The Overdone Exterior Home Trend No One Wants To Use Anymore

HGTV's Joanna Gaines put modern farmhouse exteriors on the map. With their white, board-and-batten siding, black roofs, and trim to match, these homes popped up all across the country in a trend that seemed like it would never end. Well, it has — at least kind of. The signature black-and-white color palette beloved by modern farmhouse enthusiasts has been abandoned by many designers and homeowners, who now recoil at the idea of the overdone design. But that doesn't mean modern farmhouse style exteriors are over for good. Some believe the style is simply evolving — bringing in a bit more color and texture to add much-needed warmth to the stark exteriors.

"You have a white house, you add some black windows, a black roof, some black lights, some medium wood tone accents, and you've got a beautiful house. But now everyone of your neighbors has the same house," Interior designer Courtney Ungaro says in a TikTok video. Luckily, Ungaro says there are things you can do to help your house stand out among the crowd, including adding more color. For instance, if your home has one of the classic farmhouse elements — a concrete porch — she proposes adding pops of color with tile, such as terracotta or something hand-painted. You could also do a checkerboard pattern to add visual interest. 

Some of Ungaro's other recommendations include replacing black exterior lights with white lights, restaining wood accents a darker brown, such as a chocolate shade, and, if you're up for a bigger project, swapping out the front door for an arched-style entrance. For a drastic change, she says you could consider painting the entire exterior black. However, there are definitely things you need to consider before painting your home black — not least of which is how your neighbors will react. If you're looking for something a tad more subtle, there are accents you could add to warm up a stark farmhouse exterior. One idea is to incorporate wood shingles, such as cedar shakes, which HGTV's Jenny and Dave Marrs did in an episode of Fixer to Fabulous to evoke a softer modern farmhouse vibe.

You could also add wood accents in other ways, such as replacing a painted front door with a natural wood-tone door, adding wood beams around the porch, or installing wood paneling on the porch ceiling. Certain paint shades can also help personalize a cookie-cutter farmhouse facade. There are a number of exterior paint colors that can revive your home's exterior and give it a more inviting farmhouse feel. Earth tones work particularly well. Shades such as charcoal, beige, or sage green on the door, the trim, or even the entire exterior of the house will add warmth and dimension, making it feel more welcoming.