Architect Rolf Kielman has reinterpreted the rural Vermont farmhouse by expressing his clients live, work and use the area today. The house rejects the typical New England building tradition that is composed of “big house, back house and barn” and rather includes the structural arrangement of garage/apartment, big house and work division. The farmhouse does not make too much of an attempt to blend in with its environment; rather, its architects chose to create a home that’s “obviously man-made”
in a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their 3 kids, 2 of whom are in college and come in and out of their home
Location: Northern Vermont
Size: 2,900 square feet
That’s intriguing: The homeowners’ architect officiated at their wedding.
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Here we see from left to right the job studio, in which both clients work full-time, and the main house in addition to the garage structure/apartment, which is joined to the principal entrance of the house. The house is a revolving door of kids going and coming for lengthy visits.
This film demonstrates how the home is surrounded by a woods in the north and a meadow from the south. Only a few houses populate the area, and the closest paved road is about a mile off. The self-containment of this house does not bother Kielman’s clients just one bit, because they have everything that they need for work and play within the home.
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Kielman’s clients wanted to have the ability to move between the indoors and outdoors with the exact same simplicity as they moved through the main house and its different sections. “My favourite area of the home isn’t actually the home itself but the enclosed outdoor area that’s shaped by the arrangement of the 3 modest building forms and the easy connection each of those forms have to the exterior,” says Kielman.
Fireplace: Nestor Martin RH 35, Fiamma Fireplaces
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Many of the house’s environmental features are actually drawn out of common-sense traditional strategies employed throughout the area: The orientation of the home would be to the south (this image) and the open meadow. The forests to the north protect the house from the cold shore wind and also provide cool, nighttime air.
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Durable exterior materials include stainless steel siding that has a baked white enamel finish. Instead of wood trim, Kielman used a composite substance trim made from recycled milk bottles and other plastic products together with waste wood substance; this trimming is used throughout the exterior and in the area of windows and also the entrance (this image).
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Practically indestructible polished concrete is the floor of choice for the well-trafficked entryway.
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A detailed inspection of these insides shows iconic modern furnishings in the dining room and living spaces, which really drive home the point: Although the home’s architecture is connected to New England building traditions, the interior layout and application of renewable materials and techniques unabashedly rests with its past.
The shadows cast by the windows connecting the interior into the outdoors tell you two things: Each of the window widths from the house are uniform in size, and natural light is a regular, welcome guest in a home that sees very short days in the wintertime.
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There’s no demand for family members and friends to belly around the kitchen island; the spacious floor plan and closeness of this dining room table and living area makes everything feel intimate and close. Kielman’s clients and their kids (when they’re in town) move as easily through this space as they do through the different parts of the home.
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A vase of citrus fruits warms the stark kitchen, and a backsplash that runs across the full rectangular wall repeats the avocado-green accents across the house. A tall position sculpture adds interest to a small corner, bridging the kitchen to a hallway that contributes to the powder room.
Backsplash: Waveline Glass Tile, Reed, Best Tile; countertop: Silestone, Nightmist; sculpture: Leslie Fry; cabinetry: Akurum foundation with Applad white fronts, Ikea
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Double sinks onto the floating countertop repeat the powerful rectangular shapes and clean lines of this ceiling transom windows, niches and countertop surfaces of the restroom. Storage under the sink is displaced to a frameless cabinet and dressing table nearby.
Sinks: St. Thomas Miro; backsplash: Vihara recycled glass, Sonoma Tilemakers and Silk Jade, Best Tile
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This casually dressed bedroom creates a powerful statement in paring down a space to its essential components. The homeowners decided to focus on necessary items: artwork for the soul, modern furniture that works hard for the space, Vermont-grown pick walnut floors on which bare and stockinged feet may tread, and a furry feline that adds warmth to a spartan room.