A modern farmhouse exterior, tried on your own house.

What makes a modern farmhouse exterior

• Pale siding. White, cream or soft grey, often vertical board and batten, sometimes mixed with horizontal lap siding.
• Dark frames and trim. Black or charcoal window frames, gutters and light fittings against the pale walls.
• A simple gabled roof. Steep gables, often with a standing-seam metal section over the porch or a bay.
• A covered porch. Square posts, a wood or painted ceiling and room for chairs.
• Wood and lantern details. A natural wood front door, posts or brackets, and barn-style or lantern lights.

What to check on your own house

A photo of someone else’s house exterior can’t tell you how the style sits with your light, your proportions and the things you are keeping. These are the points to look at once it is on your photo:

• Your roof and masonry. Roof color and any brick or stone usually stay. See whether pale siding works with them.
• Window frames. Dark frames are central to the look. If yours are white, compare the design with and without that change, since painting or replacing frames is its own job.
• The neighbors. Picture the design beside the houses around you. A bright white house can stand out on a street of brick or earth tones.

Before

After

Before and after comparison. Drag or use arrow keys to reveal more of either image.

Where it works, and where it doesn’t

It suits houses with gables and porches, such as ranch houses, craftsman bungalows and newer suburban homes. It can often be approached with paint, new lights and a new front door before any siding changes.

It suits flat-roofed, very formal or heavily ornamented houses less well, where it can look applied. White siding also shows dirt, so in dusty or damp places a soft grey or greige version of the same look is easier to keep.

How to see it on your own house

1. Photograph the front of the house. Stand across the street or at the end of the drive on an overcast day or with the sun behind you, and get the whole front and the roofline in frame.
2. Choose the room and the style. In Remodel, pick House exterior as the room and Farmhouse as the style. Remodel is designed to keep the shape of the space and its windows and to change the finishes around them.
3. Run a second style on the same photo. Try Contemporary next and drag the slider on each. A style is easier to judge beside another one than on its own.
4. Refine the one you keep. On a paid plan, Edit changes one thing you describe and Brush changes only the area you paint over. Designs are saved in your Library beside the original photo.

Styles to compare it with

• Contemporary. Less rustic: mixed materials, darker tones and plainer trim. This one is included with a free account.
• Transitional. Darker and more tailored, with charcoal siding and little rustic detail.
• Cottage. Smaller in scale and softer, with more color and planting. This one is included with a free account.

What a design can’t tell you

An exterior design is a concept, not construction drawings. It can’t tell you what siding, paint or planting costs, what your climate or a homeowners’ association allows, or whether a porch or window change is structurally possible. A design can also add things that aren’t there, such as paving or planting. Treat those as ideas to price, not as a plan.

What it costs

On the web, house exteriors come with every paid plan, starting with Basic at $13 a month, or $91 a year. A free account covers living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, dining rooms and offices, so you can try a room first. Every paid plan adds Edit and Brush and unlocks all the styles and room types. The pricing page lists what each plan includes.

Common questions

What colors are modern farmhouse exteriors?

White, cream or pale grey for the walls, black or charcoal for window frames, trim and lights, and natural wood for the door or porch details.

Can I make my house look like a modern farmhouse without new siding?

Often partly: painting existing siding or brick a pale color, darkening the trim, and changing the lights and front door carry much of the look. A design shows whether that is enough on your house.

Is the style called modern farmhouse in Remodeled AI?

The style is listed as Farmhouse. Choose it together with the House exterior room type.

Is the Farmhouse style free to try on a house exterior?

Not this one. On the web, house exteriors come with every paid plan, starting with Basic at $13 a month, or $91 a year. A free account, with starter credits and no card, covers living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, dining rooms and offices. The pricing page lists what each plan includes.