A Guest Bath

A snap shot of the guest bath found in a modern farmhouse reno in upstate New York.  A wide open, roomy space that blends salvaged antiques with a modern vibe.  There's not a lot to it but it works.  I love the creativity and simplicity of each piece in this space.  I also like the fact that each piece tells a story of an earlier time and place.

A nice old Italian marble sink and floating top hung together for the vanity.  Not a total match but again it follows the vibe of the space.  Accented with the modern, chrome wall mount faucet.

And finally the tub.  A relic from the 1800's originally fabricated out of wood and zinc and wrapped in stainless steel.

via Remodelista and Givone

We Bought A Farm

It was a long, super fun summer and we capped it all off this past weekend when we finally closed on this place.  We bought an old sheep farm.  A local gem clad in cobblestone and dating back to the 1920's.  A place we just fell in love with.  Rich in character, craftsmanship and history.  Everyone seems to have a story about this place.

 The pasture.

The sheep barns that date back to the late 1800's.

The vintage aluminum rocker where deal got done.  Stay tuned as it all unfolds.  This is going to be fun.

Reducing and Reusing the Farmhouse

This complete little project all about totally maximizing a space you love, making it your own and the unique reuse of existing materials and structure.  It's the home of designer Jessica Helgerson.  She's taken and old 540 square foot, 1940's home (on 5 acres of farmland) and remodeled the existing footprint to accommodate the family needs.  No addition.  It was all about finding ways to make it work.  Materials are all local, coming from various salvage sites and the surrounding acreage.

The main living area combines the kitchen, dining and great room.  All of the interior walls are faced with reclaimed wood siding.  The contrast of the raw versus the painted wood on the kitchen wall is just perfect.  She's even wrapped the range hood in the raw wood.  Genius little detail.

The tub was salvaged from another site and custom fit with some carved wood blocks.  The kid's bunk room has a flat ceiling with the master loft above.  At the end of the beds is a pull-out closet.

You can check more photos and details here.

via Remodelista and Jessica Helgerson

Norwegian Farmhouse

They call it the modern farmhouse.  The inspiration comes from an old barn that is adjacent to this bad boy.

 

A wide open floor plan, crazy floor to ceiling windows and some nice loud colors.  This is all about the modern vibe.

Clad in wood throughout.  Smooth, raw plywood on the interior and old, weathered barn wood on the exterior.  A cool mesh of styles and textures.

You can also check this post at Fred Flare.

via fastcompany

Farmhouse Tower

This is just fresh. I've posted in the past on 'vertical living' and this is yet another example that I think is so unique. A sweet blend of farmhouse modern. This little gem is located in a farming town in the Sacramento Valley.

The design was inspired by water towers and small sheds that scatter the farmland. The owners also wanted to the place to be mobile so the main living cabin was slightly elevated off the ground and built up on piers. It also allows air to circulate keeping the space cool.

The 360 degree view from the top of the tower. Perfect and so relaxing.

via homedsgn.com

Drafting Table Island

The drafting table island. Such a sweet idea. The vibe is just perfect in this rustic, farmhouse kitchen. They even incorporated a variety of old school drafting chairs and stools. And a big, chunky island like this can definitely handle the burly canopy fixtures.

photos via Crisp Architects

Modern Barn

This is a cool, modern, refurbished barn with a little farmhouse flair. I like the versatility and creativity here with these oversized awning style openings. It's nice when you have that ability to maximize a ton of natural light, take full advantage of a breeze and at the same time be shaded from the high sun.

An added bonus on the inside. They have full light sliding barn doors that can be closed to keep any nasty weather out and while still allowing the light to shine through.

photos via ArchDaily

Ranch Transformation In Wine Country

A weekend getaway for a couple out in wine country goes from a master suite addition to a full overhaul. They transformed this dated ranch style home into more of a modern farmhouse taking full advantage of the amazing views and surrounding landscape.

A great before and after showing the two architectural styles. A little can go a long way in some of the exterior elements. I like how they embraced the lower pitch of the existing roof, keeping the lines for the addition and cladding it with standing seamed metal.

The room is immediately transformed when you open it on both sides. This is another great example going with the retractable doors.

via Contemporist

Galvanized Shower Walls

A unique shower detail. This is from a farmhouse in Iowa. A sweet blend of modern details along with traditional farm style. A few sheets of galvanized corrugated metal and some sheet screws.

photos via Remodelista

Modern Farmhouse Addition

So here is this farmhouse in Virginia from the 18 century that sits on something like 500 acres and has all kinds of crazy views. You would think that the addition would be pretty straight forward and seamlessly blend right in. Nope. The owner and architect had some other sweet ideas to showcase. They wanted to bring the outdoors in as much as possible and basically take advantage of nature.

The addition is set right at ground level. You can see how they ran the bluestone from the entry right into the glass enclosed pavilion. This view really gives a great perspective of what they wanted to achieve in the overall design with the large glass panels.

They utilized stone from the site for the fireplace and also constructed the chimney chase with board-formed concrete. A little rustic quality to the modern design. You can see a ton more photos here.

via ArchDaily

The Ford Plantation Saved

This is a late 1920's board-and-batten farm cottage just outside of Savannah, Georgia that was once owned by Henry Ford. It was to be torn down and the couple that purchased it had second thoughts. They did a sweet job preserving and renovating this little historic nugget. I love places with history. Check out some of the photos.

photos via Coastal Living Magazine

Local and European Farmhouse

This is a sweet little weekend/vacation farmhouse in Vermont by the Boston-based architectural firm Albert, Righter & Tittmann (AR&T). It's actually not that little but I think the character of this place is so cool. The owner wanted the house to feel like it belonged in Vermont yet also wanted to give some love to his German heritage. As you approach the house you have that farmhouse feel with the white clapboard siding, the pair of green shutters, the square porch posts and the eaves without flat soffits.

On the rear of the house they brought in some of the European elements with the bracketed overhangs and the tall french doors.

Then you throw in this red barn that is linked to the main house with locally hand hewn, rustic cedar columns. So well done. They really did an amazing job linking the history and tradition from the owner to the architectural styles. Very cool.

photos via Period Homes, Robert Benson Photography

Farmhouse Style

It's no secret I'm a sucker for the farmhouse style. Here are some more modern takes on this classic look from Vermont based design firm Birdseye Design. I am thinking a traditional exterior of white with a metal roof along with some modern touches like the painted floors and a garage door opening up a sitting area to the outdoors. It will definitely happen one day. Just think of the posts now...all farmhouse all the time. Just kidding.

(via Black Eiffel photos from Birdseye Design)

Blackberry Inspired

My sister-in-law Leslie works for Blackberry Farm, a luxury resort in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Last time I was there we toured some of the resort properties and I found the FarmHouse to be insanely cool. One of my favorite things about it was how they used painted pine instead of traditional drywall throughout the interior of the house. This is an alternative for drywall that really adds some amazing character.

Here is a shot of the Master Suite on the first floor of the Farmhouse. You can get a good look at the various widths of pine (which they painted dark brown). Simple and so clean.

They even used one width of pine on the ceiling throughout the whole house (6" planks)

Another good shot of the random plank widths of 4", 6", 8" and 10". I love how they use a 6" horizontal piece to break up the verticals in a chair rail layout.