A Farmhouse in NJ: Part I

I recently introduced you to one of my new sponsors, Karl, when he did a fabulous giveaway of one of the unique products in his online shop, Hudson Goods. And during this time, I’ve gotten to know Karl a little better and found out he had some pics posted on Rate My Space. When I saw pics of his beautiful country farmhouse in NJ, I asked him if he would mind me sharing them with you and he so graciously agreed. Karl’s farmhouse is just stunning and I could easily see it featured in a magazine. It oozes charm and country all at the same time. I’ll let Karl tell you all about it. He sent me a lot of pics, so I’ll be doing this over 2 posts. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did when I saw Karl’s home for the first time. He has fantastic taste and oh ladies, he’s single. Karl also told me this:

“I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression. I was not born with a silver spoon. My parents were not college educated. I grew up in a house with my parents and two siblings and we all used one bathroom with one sink and there never was a problem! I went to college and was very fortunate in life. I am very close to my family and love creating great furniture and great design. I love my house but what makes it really a home is when my family and friends are here and that is very often!”

The house was originally built in the 1930's but has been redone both inside and out completely to bring it more up to date. This was not a historic renovation but more of a take on my personal style. This was originally a horse farm called The DeCamp Homestead. The land was later parceled off and six additional homes were built on the land behind the house. I replaced the original porch that had 50 spindles and smaller columns and railings for these oversized columns.

A lovely angel on the front porch of the farmhouse.

I also changed the roof line to add more peaks to the traditional farmhouse style and added a third garage and created my studio above. It has a large 6 foot hedge around the front, 50 yews in all and the oldest tree is about 150 years old.

The stunning outdoor room that was featured at Rate My Space.

A bedroom was removed on the second floor to open up a two story foyer to make for a more grand entrance, but the windows on the second level remain the same to keep a consistent farmhouse look on the outside. The style is a like a gentleman's country manor. I really like to keep things simple and I like black furnishings.

The entire interior of the house is painted in only two colors, a sage green and pale yellow, my two favorites, and white of course. And I think that black and other primary colors go great with these colors. Staying true to a horse farm, you are greeted by a horse sculpture and a horse toile at the top of the stairs. All of the floors on the main floor are wide planked and I had them and all of the woodwork stained in a dark walnut, including the crown molding.

The chandelier is my absolute favorite, in wrought iron, it is huge with 16 candle lights and brown glass stones around the outside. It weighs a ton and needed extra support built in the ceiling. There are a LOT of doors in the house, all interior are solid wood and 55 in total. So staining them makes the maintenance easy!

Horse toile going up the stairs.

Can you say Ralph Lauren?! I adore this horse toile.

The powder room is right next to the stairs off the foyer. It was completely redone in Carrera marble on the counter top and floor. The wall paper has event invitations from the late 1800's. I think in a small space you can go bold and again, I like black. I like to mix and match so I have silver sconces with a gold mirror.

I purchased the mirror years ago at a flea market in NYC, 23rd and 6th Avenue, held every weekend, for only $11.00! It is made of plaster and I painted it myself, replaced the glass for $25 and wow! Apothecary jars, hot and cold faucet labels and a black barrel cabinet complete the picture.

Sigh, what a beautiful place this is, Karl.

Karl is also giving my readers a 10% discount at Hudson Goods, since the response was so terrific during the giveaway. If you haven't been to Karl's online shop, go and take a look at his products. He wants to offer 10% off all his products, so use the promotion code 530 at check out on your total order and the usual free shipping and no tax applies, excluding New Jersey through the end of May.

We’ll take a look at more tomorrow in Part II of The Farmhouse.

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