Old Style Farmhouse Plan

An old style 19th century craftsman farmhouse plan that is comfortable, homelike and beautiful in its simplicity.

Craftsman Farmhouse.
View from the front, showing dormer, gable and recessed porch. Note the effect of the broad low proportions. the grouping of windows and the decorative use of timbers.

¶ If there is any one style of house that we enjoy planning more than others, it is a farmhouse, a home that shall meet every practical requirement of life and work on the farm, and yet be simple, beautiful, comfortable and homelike. This is our first farmhouse and we endeavored to make it characteristic in design, plan, decoration and the materials used for building. As a rule, we do not advocate the use of clapboards for sheathing the walls of a frame house, for the reason that the small, thin, smoothly planed and painted boards generally used for this purpose give a flimsy, unsubstantial effect to the structure and a characterless surface to the walls. However, clapboards are often preferred, especially in building a farmhouse, and it is quite possible to use them so that these objections may be removed. In this building the clapboards are unusually broad and thick, giving to the walls a sturdy appearance of permanence. They may be of pine, cedar, or cypress, and may be stained or painted according to individual taste and the character of the environment. If the house is to be rather dark and quiet in color, the boards might be given a thin stain of moss green or brown; or a delightful color effect may be obtained by going over the boards with a wash of much diluted sulphuric acid. With either one of these colors a good effect would be obtained by painting the timbers of the framework a light cream so that the structural features are strongly accented.

Farmhouse Living Area.
Corner of living room, showing treatment of wall spaces by a very simple use of the woodwork, which is used to give the effect of a broad, plain frieze. Note the manner in which the window and door framings are related to the lower beam of this frieze.

¶ We regard this house as having in a marked degree the comfortable and inviting appearance which seems so essentially to belong to a home particularly to a farm home. It is wide and low, with rather a shallow pitch to the broad roof, the line of which is unbroken by the large dormers set at different heights. The entrance porch, which is of ample size, is recessed to its full width. The timbers which accent the construction give special interest to the interior, as they are so placed as to add to the apparent width of the house, and are arranged so as to avoid, by means of the prominent horizontal lines of the beams, any possible "spotty" effect which might result if the vertical lines of the framework were not so relieved. This device is especially apparent in the grouping of the three windows which light the gable. The plan of the house makes it necessary that these be rather far apart, but they are built together by the beams so as to form a symmetrical group rather than to give the impression of three separate windows in a broad wall space. The same effect is preserved throughout the lower story by the massive beam which extends the entire width of the farmhouse, not only defining the height of the lower story but serving as a strong connecting line for the window and door framings which all spring from the foundation to the height of this beam.

Farmhouse Interior.
Corner of dining room showing sideboard built into a recess, with group of windows and dish cupboard.

¶ A small vestibule, which serves to cut off draughts that might come from the entrance door, opens into the central hall which forms a connecting link between the living room on one side and the library and dining room on the other. The staircase, which is opposite the entrance, is placed well toward the back of the house, giving as much width as possible to the hall. A small coat closet occupies a few feet of space that has been made available between the vestibule and the living room, so that the lines of both hall and living room are uninterrupted.

¶ The living room has the advantage of every ray of sunshine which strikes that side of the farmhouse, as it is not sheltered by the porch. It is quite a long room in proportion to its width and the entire end at the rear is taken up by the fireplace and the two seats which, extending from it at right angles, give the effect of a deeply recessed fireside nook. A single chimney is made to do service for the entire house, as it is arranged to accommodate three fires.

Farmhouse Floor Plan

Farmhouse Floor Plan