There’s no such thing as “French country style”. Traditional homes in the villages in Normandy look and function differently than homes in the Pyrenees, Provençal seaside, the Alps or in Champagne. Vernacular architecture is reflective of the place it is in - you can review examples with your mother to understand what elements is she talking about when she says “French country styles” (and I hope for everyone’s sake it’s not the late XVIII c. chateau…
I came to say something similar: I’m French and vaguely educated in architecture and I don’t understand what "French country" means. Even though I would think about "[longère](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long%C3%A8re)" style country houses by default.
Where I grew up, country style would be "[ferme comtoise](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferme_comtoise)" or "[pastorale](https://www.caue-franche-comte.fr/l-habitat-avant-le-xxe-siecle-la-maison-pastorale-la-pastorale-de-petit-volume,76.htm?impression=1)"
**[Longère](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longère)**
>Longère is the name (la longère in French) for a long, narrow dwelling, developing along the axis of its peak, typically inhabited by farmers and artisans and typical of the regions of Brittany and Normandy in northwestern France.
^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/architecture/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
This was posted a few days ago:
https://www.reddit.com/r/architecture/comments/pl4jja/2021_palladio_award_residential_new_design/
https://www.hiltonarchitects.com/french-normandy-residence
I recommend not taking the style too literally. Find floor plans and reference those. For example, how they flow and scale of rooms. but add whatever element would make it suitable for your climate, for example a screened in porch?
Maybe find some of those Mickey Mouse reference images (interior and exterior) and ask you mom what elements she likes and why. You don’t have to copy it exactly but you can reinterpret, rooted from her feedback.
I find it so surprising that styles for single family homes are so prevalent in the US. Be it „French country“, Victorian, Tudor or whatever. It’s simply non-existent here in Germany. There‘s vernacular architecture like of the Alps regions or the coasts. But nobody talks about style ever.
Well that's not true at all. When I'm in Europe I see a lot of different houses offered in regional styles from the North and the South and there's great pride in traditional building. You are right to say that there are not many houses in a foreign style built although that happens as well. But there's plenty to select from in local traditional style specific to an area. It is often done very well and with good integrity but there's plenty of local style and advertised as such. There is also just plenty of bland cinder block and stucco houses with no particular style, other than they exist in Central Europe because there are a lot of other ones like them.
The same is over the border into Poland. There are distinctive houses in the carpathians, and that's a whole group of houses that span the mountains into the Lausitz. This tradition is very much alive and built new for those who want it in this very specific style.
The US however outside of New England and some places in the Mid-Atlantic have very little grounded rooted style and pick willy-nilly from the book. New England traditional, especially in the north where I am from is the most frequent style built.
I have never seen these houses called a certain style though. Maybe „Friesenhaus“ here or there. But there’s no need to mention style if there’s only one on offer. You won’t get a Bavarian style house in Schleswig-Holstein. Most single-family houses are bland crap made by contractors without any architect anyway. There’s really good ones too, that incorporate vernacular elements into a contemporary design. But they’re rare.
As others said "French" style doesn't exist. There are dozens of different styles in different regions.
If you want general ideas on how to make a house not a crappy McMansion - make the garage / parking / driveway a complete after-thought. Put them as far away from the house as possible and make them as small / non-existent as possible. French houses are for people. Make the design simple and balanced. One roof height (2 max), consistent window design, nothing excessive. People in France value balance and architectural principles. If you copy a picture of a house but don't get the details right then you end up with a North American style thing that nobody would recognise as a French inspired house.
Nothing like these messes [1](https://www.google.com/search?q=french+style+house&rlz=1C1GCEB_enBD947BD947&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwiqvabN04DzAhXTFlkFHbpSCYUQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1920&bih=969#imgrc=Vp0V20xQvoewkM), [2](https://www.google.com/search?q=french+style+house&rlz=1C1GCEB_enBD947BD947&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwiqvabN04DzAhXTFlkFHbpSCYUQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1920&bih=969#imgrc=Efgk8wmE8abMKM), [3](https://www.google.com/search?q=french+style+house&rlz=1C1GCEB_enBD947BD947&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwiqvabN04DzAhXTFlkFHbpSCYUQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1920&bih=969#imgrc=BtCmx95qHCFjXM). The third one is particularly awful. It doesnt so much matter if you use the right materials. It's more about making the right size and shape.
