While in Franklin a few weekends ago, I couldn’t help but drive through the historic area looking at their gorgeous homes again. Â And of course, when I do that I like to take pics to remember the beauty of them all and to share it with all of you. Â I appreciate an older historic home and the curb appeal in these small communities around our country. Â We have it here in my hometown of Marietta and also where I live in Kennesaw and these little historic areas are full of eye candy.
Come along with me on a drive-by of Franklin, TN. Â Some of these homes are new builds made to look older and historical.
Here’s a question for all of you.
Why can’t builders today build cute and charming homes like this anymore?  I know there are some newly built neighborhoods around Atlanta that do go for charm and old fashioned appeal of these older historical areas, but they are the minority and I know are more expensive to build.  I get that, but couldn’t builders try a little harder to build new houses that aren’t McMansions and just have beautiful curb appeal and charming details like these homes?  I think it would be popular all over again if they would do that.  We have some older neighborhoods built in the 70’s and 80’s around here with charming Cape Cods, brick traditional, Colonial, Craftsman, cottage style homes. They are still beautiful today and very desirable neighborhoods, but there aren’t enough of them!  We just can’t figure out why builders don’t build that style again for newly built affordable homes that aren’t huge and mega-expensive?  It’s certainly not happening here in the Atlanta area on a large scale.  Boutique builders are building older style homes, but they are way out of the price range of normal folks.
Just a question I thought I’d throw out there. Â What are you seeing in your area?
This was one of my very favorite ones! Â I love the charm of a brick Tudor style home like this. So charming. I’m not going to comment on all of them, so enjoy the beauty.
How did you like those drive-bys? Â Gorgeous, aren’t they?!
I’d love to hear your answer to the question I pondered above. Â I think it’s a fun discussion and I’d love to hear what it’s like in your part of the country.
If builders would wise up and build quality, smaller homes they could sell them as fast as they could build them. People are wanting to downsize from big homes. I much prefer a cottage-type house to a large home. We built a reproduction Williamsburg home in 1976, which by today’s standards is a small house. We thought it was huge when we built it, but it is cozy. We live in a historic town that could be a show place if the community would just realize the possibilities.
Unfortunately, the majority of the homes built in this area are junk, covered in vinyl siding. My husband is a retired home inspector and soon after he started inspecting homes he said that vinyl siding was going to come back to haunt the home owners. That has already happened.
Tee,
I so agree with your husbands comments about vinyl siding and I am sure he saw it all. We had a company come around recently in our neighborhood trying to sell us vinyl siding and I almost ran him off our front porch! Two neighbors had vinyl put on their homes and one home had water and mold damage between the wall because the vinyl was installed improperly. The second neighbor has green mold growing on his vinyl because they think vinyl never has to be cleaned.
The biggest issue I see with vinyl in our area is it not being installed correctly. You drive by a brand new home and look at the side of a house and its all uneven and wavy. Yet, people will buy it and later regret it big time when it looks like you know what a few years down the road.
Hey, Tee, I couldn’t agree with you more! We talk about that all the time, that builders should see the need for smaller cottage style homes newly built that are affordable for the median home buyer. They are just not out there here in Atlanta. There are scads of new neighborhoods being built and they are all $500K and way up in price, which prices so many folks out of those neighborhoods. Don’t get me started on vinyl siding. Looking at older houses around here that aren’t even that old with vinyl siding makes me ill. I hate the stuff! Give me Hardie plank any day over any of that stuff. Good for you for building your charming character home way back then. I’m sure it still has so much charm today! I’d love to find a Cape Cod or Colonial for my next house.
Thank you for the beautiful tour,Rhoda. Builders today have more than one crew. They start several houses at one time so a crew never stands idle. They have foundations poured at one time,electricians,plumber,painters etc.all go from one house to another. So at every house they all know what to do, because they are all the same.
Amazing how similar these are to the ones in every Southern community.If I didn’t know I would swear they are all in my community. They all look so familiar. So glad I am a Southern girl.
So much charm and character!! I’d love to own just about any one of them.
Rhoda,
I live in the Richmond, VA area and when an older, charming home that has been updated in a desirable area goes on the market it sells within days no matter how small the square footage. The problem is many of even the smaller homes aren’t affordable to many average homebuyers especially first time buyers. I think homebuyers have gotten tired of cookie-cutter homes and McMansions and are looking for character over square footage.
We have two newer built subdivisions (LiveOak & Hallesley) that feature homes with the charm and characteristics of older architecture with modern amenities but they are very high end neighborhoods in the $500,000-800,000 price range yet they still sell quickly. So as long as there’s a market for bigger homes then that’s what builders are going to cater to for bigger profits and that’s probably why you don’t see as many smaller average priced homes being built like this.
BTW…We have been to Franklin, TN several times and I loved riding around seeing all the older homes there too. It really is a beautiful, charming town and I would take any of the homes you featured!
