The post The Farmer’s House by AR Design Studio first appeared on Dornob.

Seeking a home for their young family and their retired parents, one Belgian couple purchased such a property and contemplated their options. Ultimately, they decided they wanted to preserve the history and character of the existing buildings, hiring Aalst-based firm Objekt Architecten to bring their vision to life.

The design brief was relatively unusual. The clients wanted one home for themselves and their children, and a separate but connected “care home” for their elderly parents. This aging-friendly home would need to be set up so that the parents could live there for the rest of their lives, even as their abilities changed. Both homes would require privacy and nice views of the surrounding farmlands while maintaining easy access to each other in case of emergencies.

Objekt Architecten started by preserving as many of the exterior walls of the crumbling buildings as they could. They chose concrete as a primary material to complement the neutral tones and textures of the existing brick, plaster, and mortar. Red terracotta floor tiles and traditional red clay roofing tiles were also brought in to mimic the look and feel of the original elements.

The architects left the appearance of the existing house and barn unchanged, turning the old farmhouse into the care home portion of the estate. Designed with accessibility in mind, the single-level structure contains sleeping quarters, a bathroom, and several spacious storage rooms, as well as covered outdoor areas. This home connects directly to the young family’s new house, which was built within the shell of the adjacent barn.

Clad in a striking bronze-colored aluminum finish, the new volume is set back from the original walls under the same new roof to create covered outdoor walkways. The roof of the care home was extended to stand perpendicular to the new volume. On the other side, the roof rests on the original exterior wall. One long hall links all the bedrooms, and skylights let in an abundance of natural light.

The architects call this project “Old & New,” reflecting both the contrast in historic and modern architectural styles and the contrasting but complementary needs of various generations of the family.

The team explains that “in the new house, the choice fell on a low-maintenance, polished concrete floor. In the sitting area — which houses the lounge and the play area — a contrasting sandblasted oak herringbone parquet was chosen. In the center of the house, we find a royal blue core, which on one side houses a toilet, a cloakroom, and a staircase, and on the other side is part of the kitchen and storage room. The rounded kitchen island, finished in a natural wood tone, has a peach-colored countertop.”

“Together with the brass accents, these give the whole a contemporary, luxurious look. With this renovation, we tried to transform an existing house into a care home where the original residents feel at home and can live a lifetime, while the clients do not have to sacrifice modern comfort and privacy.”

The post Old & New: Belgian Farmhouse Converted into a Contemporary Care Home first appeared on Dornob.

“Kha-nam refers to the typology of small resting shelters found during the agricultural season in Thailand,” the firm explains. “They’re built using basic construction methods, with local and easily sourced materials.”

As in most vernacular architecture around the world, form follows function in Thai agricultural buildings. They often feature stilts to protect the interiors from floodwaters and large, steeply sloping roofs to provide shelter from the sun and shed rain efficiently. The long, continuous roof of the original pigsty features a traditional overlapped design wherein a secondary roof panel hovers above a vented opening in the lower roof panel. This gives the spaces directly below the vents natural light and air flow.

YangNar Studio arranged the living room, kitchen, and bedroom beneath the vents to take advantage of these features, while the north side of the building hosts a terrace corridor between a workshop and a plant nursery. The family that commissioned this unique adaptive reuse project wanted to create a self-sufficient estate where they could raise plants and train dogs, so the garden has a large area for both purposes.

When choosing materials for the home, the architects retained much of the concrete, steel, and wood from the original pigsty for inclusion in the design, rearranging it for new purposes. Beneath the old roof, the living spaces are elevated, gazing at each other through large windows across a shared outdoor space.

“The materials of this house [have a] way of arranging old into new use with respect to a trace of time,” say the architects. “We can see a lot of buildings’ traces of old material clearly, but architects keep that with an understanding of language to keep this blend in the transition of living. Some parts of the house such as the kitchen’s wall used authentic wooden craftsmanship like ‘Fha-Lai,’ a flexible sliding wall from the northern part of Thailand, to consider an alternative way of ventilation. This authentic construction method is hard to find nowadays.”

“This might look like a simple wooden house found [commonly] in this region, but for us, this house is an architecture that was not made for the aesthetic of living only but was designed from an understanding of the practitioner’s view in forming construction methods to blend old and new things to get a special architectural experience for the owner,” say the architects.

