Watch HGTV for any time at all, and you’ll hear a few buzzwords ad nauseam: Shiplap. Reclaimed wood. Clawfoot tub. Not coincidentally, these features helped define the country-chic houses that have infiltrated the metro area over the past couple of years.
“The thing people find attractive is that these modern farmhouses look very austere on the exterior, but they have really tall windows and tons of light, and the interiors are totally open and contemporary, for the most part,” says Howard Meyers, a North Shore real estate agent with Compass.
Buyers are apparently willing to pay a premium for the look. RealEstate.com found that including terms like “barn doors,” “exposed beams,” and “farmhouse sink” in a listing can drive the sale price up by more than 20 percent. The bubble might not last much longer, however. Kris Berger, a Berkshire Hathaway real estate agent in Hinsdale, says she’s seeing some rural fatigue. “They are still being built everywhere, but I am starting to hear from buyers who say, ‘Oh, I’m getting so sick of that all-white farm style.’ ”
Here are four now on the market.
It’s not on an actual farm, but it is on nearly two acres of property. Other rural details: exposed wood beams and wire-strung stair railings that would be just as effective encircling a cow pen.
Wraparound porch, farmhouse sink, barn door separating the foyer from the living space: check, check, and check.
The hardwood floors are dark and rustic, while the windows are big and airy in this six-bedroom house, slated for completion just before Thanksgiving.
This new five-bedroom house includes an office with a barn door, a shiplap-clad breakfast nook, and Edison bulbs on steroids hanging from the kitchen ceiling.