After relocating for work ten times in 17 years, Paul and Kym Farr had no intentions of ever moving from the stone-and-stucco Center Valley house they had lovingly turned into a home for their three children.
“We had it all done,” says Kym Farr, a stay-at-home mom whose husband Paul is president of PPL Energy Supply and PPL Generation. “It was perfect.”
But the day after the Farrs returned home from adopting a child in China in 2010, Kym found out she was pregnant and the couple realized it wouldn't be long before their cozy four-bedroom digs would become too small for an active family of seven. So they decided to do what they had said they never would again: move.
Their Ultimate Home Solution
After a two-year search, they found a home a few miles from their old one in Center Valley that contained many of the features they were looking for: an abundance of open space for entertaining, lots of natural light to illuminate Paul's stunning art glass collection, a large backyard with an in-ground pool and potential for a master bedroom suite on the main level. There were a few design vestiges of former owners that didn't quite mesh with the Farr's aesthetics—like a wall mural of birch trees and cardinals in the kitchen, and floor-to-ceiling mauve tiles around the fireplaces. But those details were insignificant when compared to the home's arts and crafts style façade.
“It has this great intellectually challenging exterior,” says Paul, who like Kym was born and raised in Wisconsin. “I don't know if it's Frank Lloyd Wright, but it's got elements of that.”
The Farrs were so inspired by the home's curbside appeal that they decided to depart from their usual adherence to traditional style and carry a more contemporary theme throughout the home.
“We wanted to match the inside to the outside and go in a different direction than we had ever gone before,” says Kym, noting the older she gets the more she appreciates simplicity. The couple began the remodel in the in-law suite, converting it into their personal haven. They didn't stop there, however, says Kym. “We ended up gutting the entire first floor and starting over.”
Chuck Harrison, owner of an award-winning design firm in Center Valley, led the 14-month overhaul. The couple had admired the work he had done for a friend and his attention to detail. “We knew Chuck had the right eyes for the project,” says Paul.
They also liked that fact that Harrison is located in the Lehigh Valley, as it was important to the couple to support area businesspeople, especially at a time when the economy was struggling. “Almost everyone who has touched this house is local,” explains Paul, who served as chairman of the 2013 United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley campaign. “We have great craftsmen in the area.” It also helped that the couple knew what they wanted and their mandate to Harrison was simple: Contemporary but not cold. Sophisticated but kid-friendly. “It had to be able to be lived in,” says Kym.
A Daily Escape
The couple tackled the master bedroom suite first, designing it as an escape from daily life. The area is accessible from the main house and sliding glass doors open to the outdoor pool area. “We come here to vacation,” laughs Kym.
No luxury was overlooked; the contemporary free-standing fireplace warms the space.
A serene bathroom with double vanity houses a capacious shower as big as walk-in closet “That's the largest shower head known to man,” says Kym. “I could put all five kids in there at once and be done with it.”
For the Practical Cook
After finishing the suite, the couple's next priority was the kitchen. Both Paul and Kym enjoy cooking and gathering family and friends. “We like to be home. I don't like to drag the kids out. We designed the kitchen so it can function for a person who cooks,” Kym says.
With an eye toward the kitchen as a gathering space, they had two center islands installed, one for cooking with built-in commercial grade appliances and custom organizational features and the other for gathering with a wine cooler and kid-friendly refrigerated drawers stocked with juice boxes and snacks.
The Farrs then paired the light-colored counter tops with cream-colored cabinetry and ensconced their appliances behind matching wood panels crafted by Ed Brader of Laurys Station.
Kym opens the door of one compartment to reveal a work station with computer and desk. “In our last house we had a dedicated home office and no one used it,” she says.
Elements
Paul points to an industrial-looking ceiling fan in the family room that he ordered from the company Big Ass Fans. It looks like an airplane propeller, a detail that wasn't lost on the kids when they recently visited the Air Force Space and Missile Museum in Cape Canaveral, Florida. “One of the kids pointed to a plane and said, ‘Look daddy, that's our fan,'” he says.
Removing the mauve tiles around the family room fireplace was another priority for the couple and they hired Jonathan Fallos, of Nazareth, to install sheets of beveled eucalyptus wood.
The honey-hued material warms the room Paul says, and gives it a modern edge.
The hearth is a single 15-foot long slab of concrete, courtesy of Emmaus-based Kevin Gehman. “Kevin did things in this house he had never done before,” says Paul. “I just love the organic feel of the concrete.” Concrete was also employed as a fireplace hearth in the dining room, a cathedral of light and glass.
Pieces from Paul's glass collection are sprinkled throughout the home, but most of them are displayed in what previous owners used as a formal living room. With all the fine art and glass in the home you might think that the Farr's would be nervous considering they have four kids, but having raised them around fine art and taking them to museums and galleries from a young age, they developed an appreciation. Art is for enjoyment, Paul says.
“If you make it inappropriate and off limits accidents happen,” says Paul. It's a philosophy that defines the décor of the Farr's luxuriously functional home, where fine art mingles with crayon drawings in easy compatibility.
Local Resources: Getting It Done
Design/Build:Chuck Harrison Residential Design2600 E. Saucon Valley Rd., Center Valley | 610.393.3082Custom Kitchen Cabinetry:Brader's Woodcraft, Inc.PO Box C | 5440 Rt. 145, Laurys Station | 610.262.3452Custom Wood Furniture:Jeffrey Greene Design Studio3853 Old Easton Rd., Doylestown | 215.348.5232Bubble Chandelier:pelledesigns.com for similarIndustrial-style Fan:877.244.3267 | bigassfans.comCustom Millwork:Jonathan Fallos Cabinetmakers, Inc.1158 Stones Crossing Rd., Easton | 610.253.4063 | jfallosinc.comCustom Concrete Work:Kevin Gehman of Solid Rock Concrete Design, Inc.310 S. 4th St., Emmaus | 610.421.6200 | solidrockconcretedesign.comCustom Art Glass Chandelier:Andy Brott of BrottWorks Design Studio5110 Freret St., New Orleans, LA | 504.239.3030 | brottworks.com
