North Salem Farm updates local vernacular for the 21st century
North Salem Farm by New York-based architecture studio Worrell Yeung offers a new take to the region’s agrarian vernacular for the 21st century

A North Salem Farm has been thoroughly updated for the 21st century by dynamic New York architecture practice Worrell Yeung. The project, a collection of renovated existing and new build structures, offers a new take to the local agrarian vernacular through minimalist architecture in its elegant transformation and blend of old and new.
North Salem Farm by Worrell Yeung
‘The house is at once simple and complex – something we are continuing to explore in our work,’ says practice partner and co-founder Jejon Yeung. 'The gabled forms are familiar but also multi-layered in the way they engage the site, engage with each other, creating spaces that reframe the site and the experience both inside and out.'
The scheme unites three separate structures for a single family home in a triangular Upstate New York plot. It was important for the design to feel harmoniously integrated with the landscape, which led the architecture team to explore the area's existing architectural typologies to draw on. At the same time, they worked closely with Raft Landscape on the wider site's green offering and outdoor areas.
The studio gutted and renovated an old dairy farm on site as the main home. Two new structures house a garage/studio, and spa shed. While all structures offer a nod to the typical American barn, varying cladding colours and material details ensure each volume has its own character. 'We didn’t want a monotonous experience of moving from one dark-clad building to the next,' says Yeung. 'As a whole, we read the collection of buildings as siblings that are closely related – like cousins.'
The whole brings together dark metal roofing, custom dark green stained cypress wood siding in a varied batten pattern, exposed Douglas fir ceiling rafters, freestanding Douglas fir objects, terracotta-hued encaustic tile floors, soft grey Douglas fir millwork, and slate-coloured ceramic tiles in various places. It all composes a graceful, pared-down design that bridges refinement and homely relaxation.
The result exemplifies the emerging studio's fascination with 'detailing complex and sophisticated systems that require ingenuity and collaboration but look quite simple', says co-principal Max Worrell.
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Ten statement-making belts to add drama to any outfit
Supersized, stacked-up, embellished: add a flourish with these ten statement-making belts, from Miu Miu’s jewellery-like chains to a piece of runway history from Sarah Burton’s Givenchy debut
-
Design Miami/Seoul: inside the fair’s spectacular Korean debut
As Design Miami launches its inaugural Seoul event, we discover its showcases spotlighting Korean designers who have shaped the country’s creative landscape, from traditional craft to pioneering design innovations
-
At this whimsical Oslo bar, every cocktail has its design counterpart
Himkok’s new ‘Design by Sipping’ cocktail menu arrives with one-of-a-kind furniture and objects – each inspired by a drink – that will be sold at auction
-
Meet Studio Zewde, the Harlem practice that's creating landscapes 'rooted in cultural narratives, ecology and memory'
Ahead of a string of prestigious project openings, we check in with firm founder Sara Zewde
-
The best of California desert architecture, from midcentury gems to mirrored dwellings
While architecture has long employed strategies to cool buildings in arid environments, California desert architecture developed its own distinct identity –giving rise, notably, to a wave of iconic midcentury designs
-
A restored Eichler home is a peerless piece of West Coast midcentury modernism
We explore an Eichler home, and Californian developer Joseph Eichler’s legacy of design, as a fine example of his progressive house-building programme hits the market
-
How LA's Terremoto brings 'historic architecture into its next era through revitalising the landscapes around them'
Terremoto, the Los Angeles and San Francisco collective landscape architecture studio, shakes up the industry through openness and design passion
-
Inside a Donald Wexler house so magical, its owner bought it twice
So transfixed was Daniel Patrick Giles, founder of fragrance brand Perfumehead, he's even created a special scent devoted to it
-
The Pagani Residences is the latest ultra-luxe automotive apartment tower to reach Miami
Rising up above Miami, branded apartment buildings are having a renaissance, as everyone from hypercar builders to crystal makers seeks to have a towering structure bearing their name
-
A modern cabin in Minnesota serves as a contemporary creative retreat from the city
Snow Kreilich Architects' modern cabin and studio for an artist on a lakeside plot in Minnesota was designed to spark creativity and provide a refuge from the rat race
-
Touring artist Glenn Ligon's studio in Brooklyn with its architect, Ravi Raj
Glenn Ligon's studio, designed by architect Ravi Raj, is an industrial Brooklyn space reimagined for contemporary art