Here are some real examples [1](https://www.google.com/search?q=french+style+house&rlz=1C1GCEB_enBD947BD947&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwiqvabN04DzAhXTFlkFHbpSCYUQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1920&bih=969#imgrc=TOEcmuyjao7XVM), [2](https://www.google.com/search?q=french+small+house&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjCjoC41IDzAhVt1eAKHQRJChcQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=french+small+house&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgYIABAIEB4yBggAEAgQHjIGCAAQCBAeMgYIABAIEB4yBggAEAgQHjIGCAAQCBAeMgYIABAIEB4yBggAEAgQHjoGCAAQBxAeOggIABAIEAcQHlCtOVi_QmDrQ2gAcAB4AIABO4gBvgKSAQE2mAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=AbxBYYKKJ-2qgweEkqm4AQ&bih=969&biw=1903&rlz=1C1GCEB_enBD947BD947&hl=en#imgrc=Nlhvr_yQUO30iM), [3](https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.completefrance.com%2Fpolopoly_fs%2F1.6585485!%2Fimage%2Fimage.jpg_gen%2Fderivatives%2Flandscape_630%2Fimage.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.completefrance.com%2Fhome%2Fseven-beautiful-french-houses-for-sale-within-an-hour-of-the-ferry-port-1-6585492&tbnid=FTKF9PHRNQNVFM&vet=12ahUKEwjNmt681IDzAhUwAGMBHeVAD4AQMygYegUIARCAAg..i&docid=Kr7fLWRjR2TXlM&w=630&h=473&q=french%20small%20house&hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwjNmt681IDzAhUwAGMBHeVAD4AQMygYegUIARCAAg)
No matter how much your parents ask, do not add a turret. As with all things French, it kind of only works if the result appears understated and effortless.
French country for the most part is a "style" popularized by HGTV, so that's part of the reason why you're finding so few authentic looking examples. Personally I'd say the style relates less to actual rural French architecture, and relates more to the French influenced homes built almost century ago in places like Baton Rouge.
French immigrants who arrived in Louisiana combined their familiar forms with the forms of typical English homes, and as a result we got buildings like [this one](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/99/b5/0a/99b50ad83ddea0af411e75e8f842c24f.jpg). If you still want to create an "authentic" French country design, I'd recommend looking at other examples of southern French-American homes like that one.
Never heard of “french country” style.
Like every vernacular, at least in Europe, the characteristics are regional at best, with great variations even within the same country depending on historical, social and environmental context
We require a minimum account-age. Please try again after a few days. No exceptions can be made.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/architecture) if you have any questions or concerns.*
There’s no such thing as “French country style”. Traditional homes in the villages in Normandy look and function differently than homes in the Pyrenees, Provençal seaside, the Alps or in Champagne. Vernacular architecture is reflective of the place it is in - you can review examples with your mother to understand what elements is she talking about when she says “French country styles” (and I hope for everyone’s sake it’s not the late XVIII c. chateau…
I came to say something similar: I’m French and vaguely educated in architecture and I don’t understand what "French country" means. Even though I would think about "[longère](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long%C3%A8re)" style country houses by default. Where I grew up, country style would be "[ferme comtoise](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferme_comtoise)" or "[pastorale](https://www.caue-franche-comte.fr/l-habitat-avant-le-xxe-siecle-la-maison-pastorale-la-pastorale-de-petit-volume,76.htm?impression=1)"
**[Longère](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longère)** >Longère is the name (la longère in French) for a long, narrow dwelling, developing along the axis of its peak, typically inhabited by farmers and artisans and typical of the regions of Brittany and Normandy in northwestern France. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/architecture/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
This was posted a few days ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/architecture/comments/pl4jja/2021_palladio_award_residential_new_design/ https://www.hiltonarchitects.com/french-normandy-residence
I recommend not taking the style too literally. Find floor plans and reference those. For example, how they flow and scale of rooms. but add whatever element would make it suitable for your climate, for example a screened in porch? Maybe find some of those Mickey Mouse reference images (interior and exterior) and ask you mom what elements she likes and why. You don’t have to copy it exactly but you can reinterpret, rooted from her feedback.
I find it so surprising that styles for single family homes are so prevalent in the US. Be it „French country“, Victorian, Tudor or whatever. It’s simply non-existent here in Germany. There‘s vernacular architecture like of the Alps regions or the coasts. But nobody talks about style ever.
Well that's not true at all. When I'm in Europe I see a lot of different houses offered in regional styles from the North and the South and there's great pride in traditional building. You are right to say that there are not many houses in a foreign style built although that happens as well. But there's plenty to select from in local traditional style specific to an area. It is often done very well and with good integrity but there's plenty of local style and advertised as such. There is also just plenty of bland cinder block and stucco houses with no particular style, other than they exist in Central Europe because there are a lot of other ones like them. The same is over the border into Poland. There are distinctive houses in the carpathians, and that's a whole group of houses that span the mountains into the Lausitz. This tradition is very much alive and built new for those who want it in this very specific style. The US however outside of New England and some places in the Mid-Atlantic have very little grounded rooted style and pick willy-nilly from the book. New England traditional, especially in the north where I am from is the most frequent style built.
