URBAN FARMHOUSE

Designer Matt Harris creates a vernacular showstopper.

Written by Neil Charles / Photographed by Adam Gibson

Set back from the street on a corner lot in Meridian Hills, our featured home stands on a site once occupied by a 19th-century farmhouse. Constructed five years ago, the home, designed by architect Matt Harris of MW Harris, pays homage to the familiar design of the period, blending a combination of contemporary and traditional elements and materials into an airy and spacious abode that spans the centuries in a seamless expression of form and function.

Designer Matt Harris

Having previously worked with Harris on a kitchen remodel, owners Lisa and Larry Sablosky were familiar with the Indianapolis-based designer’s creative breadth and painstaking attention to detail. Larry had grown up in Meridian Hills, and had always been drawn to the area, so when the couple saw Matt’s design for a potential home, they immediately fell in love with it. “We were ready to move out of Carmel, where we had lived for many years,” explains Lisa, “to be closer to downtown and just make a change.”

Throughout the home, metal and rough-hewn wood add a "farmhouse industrial" feel.

The only major concern the owners had about their future home’s location was its proximity to a busy road, an issue the designer addressed in part by placing the street-facing windows high on the walls and by creating floor-to-ceiling windows in the main living areas that look out over a central private courtyard. The latter, with a swimming pool and covered outdoor living area, provides a relaxing vista away from the street as well as an abundant source of light with its south-facing aspect. No strangers to building from scratch, the couple enjoyed a positive relationship with the designer from the outset. “We had built two houses previously and really enjoyed the process,” says Lisa. “Matt became not just our architect and designer, but a close friend as well. That made the project even more fun.”

Approaching the front door, one is immediately struck by a number of design elements that elevate this elegant abode from the ordinary. While the general proportions and outline of the home are certainly those of an Indiana farmhouse, the traditional tall and narrow design has been flattened and elongated to create a broader structure more in keeping with its surroundings. As befits many a farm building, the roof is made of metal, a particularly striking element in an urban setting, but highly durable and certainly handy in a tornado. The porch is supported by steel posts and beams, an element that is repeated in the covered patio in the courtyard. Rain chains take the place of more common downspouts.

The combination living/dining area is the family's favorite space.

Once inside, vistas open up in the main living area, where reclaimed timber trusses span the ceiling, serving to delineate separate functional areas within the ample space beneath and help reduce the scale. With a massive Indiana limestone fireplace and chimney breast serving as a visual and practical anchor, the room showcases local materials. “It was important to use vernacular materials or interpreted vernacular materials for the architectural integrity of the house,” explains Harris. With the ceiling beams dividing the space into three main bays, the kitchen, at the far end from the front door, is especially noteworthy with its sleek and contemporary Italian cabinetry, floating shelves and rigorous functionality.

“I think what makes my designs successful is the ability to create contemporary architecture that honors the original heritage of the site, the client's functional needs, and attention to details,” continues Harris. Specifically, on this project, the designer was able to reinterpret fundamental elements of the historic farmhouse into a carefully refined and restrained piece of architecture that is pleasing both practically and aesthetically.

Carefully selected artwork adds color and personality to the home.

Continuing back towards the front door, the second bay, at the fireplace, features a more formal living area for gathering and conversation; the third bay houses the family area for watching TV. The dining area is defined by the long linear table and two over-scaled pendant lamps set directly in front of the five-panel French door unit that looks out over the patio. “We spend most of our time in the kitchen and TV area,” explains Lisa. “Actually, the main floor is pretty much one big space and that is where we live. In nice weather, we love the screened porch and spend lots of time there.”

With its massive stone fireplace, this seating area is the family's favorite "hang out" spot.

Throughout the home, eclectic artwork abounds, some pieces providing discreet accents, others setting the tone. “We have gathered many different things over the years,” says Lisa. “The race car was a piece we commissioned from an artist named Brian Bonebrake. We loved it and loved the idea of a race car for an Indianapolis home.”

In a bathroom, unadorned windows allow light to pour in.

Limestone, oak beams, and racing cars. This Indiana-inspired residence pays homage to its origins and inspirations but is by no means hidebound or slavish to tradition. Defining spaces with architectural elements and furniture rather than with walls and partitions, Matt Harris has taken the spirit of the old and overlaid it onto the functionality of the new.