Living in Style: The American Farmhouse

Learn more about the design elements that make up an American Farmhouse style home from Andersen Windows.

Brought to you by Andersen Windows

The American Farmhouse style first appeared in the Midwest in the mid-1800s. Depending on the affluence of the owner, this style ranges from small, simple structures to more elaborate homes. The more elaborate Farmhouse style homes often featured elements borrowed from other home styles, such as Victorian style.

Front gables, porches and extended roof eaves are American Farmhouse style trademarks regardless of the home’s size, with all contributing to the style’s distinctive look and feel. Other style elements found in the American Farmhouse include:

• Open floor plan with central chimney
• Simple detailing
• Tall, narrow double-hung windows with 2-over-2 grille patterns
• Color choices that borrow from other popular home styles of the day, such as Victorian earth tones and Colonial Revival whites and pastels.

Many appreciate this style’s simple beauty, while also respecting it as a symbol of the significant changes happening at this point in our country’s history. Railroads were expanding. The Midwest saw its first wave of immigrants. Plus, to facilitate the need for housing, a new construction method called balloon framing allowed a farmer and just one assistant build a home – helping to quickly settle the new territory.

The Farmhouse style is more than just a type of home.; it’s a testament to the American spirit. Learn more about the American Farmhouse style at Andersen Windows’ online Home Style Library.

To find an American Farmhouse style home in your area, visit coldwellbanker.com.

Victoria Keichinger

Victoria Keichinger is the Vice President, Brand Marketing for Coldwell Banker Real Estate. When she's not managing national media and advertising for the Coldwell Banker brand at work, she finds herself most at home in Jersey City, NJ with her pre-school crush turned spouse and son. A true Francophile, she loves to travel and will go anywhere there are ski slopes.