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The Farmhouse showcases America's quintessential house style and shows how it can be reinvented to accommodate 21st century families from Maine to California. The 20 homes in this book represent today's best interpretations of this classic style in new and renovated homes designed for modern living. This engaging tour will delight, instruct and inspire homeowners, architects, designers and builders.
An American Icon for the 21st Century.
- This new softcover edition of The Farmhouse builds on the trend to adapt iconic American homes for modern living.
- Appeals to homeowners seeking homes that are simple and uncluttered.
- More than 300 full-color photographs show today's farmhouse in a variety of settings.
- Includes site and floor plans, plus sidebars with historical details.
The Farmhouse: New Inspiration for the Classic American Home brings back memories of a simpler life with a deep, nourishing connection to the seasons and the land. While most of us don't live that way anymore, we all share a longing for the values that this classic American house represents.
So what makes a true American farmhouse? A farmhouse is intimately connected to the land and all its seasons, dominates a community of buildings, and is built to last using natural, native materials. These are the core qualities of the farmhouse style, whether old or new.
The Farmhouse: New Inspiration for the Classic American Home gives you a remarkable collection of 20 new and remodeled farmhouses that celebrate the best American farmhouses built in the past five years. Over 300 photographs beautifully illustrate these homes, and the accompanying site and floor plans, historical sidebars, and up-close details add depth to this rich collection.
The Farmhouse reinvents America's quintessential house style for the 21st century family.
From the Introduction
When The Taunton Press contacted me about writing a book on farmhouses, I sat down to consider just what makes the style so appealing to me. I recalled that as a young architect some years ago, I'd had my first opportunity to draw on this rural inspiration when Susan and Dave Marek walked in the door. They wanted to build on 11 acres of old farmland, and our ideas quickly took the form of a Midwestern farmhouse reconfigured for the way that people live today.
As we worked together, I realized that farmhouses interest the urban dweller and small town girl in me, not just the architect. I attribute this to several dualities inherent in the style. A farmhouse is elegant yet simple. It is casual and welcoming but has the formality of symmetry and a confident stature. A farmhouse represents an idyllic agrarian life, yet it serves as the home base for a hardworking, notoriously gritty way of life. It serves as a link between the cultivated countryside and the city. These are qualities that I aspire to achieve in architecture and in life, and the farmhouse embodies a balance of each.
In practical terms, the simple, hearty form of the style is highly adaptable. A farmhouse can easily be expanded because the basic shapes make it easy to add porches, sheds, and wings. These houses can also be dressed up or dressed down, depending on what you expect from a home; the gable ends, soffits, and porch columns can be left austere or filled with texture, trim, and detail.
This book provided the opportunity for me to survey the ways in which other architects are interpreting the style. I was curious - what does the next generation of farmhouses look like? Is the form in danger of evolving beyond recognition? As photographs and floor plans came in from around the country, I was impressed that these were not anachronistic attempts to capture a way of life that no longer exists. The houses represent the sophisticated development of this classic house type, with designs and materials as varied as the climates and cultures of our broad nation.
I hope this book will inspire you to take Sunday drives along rural roads in search of your own place in the country. Roll down the windows, listen to the crickets, and take in the long views as you envision your own unique version of the great American farmhouse.
Contents
Chapter 1: An American Icon. Chapter 2: An Unsentimental Farmhouse. Chapter 3: A Bicentennial Renovation. Chapter 4: Little Red Barn House. Chapter 5: Instant Evolution. Chapter 6: Old Farm, New Farmhouse. Chapter 7: In the Image of a Barn. Chapter 8: A Three-in-One Farmhouse. Chapter 9: Farmhouse with an Edge. Chapter 10: New Plot, Old Story. Chapter 11: Blue Ridge Contrast. Chapter 12: A String of Barns. Chapter 13: A Farmhouse Takes Wing. Chapter 14: Barn with a Past and Future.
Chapter 15: A Farm Full of Projects. Chapter 16: Pavilions in the Pasture. Chapter 17: Farmhouse as Fun House. Chapter 18: The Ranch House Revisited. Chapter 19: Farmhouse Gumbo. Chapter 20: Barn Red and Edgy. Chapter 21: Shades of Shaker. Chapter 22: Architects and Designers.
About the Author
Jean Rehkamp Larson AIA is a principal and co-founder of Rehkamp Larson Architects in Minneapolis. She designs new houses as well as additions for people who appreciate good design. Jean's work has been featured in various books, magazines, and television shows, including Creating the Not So Big House, A House for My Mother, Inspired House magazine, Residential Architect magazine, and HGTV's Before and After and Homes across America. |
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