Modern Farmhouse
When our client asked us to design a “modern farmhouse” in a largely traditional New England town, we knew we needed to strike just the right note for the neighborhood and for our client. The exterior of the house was to have all the trappings of a modern farmhouse – a shoebox massing, vertical board and batten siding, metal roofing, tall vertical windows, clean detailing, and stone accents – but also needed to fit into the colonial neighborhood. From a distance the gable shape evokes a colonial massing. However, as you move closer the indentation causing the roof recede visually, giving it the appearance more akin to a flat roof placing emphasis on the linear farmhouse massing. On the home’s interior, the finishes are more refined than a traditional farmhouse, leaning towards a more modern aesthetic. However, it was important to make sure the “modern” elements didn’t feel cold. By a coincidence of the client and site, this project became an opportunity to explore lessons learned from both modern and traditional designs and to illustrate the modern design can be warm and welcoming, and farmhouse design can be elegant and refined.