Two styles dominate the custom home conversation in Edmonton right now: modern farmhouse and contemporary. Both are popular, both photograph well, and both can be executed beautifully. But they’re not interchangeable — and one of them is almost certainly a better fit for your neighbourhood and lifestyle than the other.
This isn’t about which style is trendy. It’s about which one actually makes sense for where you’re building, how you live, and what you’ll want to look at in twenty years.
| “The best home design is the one that fits the neighbourhood, suits the way you actually live, and doesn’t look dated in a decade. Chasing trends is expensive.” |
What Is Modern Farmhouse?
Modern farmhouse takes traditional rural architecture — simple forms, vertical board and batten siding, metal roofing accents, wrap-around porches — and pairs it with contemporary interior finishes and open floor plans.
Signature exterior elements:
- White or off-white board and batten or shiplap siding
- Black window frames and door hardware
- Gabled rooflines, often with metal accent roofing over porches
- Covered front porch with visible wood columns or steel posts
- Mixed material exteriors — stone, wood, and metal combined
Interior: open-concept layouts, white shaker cabinets, quartz or butcher block countertops, exposed beams, farmhouse sinks, and matte black fixtures.
What Is Contemporary?
Contemporary design is defined by clean lines, minimal ornamentation, and a focus on geometric form and material honesty. It’s often confused with “modern” but the distinction matters — contemporary reflects current design trends, while modern refers to a specific mid-century movement.
Signature exterior elements:
- Flat or low-pitch rooflines
- Large, floor-to-ceiling or expansive windows
- Smooth stucco, Hardie panel, or metal cladding — often in dark or neutral palettes
- Horizontal emphasis in both facade composition and window arrangement
- Minimal trim and ornamentation — the building form itself is the statement
Interior: open plans with high ceilings, handleless cabinetry, waterfall countertops, polished concrete or large-format tile floors, and concealed mechanical systems.
How Each Style Performs in Edmonton’s Climate
Modern Farmhouse in Edmonton
The pitched rooflines of farmhouse design handle Alberta’s snow load well. Covered porches are functional in Edmonton’s shoulder seasons. Board and batten siding performs reasonably well but requires proper installation and maintenance in extreme freeze-thaw cycles.
One challenge: white or light-coloured exteriors show road salt spray and dust more than darker palettes. In Edmonton’s climate, budget for exterior cleaning or choose a slightly warmer off-white.
Contemporary in Edmonton
Flat and low-slope roofs require careful design in Edmonton — snow accumulation and drainage must be engineered properly. A poorly designed flat roof in Alberta is an expensive maintenance problem. When done right, however, flat roof systems can be very durable.
Dark exterior cladding — common in contemporary design — absorbs heat in summer and can create thermal bridging concerns in winter if not properly detailed. An experienced builder solves this in the wall assembly spec, not as an afterthought.
Which Style Fits Which Edmonton Neighbourhood?
This matters more than most clients expect. A contemporary home with a flat roof and floor-to-ceiling windows can look stunning on its own — and completely out of place in a neighbourhood of 1970s bungalows.
| Neighbourhood Type | Modern Farmhouse Fit | Contemporary Fit |
| New community (Windermere, Keswick, Crystallina) | Excellent — fits the suburban aesthetic | Good — increasingly common in newer developments |
| Sherwood Park / St. Albert suburbs | Excellent — very popular in these markets | Good with sympathetic neighbours |
| Mature inner-city (Glenora, Westmount) | Good if executed carefully; watch infill bylaws | Strong fit — contemporary infills common here |
| Acreage / rural lot | Excellent — farmhouse origins feel authentic | Striking contrast; depends on setting |
| Established mid-ring neighbourhoods | Moderate — depends on block character | Can feel abrupt if neighbouring homes are traditional |
Cost Differences: Is One More Expensive to Build?
Both styles can be built at similar overall cost. The differences are in where the money goes:
- Modern farmhouse tends to cost more in exterior details — porch structures, mixed cladding, board and batten installation, and the trim work that defines the style.
- Contemporary tends to cost more in windows (larger, higher-performance glazing), roofing systems (flat roof engineering), and interior finishes (handleless cabinetry, large-format tile, polished concrete).
Neither style is inherently more expensive. The finish level within the style is what drives cost — a budget farmhouse build looks different from a premium one, and the same is true for contemporary.
The Style That Lasts
This is where we give clients an honest opinion when they ask: farmhouse design, at its best, has genuine architectural roots and will likely age well because it’s grounded in traditional form. At its worst, it becomes a collection of trend cues (the shiplap, the black windows, the open shelving) that will feel dated in five to eight years.
Contemporary design, when it’s tied to the quality of materials and the integrity of the form rather than the trend palette, has a track record of ageing gracefully. When it’s just a flat roof and dark siding, it can feel austere.
Our advice: choose the bones of the style that fits your neighbourhood and your lifestyle, then make deliberate decisions on the details. Don’t let Pinterest drive your exterior design choices.
Ready to Start?
If you’re working through your home’s design direction, that’s one of the first conversations we have in a consultation. We’ll help you think through what actually works for your lot, your neighbourhood, and your long-term satisfaction.
Landry Homes builds custom homes across Edmonton, Sherwood Park, St. Albert, and surrounding communities in both modern and traditional styles.
Let’s talk about your build.
☎ 780-257-8642 | jamie@landryhomes.ca | Book a Free Consultation →
