GREYWASHED WITH LOVE
Artists behind decor line seek to create harmony from mix of old and new
The two artists behind 2 Barn Owls know how to pull a room together: by creating an interesting collection of old and new objects, then unifying them with a tight range of matte greys, darks and whites
What do you call a look that marries old and new, urban and rural, rough and smooth?
It’s a question that Nancy Farnum and Mavis Martin have been grappling with.
Is it urban farmhouse or faded elegance? Or maybe “luxe patiné”?
However they call it, their style resonates with a new breed of homeowners and apartment dwellers who want to pare down and stop buying cheap, poorly made “throwaway decor.”
The artist duo behind the decor line 2 Barn Owls say their clients are looking to create harmony out of roomfuls of disparate stuff, some bought, some inherited.
All are drawn to their subtle, muted tones and spare, curated esthetic.
“Increasingly, people are living in smaller spaces,” Farnum says. “They want things to be beautiful, but also multifunctional. And they want to find new ways of looking at the old things that they already own.”
Farnum and Martin are masters at unifying furniture of many epochs and styles by painting it in a tightly edited palette of matte greys and blacks and off-whites and then adding a modern flourish — a stencilled word on a burlap cushion, for example, or an abstract motif painted on barnboard.
Their constantly changing collection includes vintage furniture restored and remade using durable lime-based paint and beeswax, as well as original paintings by Martin and sculptures by Farnum.
And then there are the “objets” they find here and there — tarnished silver trays, glass decanters, wrought-iron finials and old wooden boxes — with which they create vignettes, or “homescapes,” to give their look warmth and history.
Farnum and Martin began working together years ago doing faux finishes even before the distressed shabby-chic look came into vogue.
A few years, ago they opened a shop and atelier in Hudson, Que., an off-island suburb of Montreal, where they refinished furniture and vintage lamps in a workshop fronted by a shop.
They’ve given up the retail space to dedicate more time to their projects and to working with designers and cabinet makers.
In summertime, they take up residence in an old barn behind their former shop. And this winter they’ve partnered with -40, a fine-food emporium in Montreal, where they’ve set up a “pop-up shop” that’s open until the end of April.
“We hunt around the countryside for old pieces that we love, things with character or beautiful curvy legs or exquisite detailing. Then we remake them into something new and different,” said Martin.
They add to the mix their own original art: chandeliers made of twigs and branches, handmade concrete bowls, muted paintings on canvas and barn board of roosters, sheep and other barnyard characters.