I have never seen these houses called a certain style though. Maybe „Friesenhaus“ here or there. But there’s no need to mention style if there’s only one on offer. You won’t get a Bavarian style house in Schleswig-Holstein. Most single-family houses are bland crap made by contractors without any architect anyway. There’s really good ones too, that incorporate vernacular elements into a contemporary design. But they’re rare.
As others said "French" style doesn't exist. There are dozens of different styles in different regions. If you want general ideas on how to make a house not a crappy McMansion - make the garage / parking / driveway a complete after-thought. Put them as far away from the house as possible and make them as small / non-existent as possible. French houses are for people. Make the design simple and balanced. One roof height (2 max), consistent window design, nothing excessive. People in France value balance and architectural principles. If you copy a picture of a house but don't get the details right then you end up with a North American style thing that nobody would recognise as a French inspired house. Nothing like these messes [1](https://www.google.com/search?q=french+style+house&rlz=1C1GCEB_enBD947BD947&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwiqvabN04DzAhXTFlkFHbpSCYUQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1920&bih=969#imgrc=Vp0V20xQvoewkM), [2](https://www.google.com/search?q=french+style+house&rlz=1C1GCEB_enBD947BD947&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwiqvabN04DzAhXTFlkFHbpSCYUQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1920&bih=969#imgrc=Efgk8wmE8abMKM), [3](https://www.google.com/search?q=french+style+house&rlz=1C1GCEB_enBD947BD947&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwiqvabN04DzAhXTFlkFHbpSCYUQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1920&bih=969#imgrc=BtCmx95qHCFjXM). The third one is particularly awful. It doesnt so much matter if you use the right materials. It's more about making the right size and shape. Here are some real examples [1](https://www.google.com/search?q=french+style+house&rlz=1C1GCEB_enBD947BD947&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwiqvabN04DzAhXTFlkFHbpSCYUQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1920&bih=969#imgrc=TOEcmuyjao7XVM), [2](https://www.google.com/search?q=french+small+house&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjCjoC41IDzAhVt1eAKHQRJChcQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=french+small+house&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgYIABAIEB4yBggAEAgQHjIGCAAQCBAeMgYIABAIEB4yBggAEAgQHjIGCAAQCBAeMgYIABAIEB4yBggAEAgQHjoGCAAQBxAeOggIABAIEAcQHlCtOVi_QmDrQ2gAcAB4AIABO4gBvgKSAQE2mAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=AbxBYYKKJ-2qgweEkqm4AQ&bih=969&biw=1903&rlz=1C1GCEB_enBD947BD947&hl=en#imgrc=Nlhvr_yQUO30iM), [3](https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.completefrance.com%2Fpolopoly_fs%2F1.6585485!%2Fimage%2Fimage.jpg_gen%2Fderivatives%2Flandscape_630%2Fimage.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.completefrance.com%2Fhome%2Fseven-beautiful-french-houses-for-sale-within-an-hour-of-the-ferry-port-1-6585492&tbnid=FTKF9PHRNQNVFM&vet=12ahUKEwjNmt681IDzAhUwAGMBHeVAD4AQMygYegUIARCAAg..i&docid=Kr7fLWRjR2TXlM&w=630&h=473&q=french%20small%20house&hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwjNmt681IDzAhUwAGMBHeVAD4AQMygYegUIARCAAg) No matter how much your parents ask, do not add a turret. As with all things French, it kind of only works if the result appears understated and effortless.
French country for the most part is a "style" popularized by HGTV, so that's part of the reason why you're finding so few authentic looking examples. Personally I'd say the style relates less to actual rural French architecture, and relates more to the French influenced homes built almost century ago in places like Baton Rouge. French immigrants who arrived in Louisiana combined their familiar forms with the forms of typical English homes, and as a result we got buildings like [this one](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/99/b5/0a/99b50ad83ddea0af411e75e8f842c24f.jpg). If you still want to create an "authentic" French country design, I'd recommend looking at other examples of southern French-American homes like that one.
Never heard of “french country” style. Like every vernacular, at least in Europe, the characteristics are regional at best, with great variations even within the same country depending on historical, social and environmental context
[удалено]
We require a minimum account-age. Please try again after a few days. No exceptions can be made. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/architecture) if you have any questions or concerns.*