If you think this is a French colonial farmhouse, I have some bad news for you. Do you want it straight or do you want it sugar coated?

Are you sure you want that much "grid" blocking your light and views?

It would also depend on whether those lites are just between the glass, or more realistic with interior and exterior muntins.

How do you feel about cleaning windows with so many lites?

I would drive around the neighborhood and find houses with windows you like to use as your inspiration. Much easier to see in person that in a 2-D drawing.

We have a (french) colonial farmhouse plan

What makes this French Colonial?

This looks like what most would call "modern farmhouse" with a series of french doors and a misplaced arched window in the center dormer.

Showing an elevation instead of a prospective is helpful.

@PPF. @Mark Bischak, Architect i dont care what you want to call the style, im not the professional- its farmhouse, with european influence. just concerned about the lites.

@chispa thank you. Light is very important to me so thats a great point. We will have exterior muntins for a more realistic look.

Optimally in the design of a home the size of the windows are carefully planned out to develop a continuity in the size and proportions of the window's lites. It does not appear it that occurred here. And all windows on every side of the house should be of concern, not just the rear elevation.

(that was sugar coated)

We are carefully planning that now, which is why I’m asking for input. this is the front of the house. @Mark Bischak, Architect

There is a book titled "Get Your House Right: Architectural Elements to Use & Avoid" that has a chapter on windows that addresses your concern. Have your designer obtain the book and study it. Have them address all four sides and not just one, assuming all sides of the house has windows. Window sizes may have to change to achieve the proper balance, which may effect the floor plan, which is not provided.

A front elevation with five sets of double doors will lead to confusion based upon the information provided.

https://onekindesign.com/2018/08/06/stone-residence-nashville/

@Mark Bischak, Architect . Looks like a great book. On the widow, right of the porch, i was hoping to add window box to help balance that height out. We can aslo make it higher if needed. Were considering all windows right now, which again is why I posted.

@PPF. yes! thats it. Thats been the inspiration.

Would use less window panes rather than more.

Just some thoughts for you to consider:

Unless all those forward facing front doors are opening into a screened porch, building that many will mean you could have some difficulty trying to make your front entry door the focal point of interest in the front of the house. It also means less wall space against which you can place furniture -- unlike a window.

Is there a way you can get the look without the doors actually being doors ... have them be only windows?

Are you in the northern hemisphere ... as in, absent something blocking it, the most sunlight comes INTO the house on the east in the morning, south in the mid day and west in the afternoon while the north might overlook the sun but it doesn't shin into the house?

Consider for a moment where you're wanting to build: If you're standing inside the house looking out the front door, are you looking north or south or east or west ... and what is the view.

Do you really want all those windows and/or doors looking at ... the road?

If most of your porch is taken up with doors -- where will you be able to add a bench or other seating?

Have you considered creating hip corners on each end of your front porch and add forward facing gable over the entry door and its sidelights and frame to emphasize the entry point?

If the porch is only one step down ... so railing unlikely ... perhaps adding a hedge on both the left and right will serve to direct traffic to the center door and the other two be ignored.

Good luck on your project. Do let us know how it turns out.

Thank you, @suezbell! We will be set on 10 acres, with pasture and woods setting all around, facing North/Northeast in North Carolina. Yes, no railling. Yes to hedges and landscsping.

I love the outdoors -so the option to bring the outdoors in while homeschooling in the front study or while we entertain in the dining is the draw for the doors.

Im not sure I understand about the hip

doors/gable. Ill try to research that.

I appreciate your feedback! thank you!!

I think 8 or 12 look very busy, will be a cleaning nightmare, and will block your view. What about

6 over 1, or 4 over 1. With the lower sash open without muntins, you'll get more light and a better view. The muntins in the upper sash will give you the vintage/historical feeling you seek.

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Same size windows, different number of lites. Which one looks best? Think about your windows the same way. Think less about being colonial and more about how the house looks overall with various choices.

Ask your designer for color renderings showing various options. The software they are using is capable of doing them easily. Changing number of lites takes seconds.

A hip porch roof has an angled ridge so the sides of the porch look finished.

