Dream Come True
A custom home on the family farm is the realization of a childhood fancy.
When Meg Fairall was growing up on her parents’ farm outside Newark, Ohio, she’d point to a hillside and tell her dad to save the spot for her own house in the future.
Her parents, two brothers and three nephews all live on the same farm, and by 2013, Meg had married her high school sweetheart, Tommy, and was ready to settle in on her hill. “With my dad being a retired custom home builder, I knew that our building process would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work together,” Meg says.
The result is more than just a home for her family—Meg and Tommy have three young boys. “Being surrounded by family is the very best part. My grandfather’s farm and several aunts, uncles and countless cousins are all a minute’s ATV ride from our farm. Above all of the design details and floor plans, I wanted our home to be a place where truth is spoken and heard, a place where people will walk in and want to sit and stay.”
BRING THE OUTDOORS IN Meg has a passion for home decor, and her new home gave her a blank canvas on which to work. Her goal was a custom modern farmhouse with a rustic, warm and earthy feel. The front entrance, which opens to a stone staircase with a wrought-iron banister that evokes winter tree branches, reflects her vision of bringing the natural world inside.
REUSE AND REPURPOSE
All of the flooring in the house came from nearby Amish barns, a manifestation of Meg’s desire to incorporate as many salvaged pieces into the design as possible. “With our great appreciation of the outdoors and love of old treasures, we knew that we had to work that in,” she says.
CELEBRATION SPACE
“We chose a wood-burning stove for our family room, as we knew it would serve as a gathering space for our family in the bitter Ohio winters,” Meg says, “but we kept the traditional open fireplace in the front living room for those big roaring flames on Christmas morning.” Fireplace mantels throughout the house were salvaged from a 200-year-old farmhouse that once stood on the family farm.
COMFORTING KITCHEN The kitchen is adjacent to the living room and a screened-in porch, “so it’s a cozy place to be, no matter the season. I love to bake here with the boys.”
HOLDING UP HISTORY All of the beams in the ceilings throughout Meg’s house came from the old farmhouse, and are put to good use here in the soaring cathedral ceiling in the dining room.
QUIET HIDEAWAY
“Our master bedroom is our little decompression zone,” Meg says. “We love that we can put the kids to bed and turn a movie up as loud as we want or just soak in the tub after a long day of chores.” She went with a neutral palette to accent the reclaimed beams and barn flooring. “I love the pop of life those plants give against the bright walls. I always like to keep plants throughout the house, as they help to purify the air and bring the outdoors in.”