The result feels airy and full of character; particular to this area of the world and its customs and traditions. The texture of the old corrugated roof contrasts beautifully with the new glass and refinished wood, and the covered swimming pool terrace is a tropical dream. You’d certainly never call this recycled home a pigsty now, would you?

The post YangNar Studio Converted a Pigsty into a Beautiful Tropical Home in Thailand first appeared on Dornob.

As you might imagine, having access to Pierre Frey’s full catalog of textiles for your own use is a decorator’s dream come true, and the Freys have taken advantage of that ability both in their primary home in Paris and their country home in the Luberon area of Provence.

Elle Decor got a peek into the Freys’ picturesque Luberon home, a stone farmhouse representing a pinnacle of French countryside style. Centuries old, the house previously belonged to Patrick’s parents, and its most notable feature is its original jagged stacked stone walls accented by a clay tile roof.

With all of its texture, character, and sense of history, the stone sets the mood for the home, contrasting with smooth white plaster throughout the interiors. Updating the decor to their own tastes, the Freys wanted to celebrate traditional Provence colors and textures while integrating a touch of modern minimalism.

The couple maintained the rustic character of the house, leaving the stone walls intact and preserving the original floor plan of small rooms. “You have to keep in mind that this house is a maison paysanne at its core — it was a farm in the beginning,” Lorraine says, adding: “I believe that houses should preserve their true history and should remain in their simplicity.”

Pierre Frey textiles bring color, print, and texture to the interiors through curtains and upholstered furniture. A sitting room nestled beneath an original vaulted stone ceiling is awash in soothing neutrals, while the living room features pops of vibrant green. The overall effect is that of harmony and subtlety — and one that avoids too much contrast.

“I only used linen, cotton, piqué — things that are very natural,” Patrick explains. “We played very much with the color, using old hues, to preserve as much of the charm as we could. The same goes for the ceramics, which are painted and rustic. Taken together, it’s all meant to feel a little outside of time.”

Meanwhile, the Frey’s city home in the 6th arrondissement of Paris captures a slightly different feeling, albeit no less harmonious. Saturated jewel tones and eclectic patterns play against the elegance of that apartment’s original millwork. Objects from the couple’s travels are mixed with antiques curated by Patrick’s grandfather René Prou, himself a renowned decorator and artist. A large ottoman in the center of the living room is upholstered in several layers of Pierre Frey textiles inspired by the “galette,” a traditional French pastry.

If the mood of their country home is a little more restrained and tranquil, the Freys’ Paris apartment conveys a sense of playfulness. Clashing patterns and contrasting colors you wouldn’t necessarily think to put together like lavender and mustard are augmented by an abundance of eye-catching decorative objects. There’s certainly no shortage of anything to look at.

“Color is at the heart of European decoration, and one must be daring and playful with color combinations,” Patrick told Home Journal.

The post Peek into Pierre Frey Owners’ Charming French Homes first appeared on Dornob.

Set back from a cliff overlooking the water, the old barn structure consisted of two parts: a taller volume with gabled ends, and a wide addition off one side with a sloping shed-style roofline. No doors, windows, or actual roofs remained – just holes where they used to be. Aiming to keep as much of the concrete structure in place as possible to preserve its aged and weathered character, the architects decided to insert a lightweight two-story timber structure into the original volume, mimicking its shape.

Preserving the crumbling concrete required some creativity. The old barn was made of thick and stable mass concrete, but most of its walls lacked foundations, and some were very fragile. They decided to retain only the perimeter walls, leaving them in a ruined state peppered with lichen and patchwork patterns of local pebbles. They also stabilized the existing structure and lined the barn floor with a reinforced concrete raft to ensure the home wouldn’t continue to deteriorate after the renovations were complete.

New openings were created sparingly to avoid compromising the structural integrity of the old concrete shell. One was added to let more light into the kitchen, and another adds a separate entrance to the art studio so the homeowners can move large artworks in and out. Both the new openings and the original ones were diamond-cut to a smooth surface that contrasts with the roughness of the outer facade. On the ground floor, Studio Bua placed a kitchen and dining space adjacent to the studio, giving them all a floor of polished concrete.

