Designing Our European Farmhouse

Designing our new build home to look like a European Farmhouse was one of the most fulfilling and challenging projects we have ever tackled.  It was a project that we worked on from it’s earliest conception with rough sketches of layout design and plans, to an exhausting year and a half of completion, due to builder issues and the Covid epidemic. It became a real labor of love when we had to complete some of the finish out on our own after closing on it last August. And although that still includes some more minor projects in the works, it is, design wise, the vision I had pictured for our new home and I’m so excited to be sharing part of it with you today!

European Farmhouse style for me means using natural elements like stone, wood, exposed beams, marble, textiles with texture, brass and vintage elements. It is a more neutral design using wood and textiles to create a cozy space. Once I came up with a layout plan for the house, it was then time to think about how to incorporate those elements that made the home feel like it had been around awhile.

Our stone fireplace is one of my favorite details of our home. I wanted a vaulted living room and vaulting the ceiling was one of those features that we really enjoy as it gives a more narrow living room area the feel of being much larger. The ridge vault has a beam that runs the length of the ceiling in the living room with 4 beams off of the ridge.

In our previous house, we had really low light and so anytime there was opportunity for more light like the four tall windows in the living room that light up the entire house, we were excited about. The windows across the back wall opens out to a two tiered patio on an acre lot that has a glorious view of a a few acres of open field with a massive tree line behind it. The only thing that would be better would be maybe a heard of sheep in that field! 🙂

The hardwood floors flow throughout every room, they are wide planked French Oak by Bivio.

The kitchen has 10 ft ceilings with cabinets that extend along the back wall in the open concept.

I chose a brick backsplash to give it an old world feel and then painted it the same color as the cabinets and walls. I wanted the texture more than I wanted the warmth of a natural brick.

The pantry was designed to look like an old grocery counter with the built in drawers under the hutch shelving. The pantry doors are from Egypt and I love the texture and vintage feel of the distressed doors.

I included this wood header to the open threshold in the dining room that is open to the kitchen and formal entryway. The board and batten adds character and pattern to the wall. It also is a feature that adds formality to the space.

The partial wall paneling in the guest bedroom continues in the hallway between the two bedrooms. The soft green color on the walls in the guest bedroom is Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore.

I designed this bedroom to be a little more moody with the board and batten wall painted in a dark charcoal color. Again, the board and batten gives it a more formal look than just a dark painted wall. As you can see the other 3 walls are light like the rest of the house and hallway to make it look seamless to the rest of the area of the house.

The main bedroom has a ridge vault like the living room with a wood beam spanning the length. This room is designed more of a french country style with the soft neutral linens, patterned but muted rug. The chandelier is a wood and metal combination and it is so perfect with the hardwood floors and other vintage accents.

That is a look at our European Farmhouse to date. I will be showing you more as we get it all decorated the way we want it. In the meantime, you can look at the front of the house and front gardens in the post “Gardens @ the European Farmhouse”, as well as a separate post of the pantry and vintage doors, “The Vintage Door Pantry” and our “European Kitchen” for a closer look at those areas. Thanks for stopping by today and as always feel free to leave me a comment or ask questions!