Do none of these farmhouse locations have snow or substantial rain? How is that garage gable orientation okay with the rest of the house?!

Thanks for posting the plan swtceleb. I like it!

It's an interesting Modern Minimal Traditional design by an Oklahoma builder who seems to have embraced modern developer detailing with a passion.

A "farm house" is not a house style but a use. It can be of any style but the most common historically was the Greek Revival Style and, of course, the Folk Style. What is common to most older farm houses is that they are 2 stories with porches and the barn and other utility structures are not attached directly to the house.

It is the "cheek by jowl" relationship of the house and garage in this example that makes it look like it belongs in a suburban rather than a rural location. To me it has more in common with a Raised Ranch than a farm house. But you can't blame a developer for adopting whatever marketing approach attracts buyers.

However, I draw the line at misleading advertising copy. The developer suggests that a buyer can "Serve Thanksgiving dinner in the formal dining room", but I could not find one on the plan.

If I wanted this kind of house to look more like a farm house, I would pull the garage away, push it back and connect it to the house with utility structures so the main house could stand alone as much as possible. Making the porch deeper and wrapping it around two sides with part of it enclosed can be very effective.

Here is a link that might be useful: Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn

However, I draw the line at misleading advertising copy. The developer suggests that a buyer can "Serve Thanksgiving dinner in the formal dining room", but I could not find one on the plan.

I think the "study" is actually supposed to be a dining room. You wouldn't have a butler's pantry connecting the kitchen to a study.

11-0 x 11-4 would be a minimal dining room for a 4 bedroom house but would not be large enough to serve a Thanksgiving dinner with relatives which I think the ad intended to imply.

I renovated a house once where the wife's only requirement was to be able to serve a dinner for her entire family at holidays. The existing dining room was 11-0 x 11-0. I delivered a set of progress drawings to her house one evening and she invited me in to see her extended family sitting at a table that extended through a 6-0 opening into the living room.

This post was edited by Renovator8 on Fri, Jul 25, 14 at 13:48

Renovator8, what kind of utility structures would you use to connect the garage to the main house?