Citiots.

That was an interesting article. My favorite quote is " “It’s basically modernism in drag,” she (Alexandra Lange) said of a style that manages to hide modernist elements — big open windows and open floor plans — behind creature comforts like gables and covered porches." And if I bothered with Facebook I'd join "The People Against Modern Farmhouse" Group. All the white makes me sad not serene, and the Gains drive me crazy.

Just like the buyers of a "modern farmhouse," the author doesn't know the difference between columns and beams and labels stepped down, lick-and-stick stone a "stone foundation."

I grew up in a post-and-beam Greek Revival farmhouse. It was on a farm. The only board and batten siding used in the area was on barns--not houses.

One of the earliest real farmhouses Howdy Doody grew up in. Then and now.

(White hydrangeas are still my favourite flower.)

Here is my mom’s childhood house on a dairy farm in western NY. Not modern by any stretch but a happy home to her Polish immigrant family of nine. One full bathroom.

A Modern house is a particular architectural style which is evidenced in buildings constructed from the 30's to the 60's.

The "farmhouses" being built now are not Modern, but you could imagine the house and barn would look more like this:

Contemporary farmhouse would be correct because contemporary means "of the present time".

The column labeled "Wood beams" speaks volumes for the NY Times.

How many modern farmhouses does it take for it to become a style? It’s rather identifiable, so it should have a name. Without snark, what should it be called?

Architectural names, Design names frequently come after the style has been developed. People don't make up the name first and then fully develop the style after. It has to be called Something, and lots of people will recognize what is meant when they say Modern Farmhouse no matter how stupid the name may seem. McMansion is actually Neo-Eclectic-Contemporary, but say that to most people and they won't know what you mean.

My dad grew up in a farmhouse that was vertical board and batten. But what it really was was an old hunting shack added onto with no foundation, no heating and a pump in the kitchen.

My other grandparents lived in a farmhouse that was built out of blocks that seemed to be made out of ash and cinders. The blocks were a weird glossy maroon or brown. It is a hideous house.

Actually my dad's shack was painted maroon, too. In my experience farmhouses are maroon.

I have an admittedly personal dislike for the style. Picture 1 is the home I grew up in: built in 1931, it was the first home built on the block, and though a modest size house sat on 1/3 acre lot (large for this suburban street close to town / schools / train.) Picture 2 is what replaced it, which looks like many of the other infill McMansions around here. :(

If you feel like reading more, here's a bit of backstory:

My parents were the second owners and lived there for 50 years. Their buyers were a young family who lived there about 4-5 years before being transferred out of state. If I was ready to downsize at the time, I could have had it for a song! (Less than $450k.) Huge regrets.

They sold to a builder, who I called and asked if they weren't keeping any of the old windows, crystal door knobs, etc. to please let me know. (I thought maybe they'd have a demo sale.) I was skiing in MT with my kids when a friend called to tell me that there was a bulldozer in the side lot. Luckily, my SO was able to zip by with a crowbar and they gave him a few minutes to rescue two of the leaded glass windows (there were several other larger ones) and a few bricks for me and my siblings. (At least they paused the dozer long enough to snap a picture of him.) Everything else went into landfill. Regrets.

Glad you could save some keepsakes

Here's the home my late mother was raised up in Long Beach, New York and lived in till her marriage. It's a placqued original, but now missing the signature lions, either removed by later re-modelers or vandals. At least, no other exterior re-muddling!

***

Her mother and sister eventually re-located to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu for most of the rest of their lives.

Six storeys 400 rooms built in 18 months! Opened in Feb. 1927 and still standing proud.

It's a placqued original, but now missing the signature lions, either removed by later re-modelers or vandals. At least, no other exterior re-muddling!

I know that house! When I lived in Long Beach I believe the lions were still there.

When it comes to architectural styles. I like exploring as close to the source as possible.

How long does it take for a style to be named?

My parents built two houses. The first, I guess it would be a mid-century ranch.Not atomic, a ranch house. Their second house in 1970 was kind of a Brady Bunch looking house. What is that called? I live in a neighborhood of 1960s ”colonials”, ”farmhouses”, “georgians”, and a few ”ranches”. The model name for our house was ”Pennsylvania Farmhouse”. When I first saw it, that was my thought, and later learned that was its name. But we are a few states away from PA. And I don’t think our neighborhood was farmland. and it was not a colony, ; there probably were a lot of Potawatomi homes, and a few log cabins, during colonial times.

Some of the new ”mcm” houses look nothing like the mcms I grew up with.

So how, and by whom, are styles named?

Thanks or no thanks to HGTV, it only takes someone like Joanna to name the style, "modern farmhouse", hmmmm ..n less than 24hrs? As for the real deal architecture, certainly it took longer, don't you think? No media to speed up the process and no huge salaries to speed things up.

Regarding HGTV:

From the Washington Post

HGTV is making our homes boring and us sad, one study says

A pair of professors found that home renovation media leads homeowners to decorate for the masses, not for their own happiness

This is what farm houses were or are in the region I live in now, and in the less prosperous region where I grew up

These are in four different counties

Oh to have the worry of naming an architectural style……..to be able to afford to build or buy a home for security of accomodation, irrespective of style….. now that’s something to be more worried about………

I find the label "modern farmhouse" too limiting. I propose to call it "Grange Transitional." "La Grange" is the French word for "barn." That gives "Grange Transitional" a nice and instant cachet. The label should also be sufficient to enable both "modern farmhouse" and "barndominium" designs to be put in, well, the same pile.

Be careful not to step in the pile.

As the lyrics from that well-known (or should be) country classic "Cow Patty" advise, "ya gotta watch yer step when the chips are down."

Then there is the Moose Turd Pie song by Utah Phillips. Well worth a listen. Good though.

So, the Grange Hall was actually a thing around here…there’s a rabbit hole to fall down….

We had a Grange Hall in our town, too. We used to go there to donate blood, which was something farmers did on a regular basis. Some of it even ended up in sterile blood bags. The Grange Hall houses the town museum today--not the entire hall, mind you, it's a small town with a small history. Only takes a corner of the Grange Hall.