The client, an artist, had previous experience staining plywood and wanted to experiment with adding light washes of color to the birch walls. She and the architects collaborated on a palette inspired by the colors of the meadow as they shift from green in spring to yellow in winter and purple in late summer. On the second floor, the white stained pine boards and plywood surfaces are left in their natural color to complement the darkness of the concrete and stone. A plywood staircase leads from the ground floor dining room to a mezzanine sitting room overlooking a double-height space, with both rooms taking advantage of the massive amount of daylight emanating from a fully-glazed end facade.

Outside, the walled garden might just be the coolest part of this old-meets-modern renovation. Protected from both strong winds and hungry wildlife, the garden preserves the framed views of the original windows and doors, now open to the air, and uses the remains of the original interior walls as row dividers.

The architects also chose a number of materials that are uniquely Icelandic in character. They explain that “the cladding of the new volume is corrugated Aluzinc – a reflective material that takes the color of the sky and meadow around the house, changing with the seasons and weather embodying the lightness of the inserted volume. This allowed us to extend to a second story without overpowering the concrete barn. From our experience working in harsh climates, this rather industrial material is one of the few cladding options that can withstand the extremes of weather.”

“The corrugation is also a reference to a local building tradition. From the early 20th century corrugated steel has been used diffusely in Iceland in rural and urban settings for all typologies. Most dwellings and farm buildings in the area are partly or completely clad in this material.”

The post Dilapidated Barn Ruins Transformed into a Remote Artist’s Studio in Iceland first appeared on Dornob.

Monica, type A personality and chef, generally kept her eclectically decorated Greenwich Village apartment immaculate and ready to host a gathering at a moment’s notice. But, as revealed in “The One with Frank Jr.,” there’s one room that Monica neglected: her bathroom. As Joey Tribbiani points out, “You know, if you move your hamper you can see the color the tile used to be!”

If Monica were a real person, we’d imagine she would have given her bathroom at least a small update by 2021. Now, the folks over at QS Supplies have taken the liberty of giving her bathroom a digital makeover in a range of styles they imagine she might choose, from industrial to Moroccan.

Farmhouse Style

Monica’s real bathroom, like much of the rest of her apartment, was painted a very 90s shade of purple. That loud vibe is pretty much the opposite of contemporary farmhouse style, where predominately black and white palettes are typically accented with beige and gray. Perhaps the most realistic (and likely) makeover on this list, it’s pretty easy to pull off, from the plastered paint and wainscoting to the classic tub filler and checkerboard floor.

Tropical Style

Marrying tropical style with modern sensibilities, this fantasy renovation wows with a lush wall of living vegetation alongside the tub, so you can take a mini-vacation in your very own mini-resort whenever you want. Stone, elaborately carved reliefs on the wooden door and a ceiling fan bring the look together.

Art Deco Style

Everything about this Art Deco style bathroom makeover says “sophistication,” from the gorgeous tray ceiling and bold patterned floor to the capiz sconces and gold accents. Of course, if your bathroom looks like this, one would hope that the rest of your apartment is on the same level.

Moroccan Style

Drama, saturated color, and to-die-for patterns characterize this vibrant conversion, turning Monica’s bathroom from blah to unforgettable. Naturally water-resistant stone flags and mosaic tiling are a great choice for both function and looks. Using a piece of wooden furniture in place of a standard vanity is one designer’s trick more of us should keep in mind for our own renovations, and the arch shapes of the door and bath entry take this look over the top.

Japanese Style

For a personality type that could use a little zen, a Japanese-style bathroom might be a good idea. This redesign feels spacious, open, and relaxing, with an absolutely epic wooden bathtub. Timber slats on the walls bring in some warmth, and who wouldn’t love a gorgeous bonsai growing in their shower?

“Are you familiar with the Japanese concept of unagi?” writes QS Supplies. “According to Ross Geller, it’s a Japanese concept meaning ‘state of total awareness.’ According to the Japanese, unagi means ‘freshwater eel.’ It’s a good lesson in Japanese design style: if you want it for your bathroom, make sure you understand the principles, not just the surface appearance!”

Industrial Style

Perhaps the style that most announces “I’m a successful chef in New York City,” this look reimagines Monica’s apartment as a warehouse conversion with raw concrete walls and flooring, a decorative metal grille ceiling, a sliding door, lots of hard angular shapes, and what looks like a slightly smaller, less comfortable tub than her original clawfoot.

The post How Monica Geller Might Redecorate Her “Friends” Bathroom Today first appeared on Dornob.

