This Couple Gave a Dated Ranch in Hudson Valley a New Lease on Life

Even though the L-shaped, open-floor concept of the kitchen, dining room, and living room was certainly an advantage, it also posed a challenge, as each room had to remain cohesive with the next in order to ensure a sensible flow throughout the space. To achieve this, the warm wood of the kitchen cabinets was balanced with a vintage Dixie credenza in the dining room and vintage bookshelves in the living room—as they have the same warm wood finish. The couple then used lighting to give each room its own distinctive quality. “Each of these rooms has its own lighting so the glow from each lamp further defines the room,” Jennifer adds.

Although the house was built in 2001, the couple was inspired by midcentury design given its horizontal structure and how it is immersed in the surrounding landscape. They relied heavily on vintage items and befittingly, most of their furniture and decor is from Jennifer’s grandparents. “Their furniture is a mixture of items they purchased for their home and items they inherited from several generations back,” Jennifer, who has always been an advocate for buying secondhand whenever possible, explains. “It’s good for the environment, economical, and most of the time superior in quality and style,” she adds. The couple wanted to create a welcoming home by relying on old treasures and their small, personal objects in order to avoid making their space feel too precious. “For me, filling a house with objects that have a history or a story personal to only you is ultimately what creates a home, after all.”