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By Dylan Roche
Photography by Cheryl Nemazie, Studio C
Residential architecture has increasingly favored the farmhouse style in recent years. Architect Christopher Pattey of Becker Morgan Group believes this is rooted in nostalgia. “I think the simplicity of the farmhouse plan and aesthetic are desired in this current chaotic world as people are in search of calm and a lifestyle that hearkens back to simpler times,” he says.
Tucked away at the end of a winding road on a parcel of agrarian land, the contemporary farmstead coastal home Pattey recently designed exudes a sense of timelessness. “Although the black and white is eye-catching and dramatic, the simplicity is calming,” he explains. “When paired with other warm elements and natural textures both inside and out, this style creates an inviting charm that is appealing as it is not a cold modern feel as other contemporary aesthetics can be.”
This modern house exists in its own world between traditional and trendy. Situated on a peninsula equidistant from the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay, it was built on an elevated site with the water on one side and a stretch of meadows and woodlands on the other. “The premise for the design was they wanted a modern farmhouse—they liked a very crisp and clean aesthetic,” Pattey says. “But our approach was for it to have a timeless appeal. We didn’t want it to look like it was following any trends.”
This house keeps to a traditional tidewater architectural style, with extensive windows to maximize natural light and a wraparound porch for outdoor activities. The design incorporates what Pattey describes as “elements of the trendiness of the modern farmhouse”—but any of these trendy elements have more to do with tradition than someone might expect. The black-framed windows, with their contrast to the white exterior, are en vogue now in the 21st century. But as a stylistic choice, black-framed windows in the farmhouse aesthetic come from the iron windows historically seen in warehouses and barns. “It’s popular now, but it has roots in history and timelessness,” Pattey says.
One element of the architecture that deviates from tradition is the layout. Pattey says that although traditional farmhouses would have had compartmentalized rooms and relied on windows solely for light and fresh air, this design uses an open layout and maximizes the exterior walls for windows in every room. “With narrower rooms, you can have a lot of windows on exterior walls, which flood the interior with natural light—it’s not like the deep boxy house where you have rooms that are buried,” he says.
Pattey’s design combines the interior layout of a modern house with that of a historic house by having compartmentalized rooms in front and an open floor plan in the back. The front door opens into a foyer with an office on one side and a guest suite on the other. Straight ahead, the foyer leads into the open space with kitchen, dining, and living areas. Although the home office is the only room that doesn’t have a water view, it does look out onto breathtaking rolling farmland instead.
The combination of large windows and open space gives the entire house a light, bright, airy feel, and Pattey did not want to see the homeowners inhibit this atmosphere—nor block the beautiful view—with window treatments or tinted glass. Fortunately, thanks to the property’s remote location, privacy was not a concern, but harsh sun exposure at certain times of the day was. To protect the home from this harsh light, he strategically used architectural elements such as porches, pergolas, and decorative roof overhangs. “These help mitigate sunlight in the house, but you still have the view, and you’re not obstructing it with window treatments,” he explains.
The house’s light airiness is furthered by the minimalist interior design, which the homeowners handled themselves, preferring to acquire art and accessories over time instead of going for a turnkey house. “They wanted to live in the house, get a feel for the house, and let their lifestyle in the house evolve into then making strategic decisions with future interiors,” Pattey says. “A custom home is always a work in progress, and it’s never done. It goes through a series of changes based on a lot of different factors.”
As trends come and go, changing and evolving in different ways, this modern farmhouse will continue to reflect the traditions that inspired its design, remaining timeless as if in a peaceful, secluded world all its own.
Architect: Christopher L. Pattey, Becker Morgan Group, Salisbury, Maryland | Builder: Robert Purcell, Beachwood Inc., Showell, Maryland
© Annapolis Home Magazine
Vol. 15, No. 1 2024