Modern Farmhouse Architecture

 Of the many wonderful architectural styles that I enjoy

 I think the modern farmhouse vernacular is by far my favorite

 Architect Howard Backen
has designed dozens of residencies, wineries,
 hospitality and retail buildings,
 but the simple and appealing farmhouse aesthetic
is what he does so well 

 His, is a classic American house, combined with modern details and amenities,
wonderful sight lines and clean landscape.

All of these elements allow for a lean and modern home,
 which include references to Scandinavian and French influences as well.

Nothing appears over done or excessive.

 The homes that he designs 

are filled with calm
and each element seems to have a purpose 

The inside to outside flow in his work is wonderful too!

His wife is a very talented interior designer in her own right and her work fits his design to a tee.

Always with an exterior vista in mind, he often includes over scaled openings.

Even if there is not an amazing view,

 there will be a opportunity to enjoy the out of doors around each corner.

He and the partners in his firm call this 

"transparency"

 In 2012 Mr Backen opened his first restaurant
in the landmark Vanderbilt building in Santa Helena,
locating his offices in the rear...how convenient right!!

The restaurant is called French Blue, 

referring to the antique blue doors that have graced the front of the building 

for over 50 years

Although he has designed many restaurants, 

this is the first that he actually owns

here is the menu

it looks pretty tasty 

and not all that  pricey either

A few of the other restaurants he is associated with include 

Press in St Helena

 Go Fish in St Helena

and numerous Il Fornaio restaurants 

throughout the United States

Mr Backens designs are perhaps the alter ego of much of what has been built in Napa,
 known to many as the valley of excessive faux chateaus
and larger than life tuscan monsters.

His admiration for the American farmhouse lies in the honesty of the details,
 the house as an element of the site
and the surrounding landscape.

Some of his work is more large scale 

including the home of Gary Freidman CEO,

 creator and curator of Restoration Hardware
 and the much loved home of designer
Barbara Colvin Hoopes shown above

I wrote about Gary Freidmans  house a while ago
and it is really an impressive residence

Many of the wineries Howard Backen has designed are in the 

modern Farmhouse vernacular as well 

The Paul Hobbs Winery above suggests the cleanliness of surgical steel
with the down home thoughtfulness of the American barn

Most of the wineries have wonderful spots for large gatherings and tastings

 intimate dinning rooms 

and large airy locations

for

weddings and events

The use of the very humble but much loved front porch is really so fun to see

Hay bales for seating.... a great idea
but I'll take the side with the pillows

He designed Sundance Resort in Utah

Meadowood Resort in St Helena

Solage in Calistoga

His retail work includes defining former public buildings into large retail spaces with many varied areas for merchandising, including enclosed exterior spaces

and huge lofty ceiling heights

shown here in a Restoration Hardware location

 But I think this is what defines his look

 The simple farm house...although not as simple as it may appear

It is often what we think of as the true "American" home

Hope you enjoyed this tour!

Any thoughts on your favorite style of architecture?

Have a fun weekend

~kelley~

Laundry Room Ladder Project

Hey there!!!!!

TGIF 

I must admit to having a serious case of writers/bloggers block...and it's not for the lack of trying

I counted at least 8 drafts that I started writing and never finished posting 

in the last two weeks...hey what is up with that?

So on to my projects...

I counted at least 20 projects that I started working on and have not finished in the last two weeks...

OK is it something I ate?

But I did manage to finish one little project for the laundry/mud room area

It's a laundry ladder

Now I won't even begin to take credit for this great idea

 because I have seen this done on some other blogs and on Pinterest 

and I loved the idea

Most of the others who used this ladder idea 

suspended it from either chain or some sort of rope/pulley system 

which all looked good and worked out well.

But on my weekly trip to the hardware store 

I spotted these:

this is a turn buckle

I love these things!

and who was the genius that invented it....?

how wonderful she must be!

you may remember that I used a wire and turn buckle system to support my grape vines

if you're interested you can read more about that project here

but on to the laundry/mud room

I have a big open area which we recently renovated

 plumbing, electrical, windows, flooring doors etc etc...it started out small and grew into a monster

but I digress....lets talk about the ladder!

 Initially, I thought I would leave it the natural wood 

but then I got it up

and it looked a little to rustic and unfinished....

so it got a nice couple of coats of bright white paint

 the ceiling in this room is the original ceiling 

from a breezeway between the garage and the back door

 the walls on either side of the room are the original exterior walls of the house

so as you can imagine

 that was a huge part of the renovation too 

scraping, sanding, removing paint and glue and 

getting all of the board and batten siding into shape again 

because this is now an enclosed interior room

 once the ladder was up it needed some nice S hooks for baskets and hanging things

I purchased these from a blacksmith on Etsy

and they are really nice and beautifully made

 the turn buckle system is really solid and sturdy 

and I think it fits nicely with the vintage and somewhat modern style of this room

the lights are from Barn Light Electric 

&

the windows are Anderson

 I have a nice collection of these old English baskets 

which make great laundry baskets because they are big and really sturdy

 another of my favorite laundry "must haves" are these rolling canvas laundry carts...

they can be stacked, 

are interesting looking 

and are virtually indestructible...

and did I mention that small children like to get into these and get pushed around?

 the little laundry ladder 

will work for herb and flower drying in the summer too...so much better than the front porch

the total cost for the laundry ladder 

was around $100 dollars... 

which includes the ladder, hardware and S hooks

but you could probably do this for less if you shopped around a bit more

hope you have a beautiful and busy weekend!

( I will be in the garden )

I will share more projects and ideas soon!

cheers

Kelley