Blake Dollahite is honestly one of the most creative people I know and I am truly honored to post his amazing house. Both “amazing” and “house” may be to simple of words to use because he has sort of changed my definition of the two words since watching him passionately work over the last few years on it. I say this becasuse from the architectural design, to the landscaping, to the crafting of the furniture he has consistently held every detail to an incredibly high standard in his effort to create a uniquely modern farmhouse. Blake graciously described the pictures in his own words below. If you would like to see more of his house, furniture and landscaping please click here.
As was the case with much of the design, I was interested in finding ways to make what is a small yard and small house feel more spacious than it is. A good bit of white, crushed limestone and a fence that,by reducing to it’s bare structural essentials, was a stransparent as possible was part of that effort in the yard. Fence posts, planters, porch stairs, etc. are carbon steel. Rusted steel seems to make for an appropriate material for use in the landscape - very organic, as if it just grew out of the ground.
The tv/stereo cabinet doors are made of African Padauk, sides, top, and bottom are Cocobolo, and the pulls are brass. The coffee table is walnut and sandblased glass. All these woods have a very old and warm feel to them. Reminds me of my grandfather’s Red Man tobacco. That’s Alyson at the top right as we took a ride in my grandfather’s old Chrysler (same grandfather).
The table and benches are made of walnut, white oak, and plain carbon steel. The bedroom door, like all the doors in the house, was found at a local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. I sandblasted the glass to provide privacy, but still allow light and shadow to pass through (an effort to soften the hard boundaries between rooms and open up the space).
The kitchen cabinet doors and drawer fronts are carbon steel, the countertops are 1/4″ aluminum. Aluminum’s not common in this application, but it’s a little more durable than you may think, and wears well. And much cheaper than stainless steel. The shelves are ipe.
My other grandfather raised chickens for Pilgrim’sPride for as long as I can remember. Those chickenhouses were made of steel, tin, and chicken wire. He tore them down when he retired and gave me some of that tin. I now sleep under the same roof that millions of chickens did in the 40 years before me. We salvaged the 1x pine roof decking from the old house, tongue, grooved, and planed it to make flooring.
The oak medicine cabinet was an ebay find and the blue sink from Habitat for Humanity Restore. I bought the white table while in Boulder, Colorado visiting my brother and Alyson a good 3 years before I had any use for it. After shuffling it around the construction site that was my home for so long, it was a nice relief to find it fit this space perfect. One less vanity to build. The drywall is skim coated with mud and primed only. It gives it a nice glow and soft texture.