See how a family revitalized this 1800s farmhouse with an award-winning redesign

Just outside of Northfield,  a small university town in rural Minnesota, the Joyce/ Bouvin family lived for 15 years in an 1890s home with a 1940s kitchen.  When it finally came time to update their out-of-date kitchen, they wanted to keep the look and feel of their nineteenth-century farmhouse but make it amenable to a modern lifestyle. After a thoughtful remodel that garnered a NARI 2015 COTY Gold Award, the family now enjoys easy access to the full experience of their farm. Their garden is just steps away from the restored country kitchen, and the little red barn can be seen while chopping carrots in the kitchen or enjoying a farm-fresh meal from the porch.s

“I had longed for the daily, seasonal connection to our farm and garden and now I have it," remarked Carolyn Joyce, "We love the fluidity of our new kitchen to the outside and porch...we move freely from inside to outside. Sitting in my kitchen, the sights and sounds of the farm are within reach.” 

Crackling sounds of fried eggs waft through the open kitchen windows. To add a pinch of flavor, the cook has easy access to an outdoor spice rack, fresh herbs growing just outside the kitchen doors.

Honed granite countertops with chestnut warm wood floors are subtle choices that mimic rich country colors found in groves and field. Open globe pendant lamps highlight a lemon yellow pitcher against the soft black of the center island.

Here's the kitchen before:

And here it is after:

An original find, heavy and meant to last several lifetimes, the farmhouse sink rests firmly above simple, Shaker-style cabinets that have been enameled to withstand the demands of busy hands and clanking dishes.

 
Sunlight sparkles through leafy mature trees, adding a glow to the blue marble bathroom. A pressed metal mirror mixes well with the pedestal sink, modeled after a Victorian-style the original farm owners might have marveled at one day owning. 

Here's the bathroom before:

And here it is after the remodel:

Family life mingles easily with farm life. An interchangeable workspace is conducive to play, study, food preparation or relaxation. 

Outside is never far away, just out the double back doors that open onto the porch.

Under custom metal rib roofing, the porch holds the drizzling rain and beating sun at bay, saving it for the lush flowers and vegetables growing at just a hand’s reach distance.

Swaying in a gentle summer breeze, vintage potato sacks clipped with wooden pins to a clothesline reveal a glimpse of the porch from the green lawn, welcoming summertime to the country.

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