This front porch has the two hip corners -- mostly an overhead / front view -- note the angled ridge at the end/corner:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/231583605816390019/

This is a side view of a hip corner.

https://decksmaryland.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/front-porch-or-portico-what-is-the-difference-and-which-one-is-best-for-you/

This is a shed roof porch -- some people close up the two ends and some don't. Either way, it has a bit of an "unfinished" vibe:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/426575395934121775/ 

A forward facing gable can be a part of the porch roof

or a part of the upstairs that isn't a part of or atop the porch

or a part of the upstairs that extends beyond the exterior wall of the upstairs and actually sets atop the porch

or, it can be a part of the porch roof that is atop the porch roof and extends forward beyond most of the porch on each side of it.

If you want the outdoors inside, you might consider floor plans and designs that focus on enabling you to literally have family gatherings or entertain friends with family or guests moving between indoor and outdoor spaces on the most pleasant outdoor side of the house -- where you might want a patio or other outdoor living area beside or near the house.

You don't want to block the sunlight from where you want it actually entering your home. With some careful planning, you can decide what rooms are located where indoor/outdoor gatherings work for you.

Your inspiration house has a hip roofed porch.

Here are the two houses. Not saying the inspiration is a great looking house, but it's way better looking than your copy. Here are a few reasons why.

The obvious -- color photo vs poorly done black and white rendering.

Differences in:

the roof

the materials

the windows and doors

scale and proportion

See the scale of the two roofs. See how much of your house is roof.

Stone on this house just looks right. Using board and batten changes the look.

Look at the columns. Their size and how they support a beam which supports the roof structure. Look at the porch fascia -- its size. Your house is missing these. Your porch looks like it's standing at attention, the other looks welcoming.

Look at the four outside sets of doors. Yours look like they were pinched on the sides changing their proportions. The main door is a single with sidelights which not only differentiates it from the others, it mirrors the layout of the window above. The transoms above the doors look like they belong, and help with the proportions of the doors. See how your arched window is different (and your designer chose the wrong style of arch -- see below).

Look at the three dormers how the fascia heights are all the same, and how your two outside dormers do not match the center.

Two types of arches. Yours is on the right. Probably just a drafting error, but it's difficult to overlook these things.

What type of muntins are you planning to use as that in my mind will make a difference? True divided lites? Simulated divided lites (with internal spacer bar)? Grids between the glass? What size muntin bars in width?

I agree - tighten up the details and lose the board and batten. If stone isn't in the budget, how about brick? or normal siding. Definitely, reduce the number of panes. It does not feel like your house has the formality of the house in the insp pic and I'd make the changes accordingly.

Also agree about the front door needing to be different, and the porch and columns not having enough mass. It needs substance - and having a base / foundation - not the exposed skinny supports.

@ppf thank you! Would you recommend a single door with sidelites for the front? I hadnt noticed how that mirrored the window above, albeit our window is different. Here is the arch we have planned, does thst look any better?

@millworkman we have 7/8 SDLS as of now.

@just_janni thank you fod the feedback. We will have brick on the front porch/dormers then wrap it around the front of house to windows. I prefer siding, but my husband want board and batten. Maybe this will help sway him.

@ppf youre right about the dormer height!! Hopefully thats an easy fix. We have a 10 pitch roof, the inspiration, I believe, was 12. We also have 10 inch columns in front, the orginal has 12 inch. We will have 8 foot doors. Would you still add single door with sidelites since our window is different.

I think we need a hip roof too after this conversation. @suezbell thanks.

Thank you!

Are you ignoring the other three sides of the house?

The sketch provided by the window supplier of the center window looks terrible, very poor proportions.

Note how the individual pane shape (proportions) vary. That's one of the problems with multi pane windows of differing size. Using single/double hung windows is also sometimes a problem as they will have that prominent meeting rail in the center, unless you use windows with a different size upper and lower sash. Using casements in some places may help where an odd number of panes vertically would look best, like the 3 windows on the left which might look better with an additional row.

I'm not suggesting that all panes need to match, just that they should, if possible, be similar.

This was a study I did where window size is based on the individual pane size. Obviously limiting when it comes to sizing.