The Spirit of Blue

Pantone’s tranquil color of the year feels even more appropriate in the aftermath of the U.S. election. Navy deepens up the tone for a winter vibe, and it pairs beautifully with so many other colors, including 2020’s other trending shades. Plus, it’s always perfect for Hanukkah. Bring it into the mix in the form of ribbons, stockings, table linens, and other accents (image via Love Property).

Recycled and Found Materials

In the spirit of keeping things budget-friendly, you should always try to incorporate recycled and found materials into your decor. Go outdoors and look for appropriate natural accents like evergreen boughs, pine cones, sprigs of holly, or beautifully shaped branches you can arrange in a vase accented with ribbon, incorporate into a wreath, or lay on the mantel (image via Fresh Exchange).

Gleaming Metallics

A soft tone falling somewhere between silver and gold, platinum is definitively this year’s metallic shade of choice, but anything shiny will serve to boost the glam factor of your holiday decor. Rose gold is another hot shade that perfectly complements the greenery of Christmas trees, other metallics, neutrals, and navy. For the greatest impact, use metallics sparingly as a way to highlight certain vignettes and areas of the home (image: CB2’s rose gold ball garland, $24.95).

Handmade Touches

Who cares if they aren’t perfect? Handmade holiday ornaments and decorations, no matter how amateurishly-crafted, are sweet and charming, and they offer a great way to add a personal touch. Display your kids’ creations with pride, try your hand at one of House Beautiful’s many tutorials, or pick your favorite artisan-crafted objects at Etsy (image via presswest).

Farmhouse Style

The biggest interior design trend of the year lends itself beautifully to Christmas decor. That means lots of neutrals, classic looks, and rustic textures. As you might expect, Magnolia by Chip and Joanna Gaines has plenty of on-trend items to choose from, including Christmas tree skirts, ornaments, garlands, candles, faux potted trees, soft blankets, signs, and more. Target also has its own line of winter farmhouse holiday decor, and it’s adorable (image by Rennai Hoefer).

Baking Fever

Everybody’s been baking their way through the stress of the coronavirus. This winter, take it up a notch by developing (or flexing) your gingerbread skills. Creating edible architecture can be a challenge, but the results are well worth the effort. If you don’t consider yourself particularly crafty, you can always find gingerbread kits that are easy to assemble and make for great centerpieces for the dining table. Alternatively, you can try experimenting with structures outside the archetypal gingerbread house, like barns, vehicles, and bird houses. Country Living has a range of tutorials for all skill levels (image via My Name is Yeh).

Changing Up Your Ornaments

Just how crazy you want to go with holiday decorations is a matter of personal taste, but it’s fun to switch things up by shopping from your own collection of decorative items. Choosing ornaments and other objects that fit a particular theme or color scheme can present a well-curated effect that gives you a different look from last year without buying anything new (image via West Elm).

The post 7 Tips for Getting the Jump on the Perfect Christmas Decor first appeared on Dornob.

Stone & Beam “brings traditionally-inspired, casual comfort home designed to marry enduring, rustic style with practicality and the realities of everyday family life.” It’ll especially appeal to fans of Chip and Joanna Gaines’ aesthetic. Rivet combines “the best in midcentury and industrial modern design to bring you beautiful, affordable pieces for your ever-evolving lifestyle.” If you regularly lust over pieces at West Elm, Perigold, and Joybird, this line’s for you.

Here are a few standouts from each line that look much more expensive than they actually are:

Rivet Glass Ball and Metal Table Lamp

Available in either black or brass finish, this modern table lamp features a round milky-white glass shade resting on an angled rod supported by three legs, and its price tag is generally around $60.

Rivet Heather Modern Coffee Table

Available either as a coffee table or side table, this design features a walnut-hued top and base supported by a metal frame with a leather storage section that’s perfect for books and magazines. They range from $133 to $238.

Rivet Mid-Century Bonded Leather Swivel Chair

Whether you use it as an office chair or extra living room seating, this brown leather chair will add both style and comfort to any space it’s in. It features low-slung arms and solid wood legs, and costs $240.

Rivet Mid-Century Modern Wood and Metal 3-Tiered Kitchen Bar Cart

An accordion-style metal frame in gold gives this rolling bar cart some extra pizzazz. The shelves are solid wood, the wheels rotate, and two of them lock, so it’s highly functional, too. Get it for $164.

