Tour a Modern New York Farm With Cozy Scandi Details

In this upstate New York farmhouse that's been passed down for generations, a modern redesign started in the kitchen and elevated the sense of home and legacy throughout.

April 07, 2021

By: Kassondra Cloos

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Photo By: Lisa Vollmer Photography

Redesigning a Family Farmhouse With Nostalgia in Mind

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.

Learn More: 98 DIY Farmhouse Decorating Ideas

The Rolling Hills of Shadowbrook Farm Are an Idyllic Setting

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.

Textured Wallpaper Can Make a Space Feel Softer and Cozier

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.

Throughout the Home, Seating Is Key

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.

With Kids in Mind, Seating Areas Have Soft Corners

This antique trough coffee table is reminiscent of old farming equipment — a perfect fit for the redesign of a home with a long history as a working farmhouse. “We really liked that industrial kind of feel for that space, to bring the feeling of the farm back into it,” Jess says. Aside from being a conversation piece, the antique wooden trough offers a stylish way to store magazines or keepsakes. The living room is full of soft pillows and fabrics, like the sheepskin throws you see on the chairs to the right here. “Having two younger children, we wanted the space to feel super cozy and soft, and we paid attention to the corners of things and having soft edges for the kids to kind of navigate around,” Jess says.

Gutting the Kitchen Created a Gathering Space

Originally, this home had a separate kitchen and dining space. To maximize space and create a large and open gathering area to fit the whole family of eight, Jess’s team put in new windows and tore out the wall separating the two rooms. The home was built in the 1800s so they found some surprises when they took out that wall — it was made of tree branches. The integrated refrigerator is hiding behind elegant cabinet doors.

The Dining Area Continues the Open Flow

The open-concept kitchen and dining area quickly became the focus of the project, laying it out so that there would be space for a family of eight to comfortably gather together in a relaxed, informal space. “We wanted to make sure the kitchen was just a great gathering spot for everybody to come and have meals, because they don’t have a formal dining room, they just have this space off the kitchen,” Jess says. The long, elegant wooden table has a bench on one side and custom upholstered chairs from Kravet’s Lee Jofa line on the other. The sleek light fixture is a Belden Linear Pendant.

New Windows Let the Sunshine In

The primary focus of the redesign was always intended to be the kitchen, and then other areas of the home were added on from there. This updated kitchen is much brighter than the original, thanks to new windows, and has lovely views of the property. The window treatments were custom-made and the backsplash is a Moroccan terra-cotta tile from Clé.

Stylish Woodstove

The kitchen’s wood stove, a Hearthstone Green Mountain Truhybrid, is a functional heat source as well as a beautiful, rustic addition to the space. The kitchen already had a wood stove, but Jess and her team “modernized the way they used it,” she said, putting it on a platform and adding wood storage underneath. “The floors are stone and it’s a big, vast space, so it does feel so cozy to be in there with the wood stove going in the winter.” Woodstoves burn more efficiently than fireplaces, and the glass door on this one allows enjoyment of the flickering flames. Jess says they leave a pot of water on the stove with herbs to lightly humidify and scent the air.

Retro-Chic French-Made Stove

This gorgeous range is a La Cornue CornuFé 110, an upscale, French-made range with twin electric ovens and five gas burners. It can take months of patience to order one and have it shipped to the U.S., Jess says, but it’s worth the wait — it’s a timeless, well-crafted appliance that elevates the design of a kitchen. The range hood, shelving and island countertop are all custom-made from white oak.

Custom Upholstery Ups the Style Factor

These chairs were upholstered with fabric from Pollack, which carries a wide range of upholstery fabrics. Reupholstering chairs, stools and benches in your kitchen and dining area can be a more affordable way to refresh the design of the space without splurging on brand-new furniture.

Deep Navy Cabinets Act Like a Neutral

Shades of blue can often act like a neutral in home decor, and are a timeless way to refresh your kitchen. In this farmhouse, the Benjamin Moore Hale Navy cabinets are striking against the home’s white walls and black accents. The kitchen countertops are made of opus white quartzite.

