

What will they think of next, hey?