Stone & Beam Decatur Modern Tufted Wingback Accent Chair

Available in four colors, including gray, silver, oatmeal, and white, this contemporary wingback chair features stitch-tufted fabric, curved sides, and a solid wood frame. Prices range from $372 to $402.

Stone & Beam Alan Casual Wood Console Table

Understated yet high-impact, the “Alan” comes as either a media tower or console table ($548 – $768) and has a textural washed navy surface with gold hardware.

Stone & Beam Classic Home Office Desk

Get Pottery Barn looks for just $240 with this Stone & Beam desk made of solid pine and MDF with a dark espresso finish. It features cross-shaped legs, glass lines, and a drawer for storage.

Stone & Beam Floral Medallion Area Rug

A nice update on more traditional patterns, this contemporary floral medallion rug in wool feels both classic and contemporary. It’s available in a range of sizes and colors, including this beautiful blue. The 8’x10’ is just $402.

The post Stylish and Affordable Furniture Finds from Amazon’s Private Label Brands first appeared on Dornob.

Back in 2002, Clarkson took the world by storm as the first-ever winner of American Idol. Since then, she’s sold over 35 million albums and 55 million singles worldwide, repeatedly racking up awards for her music across a wide range of categories. In addition to building her repertoire across almost every genre, she hosts a talk show, raises four kids with her husband, and has even returned to American Idol as a successful coach.

Now, Kelly has broken new ground as the first brand ambassador for the popular furniture retailer Wayfair, who officially announced the collaboration back in February. Her Kelly Clarkson Home collection, which debuted in April 2020, is described as “French Country” and fuses the two unexpected yet complementary styles of bohemian and farmhouse.

The collection is light and playful, a potpourri of styles from assorted decades that just “go together.” Rusting dining sets nestle next to tasseled bedding, and beaded chandeliers hang above metal bar carts. Every piece is mixable and matchable with just a whim of creativity. Best of all, Wayfair pledged a portion of the first week’s sales of the Kelly Clarkson Home collection to COVID-19 relief efforts.

To promote the assortment, Kelly sat down for a special Q&A with House Beautiful magazine. She confessed that the appeal of Wayfair was their versatility, adding that she appreciated “the fact that Wayfair can help anyone — regardless of budget, style, or taste — create a living space that their entire family can enjoy…they really make a house into a home. Decorating can be daunting, but Wayfair makes the process fun.”

Kelly also found the freeform style of decorating liberating, telling the interviewer that she took “great pride in the fact that we have created a home that is filled with love and warmth and that is very much represented in the decor throughout the house. I like the fact that my decor can’t really be defined as one thing or put into one category… It’s very airy and feminine, with charming accents and vintage-inspired finds. KC Home is proof that style doesn’t have to fit a mold. Everyone should have the confidence to create a home that reflects their personal taste and style.”

When asked about how she would portray the collection in three words, Kelly was careful to include what effect her artistic side played in developing each piece. She finally replied, “Calming, fresh, inspiring. (But) as an artist, I love to create and be bold. The same can be seen in my home collection…I’m not afraid to mix colors, styles, textures…when you put the right things together, it just works.”

The post Kelly Clarkson Teams Up With Wayfair for New Spring Furniture Collection first appeared on Dornob.

The recently launched product line includes over 200 storage and display options for virtually every surface in your home. Under the brand names Stylewell and the Home Decorators Collection, these artful decor pieces will match nearly any aesthetic they’re put in, including farmhouse, classic, bungalow, modern, art deco, and transitional design.

Without further ado, let’s check out some of the new offerings.

‘Hoo’ knew storage could be so cute? This StyleWell Light Brown Owl Water Hyacinth Woven Decorative Basket with Lid also comes in a darker shade, but both will hide away gloves, toilet paper, paperwork, and/or small umbrellas whenever the need arises. If you’re more of a unicorn person, check out the StyleWell White Unicorn Water Hyacinth Woven Decorative Basket with Lid instead.

Those who prefer a more traditional look might like this farmhouse-style Home Decorators Collection Square Galvanized Metal and Natural Bamboo Woven Decorative Basket with Handles, which provides both an eye-catching design and superb functionality. Other baskets in the new collection come in galvanized metal, gold metal, black metal, rattan, and more.

For table accents, check out the collection’s selection of decorative trays, which come in just about every shape and size you could want. Examples include the Home Decorators Collection Wood with Galvanized Metal Trim Decorative Rectangle Tray and the eye-catching Home Decorators Collection Black and Natural Water Hyacinth Decorative Rectangle Tray. Those who prefer something even more eye-catching will be happy to hear that there are also mirrored options to consider here.

