Today’s contemporary homes take a different tack, making an overt effort for comfort and coziness. Although this style has been popular for several decades, it has also been criticized for feeling cold and unlivable. Photo: Matthew MillmanĬontemporary homes, with their emphasis on simple forms and geometric lines, often center around open floor plans and high-contrast materials and textures. In Sonoma County, California, the Blue Oaks house by Richard Beard Architects features natural materials and compact spaces to bring warmth to its contemporary design. “As our digital lives become ever more cluttered, our homes have the potential to be a place of respite, connecting us back to the physical world,” they say.

Spaces that are devoid of visual clutter and well organized.” Brooks and Markiewicz attribute the trend to the busy pace of modern life and the overload of visual information inundated us on a daily basis. Miroslava Brooks and Daniel Markiewicz, of Forma, concur: “It’s not so much a specific style that our clients request as it is a desire for bright, open, and thoughtfully planned interiors with clever storage solutions. “While we’re influenced by a range of design traditions, what we’re really getting at with our work is a sense of design economy and experiential clarity, a style we’ve started to refer to as essentialism,” explains Ben Waechter, of Waechter Architecture. This clarity of expression is usually paired with a desire to be efficient and un-flashy with material choices, volumes, and façades. Today many architects report that instead of requesting a particular style or look, clients often request homes that feel open, bright, and minimalist. Homes that provide a sense of familiarity and tradition feel more comfortable and grounded.” 2. Brandon Ingram Design, agrees: “Our lives are more hectic and busier than ever. “The modern farmhouse evokes a calm and peaceful interior, hearkening back to a simpler time,” he reflects. Nathan Kipnis, of Kipnis Architecture and Planning, attributes its popularity to the hectic pace of modern life. Many modern farmhouses draw on classic American typologies such as Georgian or Colonial, and even though some forecasters predict this style might be past its prime, architects across the country are still seeing clients request it today. Modern farmhouses take the simple gabled roof forms of farmhouses and barns, and apply more modern touches-like vertical board-and-batten siding and restrained black-and-white color palettes-to give a contemporary spin on its more rustic roots. From coast to coast, over the last several years the modern farmhouse style has become ubiquitous in architectural and interior design.

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