Farmhouse style as a contemporary interior trend was popularized in the 2010s, largely by Joanna Gaines and the HGTV show Fixer Upper. It draws on the visual cues of working farmhouses — shiplap walls, exposed beams, apron-front sinks, board-and-batten paneling, weathered wood, galvanized metal — and applies them to homes that were never farms.
The palette is light and earthy: whites and creams, grey-washed woods, occasional dusty blues and greens. Furniture leans toward chunky and substantial. Lighting tends to use industrial-farmhouse hybrids (pendant cages, lantern shades, candelabra-style chandeliers).
"Modern farmhouse" — the most common current variant — keeps the shiplap and apron sink but loses much of the rusticity, opting for cleaner lines, blacker hardware, and crisper paint. It's the version that translates from rural Texas to a suburban subdivision without feeling out of place.