Modern Farmhouse in Woodstock, NY – Interior Design Project by Jennifer Lynn
Interview by Maxwell Alexander, Editor-in-Chief, Hudson Valley Style Magazine
Photography by Leyla Cadabal.
Just last week I’ve had an opportunity to sit down with Designer Jennifer Lynn, the Owner, and President of Jennifer Lynn Interiors. I’ve been watching her work on social media for a while now and was eager to get to know what inspires her amazingly inviting and beautifully classic interiors.
“My true passion has always been interior design but arrived at this place in life down a long windy road. As an educator for 17 years, in the Hudson Valley, making a career change was insurmountable. Call it a “mid-life” crisis if you wish, but it has been the best decision of my career life! Designing for others these last four years brings joy, excitement, and beauty to the Hudson Valley.”- said Jennifer when I asked her what brought her to the Hudson Valley and how she got into the interior design business.
When I first saw Leyla’s photographs of the Woodstock House, I was very intrigued, because I knew it’s an older architecture yet space looked very open and contemporary. “The house itself belongs to a lovely family who had dreams of transforming it into their second home and a part-time vacation rental.”- said Jennifer, “Before renovations, the 1950s had several small, closed-off spaces. Our goal was to make it a more open concept floor plan. The space needed to support lots of families, guests, and good times.”- she added.
“So who saw the potential and why?”- I asked.
Jennifer: “Prior to the demo, the clients, contractor and I toured the property discussed ideas and then began to draw up the plans. Collaboratively, the clients and JLI worked together to create a plan that was perfect for their new home. JLI proposed to remove walls in the plan and started to plan out the built-ins in the foyer and living room. We sketched out 3 options for the kitchen area. The client settled on the final layout. By opening up this first floor, we saw the potential for the home to host large parties and guest when rented out for a week. It is perfectly located in Woodstock NY for skiers, leaf peepers and those looking for a mountain retreat.
On demo week, we removed one wall between the kitchen and dining room and another between the dining room and living room. This opened up the first floor immensely. Upstairs, the rooms stayed intact. In the master bedroom, we expanded the bathroom to make it more functional as well as aesthetically beautiful. This vision was seen by the contracting team and we were 100% on board.”
Maxwell Alexander: “What was the main goal for the renovation and what was behind the new layout, style, finishes?”
Jennifer Lynn:
“After our initial consultation with the clients, we set these goals together:
- Create an open concept space for family time and entertaining
- Incorporate several additional sleeping options for children and guests
- Tailor the design to a clean, modern farmhouse look
- Layer in some fun color!
Using visual communication, the client was very excited about a modern farmhouse aesthetic. They loved clean, crisp lines and wow moments of color throughout. As for finishes, we have focused on black matte throughout a majority of the design in the home. To keep things fun, we add splashes gold accents in the kitchen hardware, and master bedroom lighting and hardware. The tile selections in the bathrooms were timeless. They will quickly bring a return on their investment as they will sustain effortlessly over time. We used marble selections mixed with ceramic tile as a way to keep costs down. As for the flooring throughout the home, we used 100% oak wood floors and stained a medium brown to keep the space feeling warm. In the kitchen, we used marble tiles on the backsplash and LG Sigma quartz countertops. We also used LG clarino in both bathrooms to bring in additional warmth.”
I noticed that in addition to sophisticated and authentic Hudson Valley Style aesthetics, the property now also features sustainability improvements, such as energy-efficient lighting, energy star appliances, and smart climate control. “In a time where your design choices impact the world around us, it is important to make selections accordingly. We have a social responsibility to provide a universal design that has a focus on safety and security as well as longevity and sustainability.”- added Jennifer.
