A Bridge from the Past to the Present

The owners of the local furniture design firm BridgeBlue took special care creating the perfect look in their farmhouse. By Gerri Mack Photos by Edward Biamonte

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BridgeBlue Stairs

When Nathan Taylor and J. Kent Martin bought 40 acres north of Springfield one year ago, a 1905 farmhouse that sat on the property was thrown in as part of the deal. “It essentially had no value,” says Taylor of the previously dilapidated structure. But with ingenuity and elbow grease, the two-story house has become the centerpiece of this rural, rolling country setting.

As founders and partners in the highly successful Springfield firm BridgeBlue Sourcing Partners, Martin and Taylor live and breathe design. They create and manufacture numerous furniture and decorative accessory items for clients like Neiman Marcus, the great indoors, Sears and The Bombay Company. Both men travel extensively to offices in China and the Philippines and shop global markets for inspiration.

But they are the first to state that their worldwide travel did not give them a significant edge when it came to the design and renovation of their farmhouse. “The overall feeling here is not unachievable,” says Martin. “We used some of the cheapest materials and customized them to create a totally personalized look.”

For example, the kitchen boasts rich-looking cabinetry that is, in fact, standard inexpensive golden oak. With ebony paint, Suzie McCormick, who works in product development for BridgeBlue, painted and gently sanded the doors to replicate antiqued custom cabinets. With new hardware, laminate countertops and a $20 fixture hanging above the sink, the room looks fresh and original. 

In the center of the kitchen, an antique desk that Martin’s great-grandfather built at the turn of the century acts as the island. “He built this desk when he staked his claim in Oklahoma during the land run,” says Martin. After spending many years in a brooder house (a structure where chicks are kept warm and hatch) the wooden piece was cleaned up by Taylor and Martin and repositioned in their new kitchen.

There isn’t a square inch of the nine-room house that hasn’t been renovated. “We originally were just going to clean it up and let an employee live here,” said Martin.

“But then we said if we are going to clean the floors we should clean the walls. And if we are going to clean the walls then we really should have a new bathroom put in. And if we have a new bathroom put in then we need new plumbing.”

“Before we knew it we ended up with a complete remodel,” adds Taylor.
The original pine floors, stained a combined concoction of walnut and ebony, cast a dramatic and neutral backdrop for the kilim rugs scattered throughout the home. In places, the floors are charmingly uneven, harkening back to their age.

Although an eclectic assortment of furniture, lighting and art can be found throughout the home, a paint palette of olive greens and deep taupe on the walls creates a unifying look. Taylor describes his design taste as more “eclectic traditional.” Martin says that he leans towards “eclectic contemporary—but I have a strong appreciation for traditional and lots of different styles. I don’t like to be pigeonholed.”

Newly installed sheetrock provides a smooth canvas for the home’s dramatic colors. Bright white trim around the doors and windows offers architectural interest and a striking contrast to the warm walls and dark flooring. By creating a few backdrop rules—dark consistent flooring and a complimentary paint scheme throughout the home—Martin and Taylor were free to add a mix of sculptures and dramatic oil paintings without overwhelming the intimate setting.

The paintings that hang throughout the home range from a 4-foot long farmhouse in the dining room to a close-up of daisies that was rendered from a photograph taken at Versailles. The pieces were art directed by Martin and BridgeBlue’s product development team and painted in China. One of the most stunning pieces is a series of nine individual canvasses that hang along the staircase showing about 45 different birds. A 3-foot rooster painting in the kitchen takes up an entire wall. It relates in color and theme to the rest of the room, where an antique chalk duck shares space with a small rooster oil painting above the refrigerator.

Martin and Taylor’s mantra of “paint is cheap and time is free” has served them well in the redo of this vintage structure. The economical renovation has offered them a special place to recuperate on the weekends from an exhaustive travel schedule.

“You really can put lipstick on a pig and make it into a prom queen,” Martin laughs.