{"id":173654,"date":"2025-09-22T09:27:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T09:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/173654\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T09:27:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T09:27:16","slug":"modern-farmhouse-meh-interiors-that-have-contemporary-style-oh-yeah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/173654\/","title":{"rendered":"Modern farmhouse? Meh. Interiors that have contemporary style? Oh, yeah."},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tReal Estate News\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tBuyers are zooming in on amenities such as white oak floors, soapstone countertops, or even a pot filler.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\tWhile the modern farmhouse is no longer a big draw to home buyers, white oak flooring, top left, and pot fillers, bottom right, are among appealing interior amenities. Adobe\t<\/p>\n

For generations, New England homeowners have argued over the region\u2019s architectural canon: Colonial or Cape? Victorian or ranch? Paper or Styrofoam Dunkin\u2019 cup? (OK, maybe less on the last one.)<\/p>\n

In the past decade, another style even barged in all the way from Waco, Texas, and HGTV: the modern farmhouse. Black windows, barn doors, shiplap everywhere. Thank (or blame) Chip and Joanna Gaines of \u201cFixer Upper<\/a>\u201d fame.<\/p>\n

Now, the barn door seems to be creaking shut.<\/p>\n

Zillow\u2019s latest research<\/a> shows the style isn\u2019t quite dead, but it has lost its luster. In 2016, listings boasting a barn door sold for up to a 13 percent premium<\/a>. \u201cModern farmhouse\u201d as a label commanded a 10 percent premium<\/a> in 2020. Today, both hover closer to 1 percent, according to Amanda Pendleton, Zillow\u2019s home trends expert.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re still selling for more than expected, but just not what we used to see,\u201d Pendleton said.<\/p>\n

Buyers today are scrolling listings on their phones long before they ever hit an open house.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuyers aren\u2019t waiting until the open house to react to a home,\u201d Pendleton said. \u201cIf they don\u2019t like what they see, they\u2019re not even showing up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Certain words in a listing are automatic red flags: Jacuzzi tub, tile countertops, and laminate are just the tip of the nonstarter iceberg. They read as dated and expensive to fix, Pendleton said.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, white oak floors, soapstone countertops, or even a pot filler<\/a> carry weight. Zillow\u2019s numbers suggest those simple touches can add thousands to a sale price.<\/p>\n

The hottest cues are part of what Pendleton calls \u201corganic modernism.\u201d White oak floors, Venetian plaster walls<\/a>, and soapstone counters are all part of this design mix: essentially, materials that feel natural, textured, and contemporary without being cold. Wet rooms<\/a> \u2014 totally waterproofed bathrooms with an open shower area at the same level as the rest of the floor \u2014 over spa bathrooms, along with outdoor showers or outdoor kitchens, can also nudge up a home\u2019s value.<\/p>\n

Greater Boston still likes its curb appeal<\/p>\n

Around Boston, the exteriors haven\u2019t strayed far from the classics.<\/p>\n

Maggie Gold Seelig<\/a>, a luxury broker and MGS Group Real Estate founder, said buyers still respond to \u201cthat Patrick Ahearn<\/a>-ish, classical New England vibe\u201d at the curb. Inside, though, the script flips.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople aren\u2019t craving a center-entrance Colonial with rooms you just walk past,\u201d Seelig said. \u201cThey want spaces they actually use.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dining rooms, for instance, are often pressed into double duty. One week it\u2019s an office or library, the next it transforms into a warm dining space for Rosh Hashanah or Thanksgiving. The goal, she emphasized, is practicality: enjoying every inch of a house rather than dedicating rooms to formality.<\/p>\n

Builder Cindy Stumpo<\/a>, whose multimillion-dollar projects in Brookline and Newton are staples of local real-estate gossip<\/a>, insists her clients are leaning away from heavy tradition.<\/p>\n

What they\u2019re buying, she said, are open-concept contemporary spaces that feel \u201ca little Miami, a little LA.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Stumpo, the farmhouse isn\u2019t over so much as it is evolving. Rustic veneers have fallen flat, but she sees demand for what she calls \u201cwarm modern\u201d: open layouts softened with texture and glam touches.<\/p>\n

Architects are less diplomatic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some clients looking for [modern farmhouse], but it is waning,\u201d said David O\u2019Sullivan, president of O\u2019Sullivan Architects<\/a> and of the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Massachusetts<\/a>. \u201cWe as designers feel the style has been overdone and does not provide enough variety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Infill projects skew contemporary. Neighbors or historic boards sometimes demand traditional cues, but the cost often tips the scales.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe contemporary design tends to be more cost-efficient with its simple forms and details,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan noted, while traditional Boston brick \u201ctends to be more expensive than budgets allow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zoning plays a role, too. Larger minimum lot sizes mean builders must go big to make money, and design review boards can add months of delays.<\/p>\n

Beyond aesthetics, Pendleton stressed that today\u2019s buyers are focused on basics like staying on budget and having air conditioning. Nearly all new construction buyers also want at least one smart home feature (a thermostat, lights, or security system), and they increasingly prize durability and climate resilience. A house that promises to be easier to live in carries as much weight as one with white oak floors.<\/p>\n

Then, there\u2019s social media. Zillow research shows more than a third of buyers use it during their search \u2014 not to scroll for listings, but to absorb what styles and builders feel current, Pendleton said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the HGTV effect on steroids: see enough curved sofas or plaster walls in your feed, and they start to look like the default.<\/p>\n

The New England translation<\/p>\n

Put it all together, and New England\u2019s iconic home styles aren\u2019t disappearing so much as they are getting a little remix.<\/p>\n

Buyers may still want a gracious Colonial profile on the street, but inside, the formality is melting away in favor of flexible rooms, natural textures, and outdoor spaces that feel like real living areas. Shiplap and sliding barn doors might not vanish entirely \u2014 somewhere, Chip and Joanna are still cashing royalties \u2014 but the market is rewarding a different set of signals.<\/p>\n

For sellers, the message is clear: Highlight the materials and layouts that feel contemporary and livable, rather than clinging to trends that peaked with HGTV reruns. For buyers, it means knowing what looks timeless at the curb may hide a very 2025 contemporary interior: open, textured, and designed for daily life rather than show.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, rest easy when you make your next trek to HomeGoods: The modern farmhouse isn\u2019t completely out to pasture.<\/p>\n

But in New England, at least, it\u2019s no longer the only style buyers are seeking.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAddress Newsletter<\/p>\n

Our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design, with expert advice and insider neighborhood knowledge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Real Estate News Buyers are zooming in on amenities such as white oak floors, soapstone countertops, or even…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":173655,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,229,88],"class_list":{"0":"post-173654","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}