Victorian Farmhouse

This Victorian Farmhouse could be a functioning farmhouse, or it could be a starter/affordable home, rental, student housing, timeshare, vacation/lake house or rural office. This represents a better way to build affordable housing that is familiar, but different.  The design features two 18 ft steel grain bins and a framed center bay, to bring down the scale and allude to a Victorian style.

This design would be maintenance-free for about thirty years at a time and then only to repaint the center bay – the rest of the project is maintenance-free for about seventy years. No vinyl siding or asphalt roofing to replace. A high-performance building envelope, with a low-tech air circulation system, keeps HVAC bills down along with a functional fireplace/wood stove and solar collector porch. 

The dining room is also a multi-use social space. The screened porch can be used to start bedding plants. The second floor is more private and quiet. The lower level is a bonus utility area balanced with a social area and possible business office or game room; it is optional as a finished space or whether it is even included at all.

Lower level 780 SF; First floor 780 SF; Porch 360 SF; Second floor 780 SF; Lofts 144 SF; 2484 SF total conditioned space.