Story by Emily Robertson | Photography by Kristen Mayfield
When Tara Coomer of Coomer & Co. joined on as designer of a new build in Woodburn, she knew she had her work cut out for her. She needed to help design an actual home on a farm, but didn’t want to it to look like the typical modern farmhouse esthetic that has become so popular in the last decade.
“It was funny, when we first met the owners, they said, ‘We know what you’re going to say. You don’t want to do modern farmhouse design, but we are actually building a farmhouse.’ And they meant that quite literally. So we worked to create a theme that we carried throughout the interior, but we infused farm-style features in the textures and natural elements of the wood, stone and brick.”
The owners had previously lived in a subdivision and purchased 13 acres in 2019 so they could build their family home and have more space. After searching for home plans online, the family took their ideas to Nick Sewell with Sewell and Sewell Architects to fine tune the plan. Cory Ellis Construction began the home build in the fall of 2020 and the owners moved in November 2021.
The home includes five bedrooms, plus a bonus room and four-and-a-half bathrooms and is 5,987 square feet, with an additional 2035-square-foot basement. The family wanted to create a welcoming space to gather family and friends, but also have areas for each family member to have their space, where they can be independent, yet together. Coomer was involved in the design from the very early stages and helped with everything from the outside features, to hardwood, tile and décor.
“What dictated the house design from the very beginning was the purpose in building the home,” Coomer says. “They have children, and the couple has a very fun, entertaining personality; so we wanted the home to be very conversational. We wanted it to feel comfortable, warm and inviting.
The owners love a clean look that incorporates rustic style, without a lot of clutter. Coomer helped translate their vision into reality with a lot of wood and gold tones and a mix of blacks and bronzes in the lights. The hardwood the family chose is a medium, warm brown, and many of the furnishings in the home have brown, rich velvets and green, earth tones. Coomer says one of her favorite rooms in the house is the master suite.
“The master bedroom is really special,” Coomer says. “It has a cathedral-type ceiling that has a lot of cool angles in it. It also has a fireplace, and it’s just a very relaxing place. Then when you step into the master bathroom, it has a charcoal subway tile and the whole space feels really dimensional.”
Aside from the beautiful elements of the home, Coomer also worked with the family, architect and builder to create a lot of functional spaces around the home. “The flow of the home is really great,” Coomer says. “There are a lot of functional, but beautiful spaces. We have a pass-through in the pantry from the garage for when they bring groceries in, a craft room, a designated laundry room close to the master, and also a mudroom space with lockers with ventilation and a stackable washer and dryer for dirty laundry from outside.”
For the landscaping and outside of the home, the owners chose to work with Southern Touch Lawn and Landscapes. Owner Alex Sewell said simplicity was key for this project. “They wanted to have low maintenance landscaping, so we incorporated a lot of items that would remain green all year long, along with some items that would flower in the summer,” Sewell says. “They wanted to focus on the back patio area, because they knew they’d spend lots of time there. We did pavers back there and gave them lots of room to do potted plants in that space.”
Sewell said that the owners provided lots of direction on what they wanted for the landscaping, coming to them with examples of what they envisioned. “We wanted to make sure we did a perfect job for them,” Sewell says. “They were extremely easy to work with and communicated their vision, which makes our job easier.”
Now that the home is finished, the owners are so pleased with Tara’s design esthetic; and they truly feel that for each decision they needed to make, she never missed the mark. Likewise, Coomer believes the beautiful, end result of the home came together because the owners were receptive to ideas that might have expanded what they originally had in mind, a tip she would recommend to anyone designing a space.
“Some people are afraid to mix metals, if one fixture is in bronze, they think they can’t do anything else in the house,” Coomer says. “We want to throw that idea out of people’s minds. Pick things you love, not just things you think you need to select to finish a house. Don’t be afraid if things aren’t matchy, matchy. You just need a common thread to tie things together.”
This beautiful home was created with the help of the following local businesses:
Lighting: Winlectric
Tile/Hardwood: Just Tile It
Countertops: Sugar Grove Marble
Electrical: Artisan Electric
Cabinets: Creative Wood Design
Furnishings: Bowling Green Home Furnishings
Architect: Sewell and Sewell Architects
Contractor: Cory Ellis Construction
Concrete: JLC Concrete
Shutters: Guyer Shutter Company
Landscaping: Southern Touch Lawn and Landscapes
Interior Design: Coomer & Co.