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Aimee and Kevin Buccellato designed a new 6,000-square-foot farmhouse in Momence, Illinois, to appear as if it had evolved on the site over generations. The project also restored the property’s 19th-century barn and corn crib, drawing on regional farm architecture and the returning homeowners’ ties to the area.
A newly built 6,000-square-foot farmhouse in Momence, Illinois, was designed by Aimee and Kevin Buccellato to look as if it had been part of the agricultural landscape for generations. The project pairs a four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom home with the restoration of the property’s 19th-century barn and corn crib, bringing new construction and historic farm structures together on a site important to the homeowners.
The homeowners are a retired couple returning to their Midwestern roots. Aimee Buccellato said the property, near where she grew up, carried a strong sense of memory and place. The couple wanted the new house to feel so compatible with the setting that neighbors might imagine the original farmhouse remained, altered through careful renovation and additions.
Rather than copy a single historic building, the designers drew from traditional farm complexes, where houses and agricultural structures were added over time. Kevin Buccellato said the team sought to give both the home and outbuildings a sense of history and connection to the site. The source describes the project as a rebuild, but does not detail what, if anything, was retained from an earlier house.
Inside, the design uses antique white oak floors, salvaged beams and barnboards, along with floral patterns and colors drawn from the surrounding landscape. In the kitchen, windows overlooking farmland take the place of upper cabinets; storage and kitchen necessities were moved into an adjacent dish room and larder. The property’s views also shape the glass porch overlooking the Kankakee River and the dining room’s river-inspired mural wallpaper.
A New Home in an Old Farmstead
The project illustrates a design choice with practical implications: new construction can be made to sit more quietly within a long-established rural landscape. Here, that approach responds to the owners’ personal connection to the area and to the presence of historic agricultural buildings. The restored barn and corn crib retain visible links to the property’s past, while the house borrows forms and materials associated with regional farm architecture.
The result is not a claim that the house itself is centuries old. It is a new residence designed to suggest gradual change rather than a single conspicuous addition. That distinction matters to readers considering preservation-minded design: the project combines new construction and restored historic structures, rather than presenting the entire home as an original artifact. The designers’ stated aim was a house that felt “sensitive, not wasteful” and “polite, not ostentatious.”
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Designing Around Farm History
The property sits on a country road in Momence, Illinois, within an agricultural community. According to House Beautiful’s project report, the homeowners wanted to return to the region and make a home on a site that already held personal meaning. The design team treated the surrounding farm structures and landscape as references for the new work.
The architectural firm, Buccellato Design and Architecture, took inspiration from what it described as a Folk-Victorian farmhouse and agricultural buildings. Details such as the salvaged wood, traditional room furnishings and antique-looking floors support that approach. In the kitchen, leathered black quartzite offers the appearance of soapstone, according to the report, while adding durability. These decisions build a historical mood without changing the fact that the main house is new.
House Beautiful identifies Cate Ragan as stylist and the home’s area as 6,000 square feet. It describes four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms. The source also includes photographs and room-by-room design details, but does not provide a construction timeline, project budget or account of the original farmhouse’s condition.
“At the outset of the project, and throughout, our clients wanted the new house to feel like it had always been there.”
— Aimee Buccellato, co-founder of Buccellato Design and Architecture
What the Project Report Leaves Open
The available report does not state when construction was completed, what the project cost, or how the work was divided between rebuilding and retaining elements of an earlier dwelling. It calls the project a 6,000-square-foot rebuild but does not explain the previous farmhouse’s fate or identify which materials came from the original house.
The designers’ description of a home that could be mistaken for an old farmhouse is an aim, not an independently verified assessment of how neighbors or preservation specialists perceive it. The source also does not provide information about permits, construction methods, energy performance or the condition of the restored outbuildings. Those details should not be inferred from the design description.
Further Project Details Await
The source material presents the completed home through a House Beautiful feature and does not announce a future construction phase, public opening or follow-up milestone. No additional project update is specified. Further details on the timeline, budget and retained historic fabric would be needed to clarify how the rebuild was carried out.
For now, the confirmed account is limited to the designers’ description, the home’s stated size and room count, and the restoration of the 19th-century barn and corn crib. Any broader claims about preservation outcomes or community response remain unreported.
Key Questions
Where is the new farmhouse?
It is in Momence, Illinois, on a country-road property in an agricultural area near the Kankakee River.
Who designed the house?
Aimee and Kevin Buccellato of Buccellato Design and Architecture designed the home. House Beautiful lists Cate Ragan as stylist.
How large is the home?
The report describes a 6,000-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms.
Was the farmhouse itself centuries old?
No. The report describes it as new construction designed to look as though it had evolved on the property over time. It also says the project restored the property’s 19th-century barn and corn crib.
What details give the home its historic look?
The designers used antique white oak floors, salvaged beams and barnboards, traditional furnishings and landscape-inspired colors. The design also draws on regional farmhouse and agricultural-building forms.
Source: housebeautiful.com
