The Architecture
Rooted in historical tradition and precedent, attention to detail defines the architectural style of Old Farm and Old Farm Estates. Natural materials such as stone, brick and wood are standard working with the natural surroundings to continue the agrarian setting of the community.
Old Farm’s architectural style draws upon the traditional qualities of proportion, appropriateness, and craftsmanship. Its elegance is defined as warm, understated and natural.
Southern Traditional
The Southern Traditional style is an American style that is derived from traditional plantation type architecture. A full-length porch is perhaps its most quintessential element serving as both an arrival porch but wide enough for sitting and gathering. Also prominent are protruding dormers on the front façade found above the porch with large windows centered between the front porch columns.
While Southern Traditional homes’ floor plans are diverse, details are traditional and its overall architectural style is a blend of formal and casual.
Cottage
Derived from the shingle style, cottage homes have simple roof lines and massing with stone and shingle as the most common exterior material combination. Typical features include long eave lines and second floors that fill in attic space. Small entry porches are common and other porches are often found in this style home as well. Door and window trim employ crown molding or header trim throughout while rake trim and cornices are light and simple. A prevalent cross gable is typical for the massing. Small window panes are a signature feature.
Other features include:
- Delicately proportioned columns
- Crisp entablature lines
- Projecting bays
- Gambrel roofs
Colonial
Old Farm’s Colonial style is emulated by a basic, two story form, usually containing a symmetrical arrangement of windows and a central door with a classical surround celebrating the entry. Additional wings and additions, typically of lower massing than the main body add interest. Exterior materials range from stone to wood to siding.
Low Country
The Low Country style originated in Louisiana and is known in some circles as the French Colonial style. Full length wide porches are common with delicate columns and low eave lines. Some Low Country homes feature a lower level planned on grade with the main level raised one story connected by a staircase leading up to the full length wrap around exterior porch.
A wide range of exterior materials are used with this style and may include up to four or five different materials, creating an appearance that the home undergone additions over time.
The Carolina Low Country style variation features extremely low eave lines and a roof that is usually hipped with gables protruding from the roof line.
English Country
With steeply pitched gabled roofs and groupings of proportionately tall windows, English Country homes employ unique masonry patterns, door surrounds and asymmetrical facades. Designed with stone or brick chimneys and a dominant front gable, paraphets on the gables are sometimes used to give a different mood while half timbering on gables is seen in the Tudor revival varieties on this style. The use of limestone to surround windows and doors in common with this design.
French Country
The French Country style is derivative of a vernacular Normandy architecture. Roof pitches are steep with flared eave details typical of French eclectic architecture. Rooflines are often hipped; however, the use of gables may also accompany Americanized versions of the style. There are striking similarities between French Country and Tudor style homes.
Exterior materials used are predominantly stone and brick. Dormers along with the doorways and windows are often curved. The use of a turret is common as the main element of the front façade. Facades range from symmetrical to asymmetrical. Windows and doors are tall and narrow, with prevalent use of casement or French casement. The use of curves is prevalent in a number of different elements of the French style.
English Arts and Crafts
A style that originated in the 1880s, English Arts and Crafts is characterized by high-pitched roofs, low eave lines, small projecting bays and a Gothic and Tudor feel to its details. Oftentimes, the second floor is almost entirely in the steep roof line and its exterior ranges from stone to cedar shingles. A focal point of the overall design is the chimney which may range in material from stucco to stone, or a combination of brick and stone.
The casual feel of this home style is accentuated by its craftsman-like qualities that includes tapered masonry or wood columns on the exterior porches. Brackets and finials may be used to add interest to elevations.