Looking for a better way to spruce up your walls? Just choose from one of Home Depot’s 78 new options ranging from basic white shelving to comprehensive designs that are completely unique. The Home Decorators Collection Round Wood and Black Metal Wall-Mount Bookshelf stands out as a transitional piece, while the StyleWell Hexagonal Wood and Metal Floating Shelf embodies a more modern style. Function is important, too, of course, so be sure not to overlook pieces like the StyleWell Wood, Black, and Galvanized Metal Wall Organizer, which boasts three cubbies and five hooks to organize even the messiest of entryways or school stations.

Perhaps the best way to personalize your space is to include those closest to you in your wall decor via beloved family photos. Of course, the frames you put them in are half the battle, especially when you have a particular style to adhere to. If you’re looking for something relatively simple with just a splash of style, the Home Decorators Collection Wooden Geometric Picture Frames might be a good option for you.

Finish off your interior design with the perfect mirror for each space, adding depth to your rooms and reflecting natural light all throughout the house. Home Depot’s new mirrors offer large, small, square, round, and just about any other kind of accent you can think of. Check out the 31-inch Home Decorators Collection Round Framed Antiqued Wood and Black Metal Accent Mirror for farmhouse comfort, or go bold with the more modern Home Decorators Collection Round Framed Gold Accent Mirror.

Even if you don’t have any home improvement projects on the horizon, you’ll find it incredibly worth it to make one more trip to Home Depot to put the finishing touches on the interiors you’ve worked so hard to cultivate over the years.

The post Home Depot Releases Over 200 New Decor Pieces to Help Round Out Your Interiors first appeared on Dornob.

The new furniture collection features about a dozen pieces, including dining tables, chairs, benches, coffee and console tables, accent stools, and a mirror. Each of these, as you might expect, is modern and clean while nodding to the heritage and craftsmanship of traditional styles. Each piece will also be priced under $400, making them a lot more accessible than similar furniture at other retailers.

Standouts include the Shaker Dining Table ($399.99) and its accompanying chairs ($89.99 each), the Metal & Wood Accent Bench ($189.99), which pairs light Scandinavian-style wood with a black or green metal base, the Hairpin Accent Table ($79.99), and the Shaker Accent Stool ($69.99).

The collection just launched on December 26th, but it’s already so popular, many styles have sold out. It’s online-only for now, but Target says you can expect to see many of the pieces at local stores as the spring months arrive. Their latest Magnolia decor is already in stores, however, and it includes a range of objects and textiles in faded, lived-in neutral shades.

“After the holiday hustle, our guests are craving a calm, organized environment,” explains Jill Sando, Target’s Senior Vice President and General Merchandise Manager for Apparel, Accessories, and Home. She adds that “our spring Home collection is bursting with new Target-exclusive pieces, including Hearth & Hand with Magnolia’s first foray into furniture. With tons of crisp whites, soft neutrals, natural textures and hand-painted floral embellishments, our guests can transform their everyday spaces into quiet retreats. It’s an adorable refresh for their homes and a breath of fresh air to start the New Year right.”

The collection draws on the modern farmhouse style for which Chip and Joanna Gaines have become so famous. Curbed calls it “The Fixer Upper effect,” noting that the couple’s HGTV show has also spawned a checklist of decor items ranging from white shiplap paneling and wide plank floors to apron sinks and barn-style lighting.

Essentially, the style takes elements from tried and true classics, freshens them up, and adds some industrial elements for a contemporary edge. It’s warm and comfortable, and more importantly, it’s all associated with higher-quality materials and skilled craftsmanship. Whether that will still be true when the pieces are mass-produced at low price points remains to be seen.

Since making it big on HGTV, Chip and Joanna Gaines have launched their own lifestyle brand, Magnolia, which encompasses everything from home decor to a pair of restaurants in their hometown of Waco, Texas. This year, it will expand to include their very own television network of the same name, which will take the place of the DIY Network as part of the Discovery family of networks.

The post Joanna and Chip Gaines Launch New Target Furniture Line first appeared on Dornob.

