Our homes play a paradoxical, twin position of being each a haven and an escape. A home is a refuge from the layered chaos exterior its partitions and a spot to evade the mundane. Designers are tasked with this advanced purpose, in search of alternatives to weave aesthetic character and effectivity into each factor and selection. Whereas some manipulate the present construction, others reply to it. The latter method honors the previous whereas celebrating all future prospects. And it’s precisely the technique Tess Twiehaus utilized to this upstate New York overhaul.
Because the proprietor of Tess Interiors, an LA-based design studio, Twiehaus and her staff search to know each property not solely by means of its practical goal, however by how the purchasers inhabit it. Due to this, she’s in a position to create magnificence in its fullest sense: incorporating a sentimentality that extends past the visible. And when the ultimate result’s revealed, that intricate attract is felt all through the area.
The designer herself remarks that this “evolution” is considered one of her favourite elements of what she does—and a key participant in how she introduced this upstate New York barn renovation from begin to end. Forward, we dive into the undertaking, and Twiehaus displays on the challenges, choices, and learnings the method introduced. Learn on to encourage your wildest inside imaginings. My Pinterest board is prepared.
Tess Interiors Upstate New York Barn Renovation
When Twiehaus initially took on the undertaking, the intention was to renovate the area into an exterior condominium the place the homeowners may host friends on the grounds. However because the renovation bought underway, the barn’s goal shifted, with the shopper wanting a house workplace as an alternative. Nimble and able to pivot, Twiehaus and her staff took on the shift with pleasure, ready to discover the extent of what the area may supply.
The ultimate undertaking yielded an inside that extends past what an workplace historically boasts—and an exterior that melds seamlessly with the encircling atmosphere. However as we talk about within the interview forward, it’s that multidimensional exploration of a undertaking that Twiehaus loves, and that energizes her method. Uncover the small print forward.
What initially drew you to this property and impressed the undertaking?
Proper off the bat, I used to be captivated by the property. You get off the prepare, drive a couple of minutes up a winding street, after which these iron gates welcome you to nearly 5 acres of bushes and rock gardens. It was unbelievable. Coming from Southern California, I used to be blown away by how lush every part was. Then as quickly as I stepped foot contained in the area I spotted how a lot historical past it held. There was a lot character and potential. I simply wished the area to look the way in which it made me really feel.
Sustaining the bones of the barn was a should. We knew the shell needed to stay the identical so we wished the structural parts supporting it to stay as effectively. We didn’t take away the beams, we simply refinished them, and we didn’t relocate the home windows, we simply upgraded them. We didn’t even change the placement of the kitchen. As an alternative, simply reconfiguring the format.
A real juxtaposition of outdated and new.
Adjusting the format for the toilet and demolishing the middle partition gave us a lot room to play. From there, it was largely about layering in the precise supplies and fixtures. Our predominant goal when sourcing was to curate objects that seem like they may very well be authentic at first look, however are literally fairly trendy while you examine them additional. The customized rift white oak flooring with the framed herringbone format, the inset cabinetry, the intricate particulars on the ornamental pendants, the aged brass {hardware}—they’re all a real juxtaposition of outdated and new.
You gave the house a contemporary really feel whereas nonetheless sustaining the integrity of the unique structure. Are you able to speak us by means of a few of these decisions? In gutting the property, how did you determine what to maintain?
This in all probability sounds loopy, however every time I’m tasked with reworking an outdated residence, I prefer to faux I’m a designer from the period it was constructed. I think about that I’m collaborating with the unique architect. As with all collaboration, you wish to preserve an open thoughts, respect the opposite individual’s concepts, and hopefully come out on the opposite facet with a cohesive imaginative and prescient that’s a real melding of the minds.
You selected to color the outside black and included moodier parts within the inside. And but, the house illuminates such an unimaginable mild. How have been you in a position to seize that and mirror it by means of the area?
Portray the outside black was the plan just about from the beginning. The foliage surrounding the barn is attractive and we wished the barn to behave as its backdrop. Additionally, there’s a form of yin and yang impact we wished to create with the principle home. Whereas the principle home is white on the skin with a lot of coloration and sample on the within, the barn is black on the skin with a lot of pure supplies and impartial tones on the within.
So far as the brilliant inside of the barn, that’s largely as a result of home windows and skylights we put in. We additionally took down a wall that was chopping the area in half, which allowed the entire home windows to work in unison and flood mild all through the area. The moodier parts are a results of the various wooden tones we layered collectively.
I really like utilizing pure supplies to create a moody impact as a result of it by no means feels dreary or overly dramatic. It simply feels earthy and balanced.
When approaching a undertaking, can you envision the ultimate end result from the start?
Not precisely! I all the time understand how I need the area to really feel and I do see clear alternatives for particular design particulars once I’m doing the preliminary walkthrough, however the evolution is considered one of my favourite elements of my job. I actually benefit from the surprises that the demo section brings and the shopper opinions we study as we go. These sudden “issues” all the time lead to essentially the most attention-grabbing options, and so they usually find yourself being my favourite particulars on the finish of a undertaking.
As an illustration, the barn has a basic gambrel roof. Which means that we needed to take care of all types of enjoyable angles on the within. For the reason that shopper wished to make use of the barn as an workplace for his or her workers, and I wished every worker to take a seat in entrance of a window, there have been solely so many locations to construct the storage an workplace requires. The storage cupboards in between the desks are deepest on the underside and shallowest on the high as a result of angle of the roof. We determined to place glass inserts on the high cupboards the place the roof slopes and deal with them because the show space, whereas the underside homes the mandatory paperwork/provides. I actually didn’t have that answer from the beginning, however I’m so proud of the place it ended up.
What main modifications did you concentrate on within the renovation?
The first goal was to make the kitchen and baths practical and delightful. That rest room format was the largest change. Initially, it was shoved right into a nook. We created a toilet suite by relocating it to the top of the barn and permitting it to take up the complete width of the area.
Uncovered beams, oak flooring and cabinetry, and marble counter tops dominate the area. How did these parts and this aesthetic come into play in your design course of?
Once more, I’m going again to the property. The character surrounding the barn is so lovely, and we merely wished to deliver that exterior magnificence in. It was vital to me and to the purchasers that we use supplies present in nature. Actual hardwood flooring, real calacatta stone, unlacquered brass, and walnut furnishings.
What all of those have in widespread is that they’re from the earth. They may age over time and we’ll recognize their magnificence then as a lot as we did after they have been first put in.