The upper 3 windows are fixed, the lower are operable. look at the individual panes and compare size to see how they differ. Also notice where the arch springs from on this window compared to the one you show above.

I'd use a similar window in your house and a single door with sidelights.

@PPF. thank you so much. I really appreciate your construcitve crisitsm. I think we will change the window and door selection to mimic the orginal. However, If we are following the orginal middle lites, then we have a decision to make regarding the other dormers and all windows. If you HAD to

choose with the current plan, would you aslo adjust the sides to 12 lite and 8 or 6 lites on other windows?

Venmo and Houzz should link up so people can buy a drink to the most helpful response.

Thank you!

Rather than thinking of the facade as a collection of features similar to the inspiration house, pay close attention to the proportions of wall and window (positive and negative) and the strength of posts, beams and cornice, like the inspiration design did. The insparation house appears strong and uplifting; the proposed house appears crushed.

Frankly, I would ditch the casements, use double-hungs, a single front door and a better drafter or perhaps a better 3D drawing program..

^^^ this.

More proportional trim and substantial details will be what makes this house. See the strength in the drawing that adds thicker columns, heavier cornices, simpler, but stronger window lines (more in keeping with any farmhouse and likely less cost) . And the better porch roof is a significant change.

The trimwork will add cost - but really not "a ton" because making 6x6 columns isn't more labor thatn 8x8 columns, and yes it's another borad here / there, but in the overall scheme of things it's cheap for that much impact.

Borad:

1. formerly Megelen, took over the planet Karfel and created the Timelash before his eventual defeat by the Sixth Doctor.

2. A nickname for an extremely tall person, generally of no great intelligence. A person such as this could be mistaken for Godzilla if they traveled to Asia. Also commonly mistaken for the cracken

Thank you @just_jannit @RES2 That helps so much! We will have planned 10 inch columns, does that seem suffice? I LOVE the cornice addition. I see how that and the hipped roof help so much. We will change to single door and double hung upper windows.

I personally just always liked the look of a 12 lite window. But I see how the busyness may be a problem, especially on the first floor of the house.

I'm not suggesting the OP make an exact copy of Mr. Norris's copyrighted design but studying it more carefully might help the OP apply the same arhitectural principles.

Given the more vernacular and less imposing nature of the "farmhouse" design shown (nothing French about it) the OP might consider three identical "wall dormers" with slightly wider windows or two wall dormers with paired windows depending on the floor plan.

Here are my favorite wall dormers:

Find out who designed RES2's favorite wall dormers and have them design your home.

The house is on Cape Cod and probably 150 years old.

The architectural forms of the OP's inspiration house and the Cape Cod house above were brought to America by the earliest English settlers in the second half of the 17th century. The remaining exampes in England are in the Cotswold region of England; the examples, old and new, in the US are often referred to as Post Medieval English.

Cotswold Cottages:

In the US: (not as many wall dormers)

1668

The inspiration house got the proportions right but the OP's architect did not.

However, the inspiration house architect deviated from the style with the use of a segnented arch transom over the center monumemtal window, possibly a southern thing.

Although the popular American Tudor Revival style was based loosely on late Medieval English rather than Tudor English manor houses, it introduced the segmental arch to the American suburbs.

Since it is obviously meant to be monumental, it can be disapointing when made up of modern window elements and/or crowded into a tight wall space.

To all of you who spent time offering not only your feedback, but solutions to the problem- thak you! We meet today with our builder and I will be mentioning the hip roof with trim cornice detail, single front door with sidelites, and leveling out the dormer eaves height.

I‘m still in the dark on how to best make all the grills match best, espcially since I have always loved the 6 over 6 look, but perhaps some new renderings will help.

Thank you.

Would it be more cohesive to make this 3 same sized windows?

The panes do not need to be the same size but it helps if they are roughly the same proportion (a diagonal line from opposing corners of each pane would be about the same slope). Look closely at the inspiration house; I see 3 or 4 different pane sizes in the upper windows and door panes don't need to similar to window panes.

It would help if the revised drawings showed the brick cladding and lintels and the other sides with color. Black and white drawings are for the contractor not the owners.