Services Généraux is a multidisciplinary full service creative bureau founded by an art director and product designer. They consider themselves “Image Makers,” spending their time creating virtual spaces, objects, and images. More concretely, “their constant experimental and creative research practice is reflected in a breadth of: creative direction, architecture, space and object design, graphic design, image making, and video projects.”

Services Généraux has also worked with some giant companies before, including Adidas, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, and Nike. The aforementioned founders of the studio, Antoine and Valentin, are steeped in mystery, as they do not publish any photographs of themselves or even their last names. “Maison” is their first-ever completely conceptual project.

The “home” is set in the idyllic French countryside. Photos show a backdrop of lush green grass, shrubbery, and trees. The illusion is further intensified by a sunset reflecting off the windows of the imaginary home. “Maison” was inspired by the real-life ruins of a farmhouse, once bustling with life but now a shadow of its former self. Its dilapidated walls provided the studio with a starting point for the design, and their influence can even be spotted in the images of the conceptual home’s exterior walls. The rest of the exterior is made from blocks of concrete that are neutral-toned and varying in color and appearance. Overall, this creates a very natural look — one reminiscent of the very countryside it is set in.

The interior of the home continues the natural motif and is supremely understated. The walls are all beige or off-white, lacking any significant texture. They were purposely left bare to remind viewers that function is always more important than fashion. The bathroom, for example, is beautiful in its simplicity and has nothing outside of the essentials. In the photorealistic images of it, we see a large stone standalone tub. Right above it, there is a wooden window open to the outside world. There’s also a sink of the same natural beige stone, a chair, and a wooden block to rest your towel on. Other than that, all we have is a stool, a bucket, and a cloth for washing up at night.

We’re also given a sneak peak of something we can only assume is a living room, because not much else is going on in it otherwise. Here, there are only three chairs, a fireplace, and some wood to get the fire going. The bedroom mirrors this simplicity, showcasing a bed, a few books, and another fireplace. While there may not be much going in “Maison” entertainment-wise, you still get the feeling that your basic needs and comforts would be met in a home like this. This particular home, while only imaginary, also brings you back to a simpler time.

The post Maison: Services Généraux’s Completely Conceptual French Country Home first appeared on Dornob.

In rural states like Tennessee, Iowa, Indiana, and Ohio, property owners say their barns are disappearing little by little, with thieves often taking a truck full of planks at a time to avoid getting caught. Kentucky has been particularly hard-hit, with cases of theft reported in at least 13 counties. Sheriffs say some barns are stripped down to nothing but their frames and roofs.

The wood is nearly impossible to track and identify, though local lumber buyers are on “high alert” for sellers hawking wood matching certain descriptions of quantity, color, and age. Some buyers are even asking sellers to supply W-9 tax forms in an effort to ensure the legitimacy of their products.

Justin Nagler, owner of Kentucky Wisewood in Louisville, told Fox 17 Nashville that five years ago, nobody could have predicted just how much hunger for barn wood would grow. As influential figures like HGTV’s Chip and Joanna Gaines help popularize “farmhouse chic” and other rustic styles, demand for reclaimed barn wood often outstrips supply, making it even more expensive than new lumber.

“At first, folks just wanted the barn down, and they weren’t even trying to sell it,” Nagler says. “I’ve seen it change from ‘Come grab it,’ to ‘How much will you pay me to take this barn?'”

The theft of private property isn’t the only thing that has barn owners and other residents in the affected areas upset. It’s also the loss of the physical remnants of a cultural heritage that’s rapidly disappearing. Trends reflecting a nostalgia for old-fashioned subsistence farming, like farm-to-table restaurants and urban chickens, highlight the fact that small-scale farming has become economically unsustainable for many people throughout the United States.

Of course, demand for reclaimed wood is generally well-intentioned. Concerns about climate change and deforestation have encouraged many people to find new ways to reuse and recycle existing materials. After all, it seems like quite a waste to allow a desirable material to rot away in a field when it could become something new instead. But there’s a clear difference between gaining permission from a property owner to dismantle an old barn and stealing it outright.

If you love the look of barn wood and hope to use it for your own projects, look for reputable sellers to make sure you’re not accidentally buying stolen goods. You can also use lower-grade lumber, which is generally considered less desirable due to splits and other imperfections, and give it a faux weathered finish.

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Harnessing some of its most captivating original features, including a set of majestic stained glass windows, dramatic vaulted ceilings and open spaces, exposed brick walls, and wooden ceiling turnbuckles, this revamped holy house does a great job of paying tribute to its past while serving an entirely modern purpose.

