Blinkdecor : Eye On Design :

Even when Rowayton and Darien residents aren’t familiar with the name Barbara Garfield, they know of the small hamlet she created called Jo’s Barn Way. The little lane consists of small shingled homes with many oversized windows, French doors, and courtyards coupled with arbors and pergolas. All are unified to created a French countryside flair. The appealing nature of her style is universal. Regardless of your style direction— traditional, modern, or even country French, the juxtaposition of bright white paint, lots of light and natural, rough hewn beams has a sunny, uplifting nature anywhere.

So often, new building can feel cold, prefabricated or down right cheaply constructed, but not in the case of Garfield’s work. In both her new construction and her renovations, the use of rough hewn beams and antique doors serve to make homes feel warm and lived in. She uses a technique to make the walls remind one of a monastery or century old cottage by applying plaster to blue board, a material used in bathrooms for its water resistant capabilities. The result is thick walls insulated from sound and weather.

One of Barbara’s trademarks is the use of salvaged barns and antique building materials in her homes. Many a barn has been relocated from its origins in New England and similar locales. Once she began visualizing a house based on a pair of 200 year old French antique shutters that she spied on a scouting trip. She has imported doors from France and windows from Poland, where she states that craftsmanship is high without a commensurate price. Another quality seen in her homes is the presence of a French parterre. A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging usually with a symmetrical pattern.

She attributes the modern aura in her homes by the utilization of natural light from windows and of high tech lighting. In one of the recent homes I visited, included in the décor were both antique sconces made from wrought iron and candles and suspension lighting. It is both romantic and practical at the same time. She is also efficient in her use of space and planning. Order is a must when most of these houses are less than 3500 square feet.

Today, it is a rare phenomenon to see the quality inherent in a new or renovated home. Garfield’s use of antique beams and thick plaster, while rustic in nature, can be coupled with state-of-the art lighting, windows and modern appliances to create a degree of excellence for one’s environment. With extensive sourcing and researching, Barbara Garfield has made it possible to create a home fit for the twenty first century with the feel and quality of an older bygone era.

To schedule a consultation with Garfield, call 203-899-0802, or email her at barnwired@aol.com.