Designtripper

Last fall, I spent the night at a sweet bed and breakfast in a farmhouse on the edge of Tryon Farm—a modern conservation development outside Chicago—so I could check out the 170-acre idyll that I’d read so much about (Dwell, The New York Times, and the magazine I edit, CS Interiors). The super-charming developers of the project, Eve and Ed Noonan, drove me around in their little Nissan Cube and I was hooked. Modernist architecture—tall treehouse-inspired structures in the woods and flat, low-riding berm houses with sod roofs near the wetlands—built with environmentally conscious materials like bamboo flooring and insulation made from recycled blue jeans. And nature of every variety, in every direction.

So this year, when I found out that Laurel Rundle, who owns a two-story cabin at the farm, was going to start renting it out, I loaded up the whole family for a long weekend. And I’m just as smitten. With a huge steel fireplace, floor-to-ceiling views over the meadow, sheepskins tossed over chairs and tons of great art, Laurel’s place couldn’t possibly be more darling or comfy. Building on the Tryon tradition of using natural materials whenever possible, Laurel had a built-in bench made from recycled barnwood and a beautiful, low-slung coffee table created by a local craftsman based on a sketch of her own design. We went on hikes, picked fresh herbs from the end-of-season community garden for our dinners, visited the chickens, and spent hours in front of the fireplace playing board games and reading.

The Details
Price starts at $1,500 for a week. Two bedrooms and a sleeping loft. To rent, contact Laurel at lauruna@yahoo.com.

Share/Bookmark