Transitional Farmhouse Living

Located in Annangrove, a semi-rural suburb in Sydney’s northwest, this custom home was designed and built by Gina and Adam Krajc of Rosewood Homes. The land was purchased in 2018, but with their clients’ projects taking priority, construction on the family home didn’t begin until 2024.

For Gina and Adam, the project was an opportunity to demonstrate what a considered custom home could look like when designed around the people who would live in it. Rather than specifying premium finishes at every turn, the focus was on thoughtful planning, enduring materials and the finer details that give a home its own identity.

The design direction was influenced by a trip to the Hamptons in 2019. The final property Gina and Adam visited was a traditional farmhouse with aged shingles externally and a distinctly modern interior. Its balance of familiar rural architecture and contemporary living became an important reference point for the project. The result is what Gina describes as a transitional farmhouse, taking the warmth and character of traditional American farmhouses architecture and adapting it for Australian living.

“For us, a transitional farmhouse takes the warmth and character of traditional American farmhouse architecture and adapts it for the way we live in Australia. It is less about recreating a barn and more about creating something quieter, warmer and designed to sit naturally within the landscape.”

While modern farmhouse design provided part of the broader reference point, the finished home is better understood as a transitional farmhouse. Familiar rural forms are balanced with contemporary planning, a natural material palette, and a measured response to the surrounding Australian landscape. Recognisable American farmhouse elements including shingle roofing, barn doors, X-brace detailing, exterior cladding and gabled rooflines, have been reinterpreted through wider eaves, lower roof pitches and a colour palette drawn from the landscape. The home retains the character of its inspiration while feeling grounded in its semi-rural setting.

Working with the Landscape

Although the acreage offered a generous setting, its natural fall of approximately 10 metres presented a significant architectural challenge.

The house was originally conceived as a single-level home but achieving that would’ve required extensive terracing through the backyard. Instead, Gina and Adam introduced a split through the floorplan, allowing the house to follow the natural topography more closely while reducing the need for additional terracing.

The position and level of the house were also carefully considered from the street, ensuring it remained visible rather than becoming buried behind the retaining walls required at the front of the property.

These decisions allow the architecture and site to work together. Rather than imposing a predetermined farmhouse form onto the acreage, the design responds to the land, helping the home feel settled within its landscape.

A Home Designed Around Family Life

The home was designed around the way the family lives now, while allowing it to adapt over time.

Separate wings provide a degree of independence, including a dedicated section where the young adults have their own bedrooms and bathrooms. At the centre of the home, generous living spaces bring everyone together for everyday life and entertaining.

As a family deeply involved in the building industry, each person had specific ideas about how their individual spaces should feel. Bedrooms were personalised, while the shared areas were kept natural and neutral. White walls, free-form stone, steel and oak create a balanced material palette that accommodates different preferences without making the interior feel disconnected.

Raked ceilings with oak beams, a generous kitchen, a fully functioning butler’s pantry and a large pool were among Gina’s priorities. Together, these elements support a home that feels equally suited to everyday routines and larger family gatherings.

Custom Mouldings and Cohesive Timber Detail

Over 70 years of designing and building homes informed Rosewood Homes’ measured approach to trends. Rather than following a predetermined style, materials and architectural details were selected for their ability to work together and age well.

Mouldings were an important part of that approach. Gina wanted the skirting boards and architraves to have clean, contemporary lines while retaining enough presence to suit the generous proportions and transitional character of the home.

A custom skirting and architrave profile was developed for the project, with a design similar to Intrim’s SK1474 profile. Its restrained detailing creates a consistent architectural frame throughout the interior, complementing the farmhouse references without making the rooms feel overly traditional.

Intrim LB35 oak lining boards introduce texture and warmth across the kitchen island joinery, bar and bathroom cabinetry. Repeating the lining board across these applications creates a visual thread throughout the home, connecting the detailed joinery with the oak beams and broader timber palette.

In the main bathroom, a custom curved architrave frames an arched feature wall. The curved profile follows the softer architectural form, demonstrating how mouldings can be adapted to more organic details while retaining the clean, considered finish established thoughout the interior.

Together, the custom mouldings, oak lining boards, and curved detailing establish a quiet sense of continuity. Timber and mouldings are not treated simply as decoration. They contribute to proportion, texture and connection between different spaces.

Designed to Last Beyond the Trends

This home is a considered interpretation of modern farmhouse design, shaped as much by its Australian setting and family lifestyle as by its American influences.

Natural oak, generous proportions, and custom decorative mouldings give the home a sense of permanence, while the restrained material palette keeps the interiors feeling contemporary.

The project also illustrates the distinction between modern farmhouse and transitional farmhouse design. Rather than recreating a barn or relying on rural references alone, the architecture draws warmth and familiarity from traditional farmhouse forms, then adapts them through contemporary planning, natural materials and a response to the Australian landscape.

For Rosewood Homes, the project demonstrates the value of designing beyond a predetermined style. Thoughtful planning, enduring finishes and carefully resolved architectural details give the home an identity that feels personal to the family, connected to its landscape and designed to serve them well into the future.

Design: Gina Krajc
Build: Rosewood Homes
Photography: River Bennett