Extremely popular modern-style homes exude casual comfort, contemporary class, and stylish sophistication while providing the essentials for a well-designed space in which to make life’s treasured memories.
While basic principles apply—like simplicity, clean lines, and cohesion—there is room for creative expression in each aspect of your farmhouse exterior, giving you every opportunity to capture the perfect mix of modern and farmhouse style.
What design options (like the siding or windows) are best for your modern farmhouse home? While there are no hard and fast rules for your farmhouse, some foundational elements provide a springboard for personalized expression within the design.
Here’s a look at the basics:
Modern Style Farmhouse 101
How the Modern Farmhouse evolved
Originally a practical choice for working-class Europeans, since it was built with affordable materials, the farmhouse style spread rapidly throughout the United States in the 1700s. Featuring clean white siding, and porches made for gathering, the original farmhouse design delivered practical exteriors that gave hard-working people a picturesque, shaded porch space to relax on after work.
The modern farmhouse style developed in recent years and added personal touches to the traditional design, delivering lasting style and sophistication.
Characteristics of a Modern Farmhouse Home
While each farmhouse home has subtle differences to personalize it, there are some key architectural features that qualify your home design as a modern farmhouse. What is it that sets this trendy home apart from Craftsman or Cottage homes?
Look for the following features if you’re buying a home, and implement these if you’re updating your current home and looking to define it as a modern farmhouse style:
- Large front porch—A sizable, sweeping front porch gives a welcoming and nostalgic feel to the modern farmhouse. It’s just the place to sip lemonade in a gentle breeze while unwinding on a porch swing after a long summer day.
- Ample back porch—The modern farmhouse’s back porch delivers an airy space with shaded relief from the heat of the sun. It’s the perfect place to take a break from backyard gardening, or host friends and family for an intimate gathering.
- Double-hung windows—Classic, double-hung windows point back to old American farmhouses, and when combined with updated patterns, a modern flair is achieved. Modern farmhouse windows should be taller than they are wide, accenting the height of the home, and providing expansive views of the outdoors for you to sit back and enjoy.
- Pronounced gables—A defining feature of a modern farmhouse home is its gable roof. A gable is the triangular portion of your home’s exterior walls between the edges of intersecting roof pitches.
- Distinct roof pitch—Modern farmhouse homes have steep 12:12 pitch roofing (creating a 45-degree angle), and emphasizing the home’s height.
- Rustic look—Traditional farmhouse style was marked by wood siding, but today’s savvy homeowners prefer low-maintenance fiber cement siding that delivers durability for decades. James Hardie siding (America’s #1 fiber cement product) achieves the look of wood without wood’s high maintenance.
- Open floor plan—The bright, airy look of a modern farmhouse’s exterior carries over to its interior with an open floor plan, giving plenty of space to enjoy your family and friends. Surrounded by an abundance of generous windows, the natural light teeming into your home makes it a refreshing place to be.
Trends of a Modern Farmhouse Exterior
- Roofing—Standing seam metal roofing is ingrained in modern farmhouse design. Its extreme durability and easy drainage of rain and snow have made it a practical choice.
- Windows—While vinyl, wood, and fiberglass windows work well with the modern farmhouse, steel windows are beginning to trend.
- Color—The modern farmhouse home is traditionally solid white with a contrasting window color (like black) for a clean, distinct style. A twist is occurring lately in the color of modern farmhouses, and gray, red, black, and other dark hues are all options that give a contemporary flair (choosing just one color is essential). James Hardie’s Arctic White provides a traditional look while Iron Gray delivers a more contemporary feel.
Recent Siding Trends for the Modern Farmhouse
What’s trending when it comes to siding solutions for your modern farmhouse home?
- Board and Batten siding—The Board and Batten effect is made by placing vertical siding (boards) with narrow strips (battens) between the vertical boards to provide a design you’re sure to love. The width of your vertical planks is a fun design element to play with and delivers sophisticated style and easy maintenance (board replacement is super accessible and a cinch!).
- Lap siding—Also called clapboard or horizontal lap siding, traditional lap siding gives your modern farmhouse a classic look. It’s made of wood, vinyl, or low-maintenance fiber cement (our favorite!).
- Board and Batten combined with Lap siding—Many modern-style farmhouse homes blend the best of both worlds to create visual interest and a variety of textures on their home exterior.
James Hardie Fiber Cement Siding
To reside and update your Los Angeles or San Diego area farmhouse-style home, there is no better choice than achieving the board and batten look by using fire-resistant and pest-resistant James Hardie siding.
HardiePanel® (vertical planks or ‘boards’) combine with HardieTrim® (attractive trim—or battens—that cover vertical seams) to create the perfect board and batten look.
Transform Your Home with New Siding
You deserve not only the perfect siding (James Hardie fiber cement), but also detailed siding installation (our specialty!), delivering high performance for decades (how does up to 50 years sound!).
At Approved Contractor, we stay on the cutting edge of technology and implement the James Hardie company’s best practices so you can rest assured that your siding was installed right the first time!
Get a free estimate for James Hardie siding.