So many cute homes! I absolutely love brick homes, they have great curb appeal and they instantly create a warm and welcoming vibe.
That’s a lovely collection of homes. For some reason, modern builders simply cannot recreate that sort of solid, permanent appearance that these older homes exude. I guess it’s the difference between “building” and “crafting”.
BTW, Rhoda, I like others had trouble with your site displaying improperly. It was unusable for me. Discovered that it was the AdBlock Plus that was causing the problem. Just an FYI for those still having trouble. I disable it for your page, and we’re back to normal! I’ve missed you! lol…
HI, Jane, yes I had shared that awhile back, if people are running an ad blocker on certain browsers, they were having problems. So glad you are back to normal!
Totally charming homes! What great curb appeal! Thank you for sharing (for all of us who DON’T live near such homes).
I recognize many of those homes Rhoda, as I drive by them regularly. We live in Tollgate Village in Thompson’s Station, TN…just south of Franklin. Many homes here are cottage style and just what you have described. They all look very different outside but inside are quite similar. Ours is in the English Tudor style with around 2100 square feet. It’s our retirement home and we love it. There are some really big houses here which makes it even more interesting. If you would like a tour, I’d be happy to show you ours, it was built by Carbine. Just let me know and I would be happy to see if some neighbors will let you see their homes too. I believe there is an online site for you also. Blessings, Cheryl Ann
Hi, Cheryl Ann, I was in Thompsons Station for that show house with Carbine. I know they do beautiful work, so your home must be gorgeous. If I get up there again, I’d love to see it. You are very fortunate to get in a community like that with old style charm.
You are welcome anytime…
Oh Rhoda! I know just what you mean (and so do most of your replies, it seems!). Here in the UK things are the same or worse, and of course land here is at a premium so that ups the cost. When we first moved to this town 14 years ago, the cheapest building plot we could find was £60,000 (dollar is 1.24 against the pound this morning) for a tiny plot with no yard space or parking. We live in a 215 year old house, one of a row of three. It has more than doubled in value since we bought it, but that just means that every other house has increased a huge amount too and there are still very few building plots available. Greed is not a good thing, but somewhere along the line someone is making a lot of money! New estates here tend to be made up of smaller houses, small yards, and crammed together but people are desparate and will buy them. I am with you on the question of why don’t new houses look good even if they are at the lower end of the market!
Simply beautiful! I am a new follower and I absolutely love your drive by series. I frequently do the same with my children. My son plays travel soccer and we are fortunate enough to play in many old southern towns that have beautiful historic districts: Mobile, Montgomery, Tallahassee, Birmingham, Auburn. Many times we detour to small towns on the outskirts of these cities just to enjoy the charm of the older houses: Eufaula, Troy,
Gadsden, Daphne, and Opelika, to name a few, have done well in the way of salvaging many old homes that had previously fallen into disrepair. Tuskegee and Union Springs haven’t prioritized preservation. When I drive through their abandoned streets the emptiness behind the windows beckons to me: save
me, save me. If only I had the resources to do so. I feel as if the Civil War and Reconstruction never lifted it’s curse. The past is palpable.
And to answer your question, I will quote my nine year old son, who when admiring the details of the old First National Bank in Ozark said, “I bet it took people a long time to make these buildings. Not just the building part, but the planning part. Buying the perfect bricks and laying them out in the perfect design. Even the little things like the vents and light fixtures and knobs were bought from someone who probably took a long time to make them. I guess old people used to care more about their jobs.” Out of the mouths of babes.
Enjoyed. I hope to see more drive by photo shoots soon!
Hi, Jackie, thank you for stopping by & for leaving such a nice comment. Your son has something going there for sure!
Franklin, TN is my hometown. Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos!
Franklin, TN is where I grew up. I recognize the homes that you pictured. If most of those went on the market for sale today in 2023, they would start at $700,000 or more and only have a small yard. Some of the homes you pictured are brand new homes that were built after a buyer purchased the lot, tore down the house that was there, and built a new ‘period-type’ house on it. So, while those homes are smaller than many of the McMansions around our area, they are still quite pricey and not always something a new home-owner could afford. So, while I agree that the homes are charming and seem more manageable in size, they are not really less pricey. I now live outside of Franklin in Nolensville, TN, which is about a 20-minute drive from where you took the photos. The same thing has occurred in our community – and in fact all over the county where Franklin is the primary city. Loads of huge homes, some homes that seem of a more manageable size but are still pricey, and very few homes that are new-homeowner-friendly in price. I feel very fortunate to have lived here for most of my life and enjoy the beauty of the area. Thank you for featuring our town’s pretty homes and for visiting our area!
HI, Beverly, I love your area in TN, but I hear you, things up there have exploded and houses are very pricey. I guess it’s happening all over the south and Franklin is one of those charming towns that has gotten a lot of attention. I can see why, but it’s not that affordable for many for sure.