When taking on a renovation there are always surprises that jump out to disrupt even the best laid plans and this 1900s Indianapolis farmhouse was no exception. What started as a run of the mil renovation became a full on gut job. Abbey and A.J. Robertson, of aaNovo took this home down to the studs, reimagined its footprint, and gave it a brand new start. See how it all came together in the fetching photos below by Sarah Shields.

From the designer… This project started as a renovation of an early 1900’s farmhouse that we would renovate and sell as a market home, but as we “peeled back the layers,” we realized we needed to start from scratch. The old house’s footprint was the inspiration and starting point for the new home, and basing the new home on the old required creativity in how to layout spaces and make them cohesive.

A challenge that required a thoughtful on-the-fly design solution was the placement of a structural column between the living room and kitchen cased opening. I wanted the two spaces to feel very open to each other and connected, but the placement of the structural column made the cased opening much smaller. Running into this challenge inspired me to design the interior window between the kitchen and living room. It allowed us to hide the column while providing a sense of connectedness between both spaces. What started as a roadblock turned into a beautiful accent piece!

I am a huge fan of California-Casual design style, but the style of the original home was Farmhouse. So, when choosing the interior architectural design style, I decided to blend the two to create a home that was true to the original architectural style but with warm, modern, and neutral finishes.

Like what you see? Take a peek at the talent behind the story… Interior Design: Abbey Robertson, Principal Designer of aaNovo · Photography: Sarah Shields Photography · Stylist: Kylie Locket of Oxford Avenue · Staging: Whitney Vredenburgh · Builder: A.J. Robertson, Construction Principal of aaNovo