Contemporarymeets rustic in the modern farmhouse, which combines elements of both for ahome with clean, sleek lines and warm finishes.
The style often features pitched roofs reminiscent ofbarn roofs, oversize black casem*nt windows, and a metal standing-seam roof.Modern farmhouses are often white with board-and-batten siding, or clad in woodor stone, with interiors that highlight those materials while adding industrialfinishes and fixtures or ultramodern details.
Today these homes can be found in suburbs or cities;the style comes from rural areas and many modern farmhouses are restorations ofold homes.
Take the Floating Farmhouse, an 1820 home in New York’s Catskill Mountains that is now a venue and event space, as well as a rental property. It was painstakingly rebuilt by builder Tom Givone, who has restored a number of ageing estates.
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“What I've tried to do with the modern farmhouse is tocome from a place of authenticity and polarity,” he says. “So you find thereally old, just-about-to-fall-down farmhouse. You resuscitate that with allthe original details, because that is the magic of that, and then try tobalance out the extremity by going super-modern in the other direction.”
In the case of the Floating Farmhouse, that meantusing skyscraper glass to replace one of the kitchen walls to bring anunexpected element to the project. Other additions include polished concreteand steel finishes, minimalist interiors, and a cantilevered porch that seemsto float on the surface of the creek on which the home sits.
“It's a way of highlighting the innate beauty of the old by contrast with the new,” Mr. Givone explains.
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Timeless Quality
Interestin the modern farmhouse style has evolved over the last few years, says LosAngeles–based agent Sally Forster Jones of Compass. Many buyers are moving awayfrom sparse contemporary builds toward classic country silhouettes.
“Contemporary homes were very popular for a period oftime, but now it’s the modern farmhouses,” she notes. “Modern farmhousearchitecture is much warmer. It's much more organic-feeling.”
Indeed, homes described as “modern farmhouse”–stylesold for about 10% more than expected, according to a 2020 Zillow analysis oflisting language and the sales performance of thousands of homes nationwide.
Homes in the style have a timeless quality, Ms. Forster Jones says.
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“It's going to remain current and exciting for yearsand years to come, so it will not become passé because it does have all thosewarm, architectural elements. The woods are beautiful, the stones and othermaterials are beautiful,” she explains.
Ms. Forster Jones is representing a $28.5 million homein the Hollywood Hills that takes cues from the traditional shapes found on afarm, but is in a category all its own.
The six-bedroom, nine-bathroom residence was inspiredby architect Louis Kahn’s multidomed Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas,the agent says. Instead of the curved roofs used at the museum, the residencefeatures a trio of gable roof points, evoking the shape of barns, above wallsof glass that look out over the Hollywood Hills.
“It's actually three volumes that are together, with the central largest one being 30 feet high,” Ms. Forster Jones says. “As you enter the great room, you see this volume, the 30-foot-high ceilings, and it's breathtaking.”
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The space was clad in light wood to emphasize theconnection to the outdoors, according to Standard, a Los Angeles–basedarchitecture and interior-design studio that completed the project in 2020.
“A subtle nod to the vernacular barn, the white-oakpaneling guides the eye outward toward the view and gives the home a sense ofnatural, easy coziness,” according to the firm’s website. “Two oversizeboard-formed concrete fireplaces accent the living spaces.”
The other two sections of the home are divided into twostories, with private living spaces on the upper floors. The bedrooms areaccented in white oak and feature marble, en suite bathrooms.
“This home has elements of the modern farmhouse, but it's not like any other modern farmhouse,” Ms. Forster Jones says.
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The East Coast Goes Country
Onthe East Coast, architects are also looking to the country for designcues.
One such home in Greenwich, Connecticut, was completedlast year and dubbed Three Gables. Not surprisingly, it also features gableroofs, as well as a standing-seam roof, black casem*nt doors and windows, andwhite-and-gray board-and-batten siding.
The six-bedroom, six-bathroom, two–powder roomresidence was designed by Gustavo Leitenberger of Leitenberger Design Group.Located on nearly an acre and a half of land, it boasts an open floor plan,10-foot ceilings, a marble-framed fireplace, white-oak flooring, and a customkitchen with dual ovens, an island, and painted-wood cabinetry.
“There's also a wet bar that basically runs an entirehallway,” explains listing agent Monica Webster of Douglas Elliman. “And it hasso many spaces for home offices, it's ridiculous.”
That includes an extended space over the garage, built-in desk space adjacent to the breakfast room, and a lower level, according to the agent. It’s listed for $5.95 million.
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Another new modern farmhouse, this time in Malvern,Pennsylvania, has a mostly stone facade that blends into the four-acreproperty. Inside, Philadelphia-based firm Studio Agoos Lovera created a spacethat combines warm wood floors and cabinetry with industrial-metal beams and afloating staircase.
The four-bedroom, five-bathroom home also boastsfloor-to-ceiling windows that frame views of the property and of the nearbyValley Park Creek. Although modern farmhouses can be found from the city to thesuburbs, these houses are often tied to their natural surroundings. It’s listedfor $3.75 million by the Mulholland-Peracchia Team at Fox & Roach, part ofBerkshire Hathaway HomeServices.
That could be a gorgeous new build in a big, beautifulfarm field, or a modernized farmhouse that has been in situ for centuries, Mr.Givone says.
“Setting is definitely important if it's going to have an authentic farmhouse element about it,” he says.
This article first appeared in the Spring 2021 issue of Mansion Global Experience Luxury.