See More Photos: 53 Blue Kitchen Design Ideas

Found Stones Define This Handsome Fireplace

Jess’s team completely redid the facing for the fireplace—by collecting stones from around the property and custom-building it by hand, “which was really fun,” she says. “It had been changed over time so we wanted to bring it back to more of a a farmhouse feel.”

Custom Window Seat With a Great View

All over the house, there are cozy nooks and soft seating areas for everyone in the family to hang out or steal away for a few quiet moments. This deep, generous window seat and pillows were custom-made with fabric from Kravet, and the bay windows look out onto pretty views of the property.

A Working Farm

Just outside the home’s front door, free-range chickens roam the property. The farm also raises grass-fed cattle for beef. It’s a true family-run operation — “The whole family is sort of involved in it,” Jess says.

Exposed Beams Add Depth

In the home’s long and narrow hallways, you can see beautiful exposed beams and subtle sconces that bring back that historic farmhouse feeling in a modern, elegant way. Jess used Benjamin Moore’s Decorator's White as the main paint color for the house.

Plentiful Windows Offer a Connection to the Outdoors

The home has quite a few cozy spaces to escape and relax for a quiet moment, including a generous porch with nearly floor-to-ceiling windows.

A Classic American Color Scheme

Throughout the home, Jess and her team wanted to keep the vibe “very informal and relaxed,” while also maintaining elegance. “We kind of ran with a Ralph Lauren red, white and blue theme throughout the house, so there’s a lot of texture and patterns with reds, whites and blues,” she says. Much of the furniture in the porch seating area comes from Selamat, which curates furniture collections debuted twice a year for designers and retailers. The lounge and sofa were custom-made with fabric from Pollack.

Sheepskin Throws Add Softness

Even on the porch, there are two distinct seating areas, ensuring there's always plenty of space for this family of eight to spread out. Accenting this bench with a deep navy textile with subtle red accents continues the redesign's red, white and blue theme. The chair is covered with a soft sheepskin throw for texture and warmth.

Subtle Shots of Red

The home’s entryway expertly shows off the red, white and blue theme Jess’s team kept with, using bold colors that don’t overpower the rest of the design. The red bench has a custom-made, neutral cushion. The skinny shag rug is from Chilewich.

A Dramatic Four-Poster Bed

The angled walls of the main bedroom make the space feel light and airy — a good match for a large, four-poster bed, which Jess says is fun with the vaulted ceiling. Most of the bedroom furniture comes from Vanguard, which has been making custom furniture for over 50 years.

Main Bedroom Seating Area

This little seating area is a quiet corner of the main bedroom. The French doors open onto a balcony with a gorgeous view of the property.

Classic Luxury in the Clawfoot Tub

It's hard to beat a clawfoot tub for a modern redesign of a historic home. To complete the bathroom's look, Jess and her team had custom Roman shades made from Schumacher’s Blue Hills print.

Black Hardware and Cabinet Adds Contrast

Throughout the home, dark cabinets and fixtures create a stark contrast with the white walls. In this bathroom, wood paneling on the walls and cabinet doors adds depth and texture to the space.

Add Moments of Delight to Nurseries

Designing a home for a family with six kids in a wide range of ages was a fun project for her team, Jess says. For the two youngest, less than a year apart in age, Jess and her team wanted to make this bedroom a fun space. The ceiling is covered in Taj Trellis wallpaper in Jaipur Blue from Schumacher, so the kids would have something fun to look up at from their cribs.

Custom Throw Pillows Abound

In this bedroom, Jess and her team continued with that subtle Ralph Lauren theme, with accents offering just a hint of color. Throughout the home, throw pillows were sourced from places like Etsy, Jaipur Living and Ryan Studio.

Picture-Perfect Views

The farm is about as picture-perfect as it gets. The property has classic green pastures and sweeping views of New York’s natural beauty. “It’s a beautiful spot,” Jess says.

Don't Skimp on Window Treatments

With gorgeous tree-lined views from the home’s generous windows and no nearby houses to infringe on privacy, it might seem unnecessary to add treatments to windows. But they can really help soften a space and complete a look, Jess says. “A lot of people will be like, ‘I don’t need them because I have a beautiful view outside the window,’ but it does help to finish the space so much,” she says. And a bonus? Soft fabric window treatments can also absorb sound.