Tour a Modern New York Farm With Cozy Scandi Details

When a New Lebanon, New York, farmer wanted to renovate the home that’s been in his family for decades, he brought in Great Barrington, Massachusetts-based designer Jess Cooney Interiors. The challenge: Refresh the third-generation home’s look without losing its warm, welcoming feel.

Shadowbrook Farm is just over the line from Massachusetts, with stunning views of rolling hills and a small pond on the property. The farm raises chickens and pasture-raised beef, and runs a farm stay program in a renovated Shaker barn from the 1700s on the property. They also have a small farm shop with fresh meat, milk, eggs and other goodies. In addition to running the farm, the homeowner is a contractor and worked closely with Jess and her team on structural changes to the home.

The homeowner wanted to preserve some of the memories he has of visiting his grandparents in the house as a kid, and this room is one of them — he used to sit in here with his grandfather and do homework on visits to the farm. The redesign plays up a modern farmhouse aesthetic that’s bursting with nooks and soft touches that make it feel lived-in even though it’s a totally fresh look. “We really wanted that to feel special,” Jess says. The walls are covered in a woven grasscloth wallpaper from Schumacher, which makes the space feel softer and cozier.

As Jess and her team selected furnishings and decor for the home, they made sure they chose things that would be able to withstand heavy traffic and the wear-and-tear of a big family. The family has six kids, including two very young children, so it was important to balance function with aesthetics, and to have lots of little nooks and cozy seating areas for people to hang out. “They [the family] wanted a lot of different places for people to just relax, and really durable fabrics that people could put their feet up on or the baby could spit up [and not ruin them],” Jess says.