A contemporary farmhouse that honors the pastoral character of Milton while delivering the
refined, open floor plan and premium finishes our clients expect.
6,400
Square Feet
2023
Year
Completed
Modern Farmhouse
Style
$3.5M
Build Cost
The Challenge
Milton, Georgia, occupies a unique position in Metro Atlanta — equestrian trails, rolling
pastures, and a rural overlay district that shapes everything from setbacks to fence heights.
The clients — a family of five relocating from a smaller home in nearby Alpharetta — wanted a
home that felt rooted in Milton's agrarian heritage, but without sacrificing the open,
light-filled interiors and premium amenities they had admired in more contemporary designs.
The 2.5-acre lot featured a gentle slope toward the rear, a mature stand of hardwoods along the
eastern boundary, and a seasonal creek at the northwest corner. The challenge was positioning
the home to maximize the pastoral views, preserve the existing trees, and accommodate a future
pool and detached garage — all while navigating Milton's specific building and environmental
requirements.
The Design Approach
The design draws from the agrarian building tradition — a primary gabled volume flanked by lower
wings — but reinterprets it with modern proportions, oversized windows, and a material palette
that bridges rustic and refined. The result reads unmistakably as a farmhouse from the road, but
reveals its contemporary soul as you approach.
The central gable houses the great room, a soaring 22-foot vaulted space with exposed
steel-and-wood trusses and a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace. The kitchen and dining wing
extends to the east, opening through a wall of folding glass doors to a 600-square-foot covered
porch with an outdoor fireplace and views of the rear meadow. The west wing contains the primary
suite, positioned for privacy and morning sunlight, with direct access to a private garden and
future pool terrace.
The upper level, tucked beneath steeply pitched gables, holds three bedrooms, a shared bath, a
homework lounge that opens to a balcony overlooking the great room, and a dedicated playroom. A
walkout lower level — made possible by the site's natural slope — provides a flex space, home
gym, and mechanical room with direct exterior access.
The wraparound porch — 1,200 square feet of it — was a non-negotiable for the clients. We
designed it as a series of connected outdoor rooms: a screened dining porch, an open sitting
area, and a side entry with mudroom access that functions as the family's actual front door.
The Builder's Eye in Action
Modern farmhouse design carries specific construction challenges that are easy to underestimate.
The farmhouse aesthetic looks simple — clean gables, board-and-batten siding, standing-seam
metal roof — but the details behind those clean lines require careful coordination.
Builder's Eye Featured Case Study
Vaulted Ceiling vs. Mechanical Ductwork Coordination
Details
The Construction Challenge
The client's design featured a soaring 22-foot vaulted ceiling in the main family room, utilizing exposed timber trusses. In standard stock plans, this creates a major construction conflict: there is no attic cavity to run HVAC ductwork, ventilation lines, or upper-level plumbing drains, forcing builders to fabricate unsightly drywall soffits that ruin the clean, open aesthetic of the space.
The Builder-Designer Coordination
Drawing on hands-on building experience, Daniel pre-coordinated the mechanical pathways. He designed a dedicated 14-inch horizontal mechanical chase concealed within the drop ceiling of the adjacent laundry room and hallway, running the primary HVAC trunk lines through a double-stud wall cavity in the fireplace stack. Every truss pocket was detailed to accommodate the lateral duct runs without affecting structural loads.
Real-World Impact: Eliminated the need for field modifications and saved the client $8,500 in framing alterations. The family room preserved a completely clean, uncompromised 22-foot vaulted ceiling with no drywall box-outs.
Roof Complexity: Multiple intersecting gables with both standing-seam metal and
architectural shingle create complex flashing conditions. We detailed every roof intersection —
valley flashings, step flashings at wall-to-roof junctions, and cricket details behind chimneys
— as full-scale construction details. The roofer commented it was the most complete roof drawing
set he had received on a residential project.
Truss Engineering: The 22-foot great room with exposed steel-and-wood trusses
required early coordination with both the structural engineer and steel fabricator. We specified
truss geometry, connection details, and finish expectations during Design Development, allowing
the fabricator to produce shop drawings in parallel with permitting — saving four weeks on the
construction schedule.
Board-and-Batten Detailing: Board-and-batten siding requires precise planning at
inside corners, outside corners, window heads, sills, and transitions to other materials. We
developed a comprehensive exterior cladding detail set — 14 unique conditions — ensuring
consistent reveals and shadow lines across all facades. This level of detail allowed the siding
crew to install without improvising joinery in the field.
Walkout Lower Level: The site's slope made a walkout lower level possible but
demanded careful management of drainage, waterproofing, and retaining conditions. We coordinated
grading, foundation drainage, and window well design during Design Development, and specified
positive drainage paths that kept water away from the foundation slab.
A modern farmhouse should look simple. The design work that makes it look simple is anything
but.
— Daniel Allen Sievers
Design Details
Key Features
Vaulted Great Room
A 22-foot vaulted ceiling with exposed steel-and-wood trusses, floor-to-ceiling stone
fireplace, and clerestory windows flooding the space with light.
Wraparound Porch
1,200 SF of covered porch wrapping three sides of the home — including a screened dining
porch, open sitting area, and functional family entry.
Folding Glass Wall
A 20-foot NanaWall system connecting the kitchen and dining area to the covered porch,
creating one continuous entertaining space in warm months.
Board-and-Batten Exterior
Vertical board-and-batten siding in a custom charcoal tone, paired with natural stone veneer
and standing-seam metal roof in aged bronze.
Future-Ready Site Plan
Site designed with pre-planned locations for a pool, detached three-car garage with guest
suite above, and kitchen garden — eliminating future re-grading.
Walkout Lower Level
A daylight lower level with flex space, home gym, and full bath — taking advantage of the
natural slope while managing drainage and waterproofing.
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