How to Design a Farm House
Farm houses are unpretentious country homes designed to meet the needs of the farm family. They are usually two-story buildings with all the bedrooms upstairs. Fireplaces are used for heating, and porches are gathering places and offer respite on hot days. Start with these basic design elements, then customize them to meet your family's needs. Make substitutions for traditional design materials to make the house more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Design a four square interior for a two story home. Four square means there are four rooms on each floor. The second floor mirrors the first floor. Plan the rooms along a central hallway with a staircase. Basement steps are located under the stairs to the second floor. The front door is then in the center of the front wall of the house.
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Plan for vinyl siding on the house. Traditionally, farm houses have white clapboard but vinyl is much easier to maintain and is more energy efficient. Choose a design that looks like clapboard.
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Plan a wrap-around, raised porch with a wooden railing and steps opposite the front door. Put a back door into the kitchen at one end of the porch that wraps around the side and put steps opposite that door.
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Design interior walls of bead board. Bead board is long, narrow strips of wood that are installed either vertically or horizontally on both walls and ceilings.
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Design floors to be hardwood. Use sustainable hardwoods like reclaimed wood for an environmentally-friendly alternative.
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Design a country kitchen with a cooking fireplace for one of the two rooms on the back of the house. The other three rooms on the ground floor can be used as a dining room, family room and formal living room.
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Include back-to-back fireplaces on the interior walls of the rooms so that they share a chimney.
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Place one window on each exterior wall of each room. Energy efficient windows can be found that look like farmhouse windows.
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Build a one-story addition on the rear of the house for a laundry room and mudroom. Include a half-bath.
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Depart from tradition, if you wish, by putting a full bathroom on the first floor. Design it with fixtures that are found in country bathrooms like claw-footed tubs and pedestal sinks.
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Tips & Warnings
A number of software programs are available for designing homes. Google's Sketchup is free and can be used to design anything, including homes. Punch software is available for sale and is specifically designed for buildings.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Moore Farmhouse
