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Modern farmhouse plans, read past the facade

Modern farmhouse is a facade before it is a plan: gables, a porch, board-and-batten. Two houses can look identical from the street and work in opposite ways inside.

FARMHOUSEPORCHGUIDE

The style is defined by what you see from the street. That is why it is easy to choose a farmhouse plan for its rendering and only later notice the plan behind it.

Start with the elevation you like, then put it aside and read the floor plan as if it had no style at all.

Two plans behind an identical front porch. In the first, living space is on the left and bedrooms on the right. In the second, bedrooms face the front and living space is at the back.

Plan A: side by side

Plan B: front to back

The same front, two different houses behind it.Diagram, not to scale

Four things the facade does not tell you

  1. 01

    Whether the porch is a room

    A porch can be drawn for the rendering rather than for sitting. Check the depth on the plan and lay out the chairs you would put there, with room to walk past them.

  2. 02

    Where the garage lands

    A side- or rear-entry garage keeps the facade you liked. A front-entry version of the same plan can look like a different house.

  3. 03

    What the dormers are

    Dormers can be windows into rooms or decoration on a roof with nothing behind it. The section drawing or upper floor plan tells you which.

  4. 04

    Where the kitchen faces

    Find the sink. If it looks at the backyard or the porch, the kitchen works as a lookout. If it faces a wall, the island usually takes over that job.

Trade-offs to expect

  • Steep gables and dormers add roof complexity, which your builder will price. Ask before you fall for them.
  • A deep front porch shades the front rooms. That is welcome on a south or west front, less so on a north one.

Ask before you buy the plan

  1. Is the garage offered in more than one position, and is that version drawn?
  2. Are the dormers windows into finished space?
  3. What is the porch depth, and is a deeper version available?
  4. Which exterior materials does the plan set specify, and which are only in the rendering?

Plans worth comparing

No verified plans are published for this brief yet. The table appears here once each spec has been checked against the seller's listing.

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