Now encompassing six bathrooms, seven bedrooms, and a few large public areas, the church has been lovingly converted into a contemporary eclectic home by American designer Linc Thelen. Thelen created a fluidity throughout the new home by leaving the 25-foot-high lower level of the building open-plan, allowing the living area, kitchen, and dining room to all blend seamlessly into one another. He wanted to preserve the essence of the building’s heritage by keeping the stunning golden windows and other original features he believed would bring character to the space while still making it feel like a livable and loveable residence.

Most of the interior adheres to a color palette of black, white, and gray, while the stained glass adds splashes of red, green, and yellow to the mix, with accessories and fixtures featuring additional gold accents. The lower level also contains a separated master bedroom, bathroom, and closet, while the upper level houses the other bedrooms, a playroom featuring a custom-made climbing wall and sliding barn door, a game room, and a nursery. The ultra-macho game room has actually been built in the church’s old bell tower, allowing for further fantastical thinking when the inhabitants are deep in their leisurely element and overlooking downtown Chicago.

Meticulous care was taken with the redesign in order to to work around a few major challenges that arose in the process, including the installation of proper of heating and cooling systems and the owners’ request for an isolated additional room to accommodate their growing family. The home was designed playfully in order to portray the personalities of the owners, providing them with a luxurious suburban home in a vintage farmhouse design style. The occasional modern twist keeps the space functional but leaves enough of a unique aesthetic to spark some really interesting conversations among guests!

After entering through a pair of wooden blue double doors, visitors ascend a short set of steps and walk through the entrance hall, emerging in an open space consisting of raw materials, canvas-like white walls, staggering volumes, and brass accessories. In charming juxtaposition to these elements are the vestiges of the old church: thick wooden beams, a black quartz chimney, and of course, the whole holy exterior. The wallpapers tend to feature bright prints or geometric shapes, while the floors are adorned with colorful ceramic tiles. A few of the church’s nooks and crannies have been turned into reading corners and other creative crawl spaces, adding allure and curiosity to every possible living space and ensuring that every feature is used to its fullest potential.

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On the whole, farmhouses are spacious and practical, containing both formal and informal spaces and emphasizing a connection to the outdoors. “Windward” checks all of those boxes, but instead of feeling folksy, it’s fresh and current, infused with the stylish sensibilities Clasen picked up during her time in the surf-fashion industry, when she worked for brands like Quiksilver and Paul Frank.

Exposed beams stretch across the barn-like living room, but they’re painted white, blending seamlessly with vertical wooden cladding, pale floors, and an entire wall that opens up to a swimming pool outside. In fact, wood is everywhere in the home, but Clasen mixes and matches species, colors, and finishes to keep things interesting, painting some of it a deep dramatic navy or installing it on a diagonal for a sense of dynamic movement.

The home’s L-shaped footprint opens up several sight lines across the sunny yard and makes it feel easy to move freely through the interiors. French doors, balconies, and windows usher in natural light and enhance the feeling that the swimming pool is the true heart of the house.

Color has been kept to a minimum to allow the oversized graphic elements to really shine. When a vivid hue does pop up, as in a pair of coral lamp cords, it’s a welcome touch. Details like warm cognac leather chairs, wooden cutting boards, plentiful plants, and scenic wallpaper (including a striking dark floral print by Ellie Cashman Design in the bathroom) also work in harmony with the minimalist color scheme.

Choosing just the right accessories and playing with scale are two of Clasen’s specialties, but you won’t find any stuffy sculptures or inaccessible modern art here. The designer favors using functional objects like bicycles, skateboards, and surfboards as decor, along with playful lettered signs. Customization is king, she says, noting that she prefers to modify most decorative elements herself rather than incorporate them as they are.

In keeping with the overall vibe, glitz and glamor has also been kept to a minimum, with metallic elements appearing here and there to offset the easy beauty of each room. Delicate golden pendant lamps hover in front of a massive Swiss cross in the living room, and brassy fixtures play up the texture of the wood in the bathrooms.

Outside, matte black gabled volumes contrast with stacked rustic Texas limestone for an eclectic look. Olsen wanted Windward to look less like a new construction and more like a historic house that was built piece-by-piece over time, evolving with each new addition. Bursting with fun, brightness, and cool California spirit, the “Windward” house is truly one of a kind.

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