In this Sonoma farmhouse a white palette and plenty of texture create a French country home that feels as good as it looks. For architectural inspiration, the couple looked to the farmhouses of France with their stone surfaces, strong window architecture (including French doors, of course) and rustic wood accents. Salvaged beams plus paneledand limestone interior walls forge the style, and radiant-heat flooring made from inexpensive cement pavers designed to look like stone underscores it.
Furniture with simple lines and plenty of stowing power keeps the look calm and uncluttered, including a vintage store counter and an accent drum table with a lift up lid. Walls are also put to work— built-ins corral favorite collectibles and create a sunny window seat. Natural fabrics and surfaces lend warmth and interest without adding busy color or pattern. Leah, an artist, painted the irresistible cuddling cows.
Leah relies on natural materials and accents to give her home a more organic, authentic sensibility.
Because the kitchen is part of an open floor plan, Leah and Steve opted for “a more furniture-like” approach to cabinetry by designing it to appear as if supported on legs and create the unfitted feel particular of a French country cookspace. Marblecounters and a burnished metal rangehood add to the Euro-country flavor.
The island has the chic simplicity of a Parsons-style table and is joined by amply scaled, slipcovered chairs rather than stools. The heft of the island seating visually bridges the open kitchen with the adjacent living areas.
Carrara marble counters are the ultimate in earthbound elegance. This honed marble serves up a satiny look and feel, and doesn’t scratch like polished marble would. (Honed finishes do need to be sealed to prevent staining.)
To keep her rooms airy but interesting, Leah decorates with fewer pieces, each with show-stopping style, including a shapely combina- tion of a pedestal table and slipcovered wing chairs. A salvaged, gothic-arch window makes a stately mirror frame. The stone wall lends the look of a French Country farmhouse.
With cloud-soft bedding, warm sunlight, and a view of the Sonoma community garden, this bedroom is a popular draw for the couple’s frequent overnight guests. Leah is a fan of interesting architecture features, such as this 10-inch, tongue-and-groove paneling. “I would have a hard time not putting this in a house,” she says. “After you’ve been around it drywall feels so boring.” Practical and beautiful, vintage painted bureaus stand in for skimpy nightstands.
An antique Murano glass mirror has accompanied the couple through many relocations. Every time it has been moved it has lots a few fragments but, like many old pieces, imperfections have such a story to tell.
Vintage crystal and shells gathered on seaside strolls are favored accessories in this house, where autenticity is valued over newly minted, storebought items.
A fanciful French dresser converts to a practical bathroom vanity when a sink basin is dropped in. Wall-mounted fixtures mean plumbing is tucked within the walls for a cleaner look. For pure delight underfoot, a flokati rug joins a radiant-heat floor that looks like limestone but is actually created with cement pavers.
Pairing rustic finds with more refined pieces creates interesting visual moments. A small European crate with artful typography gathers pretty linens and flowers into a tidy package.
A girl has to have baubles and Leah displays hers (elegantly, of course!) on mercury bottles and crystal jars.
Thanks for taking this tour. I hope it helped generating ideas and inspiration. Until next time! XO