Adjective order doesn't sound right

Question

Consider the following. Which one is correct to fill the blank?

I wish I could live in that ....

A. French old white house

B. Old white French house

C. French house old white

D. white old French house

My book says that the order of adjectives are Determiner, Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, color, Origin, Material, Purpose/Participle. From this, the book conclude that the answer must be B.

old (Age) white (Color) French (Origin) house (Noun)

But in my opinion, "old French white house" is better. I got this by just feeling it, like it sounds better. Well, I confuse which one is correct though.

Answer 1

As a native speaker "old white French house" definitely sounds the best. "Old French white house" does not sound right.

The only time you'd group the words like that would be if some of them were part of a single proper noun. For example, if you were talking about The White House in Washington DC you might say "The old American White House".

In general, trust your book's lesson on adjective order.

Answer 2

English isn't terribly strict about adjective order. Some orders do sound more "natural", but really, any of A, B, or D can work, especially if you are having trouble thinking of adjectives and say them as you think of them.

"Old white French" or "Old French white" both sound fine. But it also depends on if you intend "Old French" to mean a specific style.