Salisbury Farmhouse
It is always a letdown when a client decides not to build a project that we have spent months designing, and many times that is the last that we hear from them. But in this case, the clients remained in touch over the years, and about 10 years after cancelling the first project they came back to us with a new house in a new town that they thought was nice, but needed to be renovated to fit their lifestyle. This time, they went all the way through with it.
Out went the Americana antiques, the rustic country interiors, and in came the clean cool simple modern style that they favored. On the outside, the original “Farmhouse Revival” from the 1980s was freshened up with a new front entry porch and a re-clad garage. On the inside, new flooring, simpler moldings, a new primary bath design, new paneling and cabinets in the primary bedroom, and new fireplace mantel design in the Great Room all came together to form the backdrop for the client’s collection of contemporary South American art. The kitchen was renovated with a light touch, changing the island and the breakfast nook, along with simpler moldings, a new hood and fresh hardware. Just off the voluminous Great Room, an awkward sunporch became a cozy yet chic library with velvety dark blue walls that serve as a counterpoint to the palette of whites in the rest of the rooms.
Outside, simple, contemporary landscaping completes the picture, with a pea stone gravel entry courtyard, framed by standing granite posts and enclosed by a drystacked fieldstone wall. On the back of the house, overgrown shrubs were removed to allow the house to stand out in its expansive lawn, improving the views both from inside and outside.
Interior Designer: Marcia Tucker
General Contractor: Riga Construction
Photos: John Gruen