Farm charm for city homesteads

BY ALEXANDRIA ABRAMIAN In 2014, Manhattan Beach architect David Watson started getting requests to design and remodel homes in what clients were referring to as “farmhouse modern.” It marked a shift from the more typical requests of his South Bay clients to create beach-friendly Hamptons-inspired houses. Two years later, modern farm homes make up about a quarter of the dozen or so projects Watson is juggling in Manhattan, Redondo and Hermosa beaches.

“For a lot of people, this style is evocative of Americana, and it appeals to that yearning for simpler times, when things weren’t so hurried and busy,” Watson says. “This is Americana architectural style in its cleanest, simplest of terms.”

It’s also becoming one of the most popular, especially in Southern California, where the latest take on country décor is sweeping through remodels, spec

homes and even large-scale planned communities.

Many credit the trend’s popularity to Chip and Joanna Gaines, the stars of HGTV’s “Fixer Upper.” Based in Waco, Texas, the Gaineses stage major design interventions on soulless tract homes and neglected traditionals, re-imagining them into open-plan, wideplanked floor sanctuaries of a kinder, simpler variety.

Virtually every home on

the show emerges postfacelift with barn doors, apron sinks and shiplapblessed walls — rough-sawn wood paneling often used in barns.

Goats and chickens need not apply: Egg-filled chicken wire baskets on marble countertops and window pane herb gardens are enough to suffice for this crop of agrarian-lite living.

Here are some of the signature looks:

Megan Beierle Shelby Wood Design AN OPEN-SPACE kitchen in Santa Monica features wood from a barn, a table made from a stand for a sewing machine, Ann Sacks tile and white oak plank f loors.

Chet Frohlich THE CLUBHOUSE at Ontario Ranch has a porch area with reclaimed wood details and picnic seating.

Alison Kandler Interior Design A SCREEN DOOR leads to the pantry in a kitchen that also has vintage shutters, dual sinks and faucets.

Megan Beierle Shelby Wood Design A CABINET with down-home items features chicken-wire glass from Olde Good Things.

Chet Frohlich LARGE-SCALE barn doors and a former grain silo give a nod to farm-inspired clubhouse design.

David Watson Architects A HOME built on speculation for a developer in Manhattan Beach displays some farmhouse features.