Hoping to transform a neglected farmhand’s abode into a welcoming guest retreat for their Bozman, Maryland, property overlooking Broad Creek, a pair of avid gardeners and hosts contacted architect Michael Rouse. Maintaining its exact footprint, his plan organized the ailing 887-square-foot structure into two zones—an open, vaulted space for farm-to-table cooking and entertaining at one end, and a tranquil suite with a spa-inspired bath at the other. Reorienting the front door to the creek side made better sense of the layout and the placement of new windows prioritized waterfront views. Opening up the attic crawl space in the great room allowed for lofty cathedral ceilings with black metal ties, while replacing a screened porch with a sunroom created a light-filled sanctuary for reading and relaxing.

Style-wise, Rouse found inspiration in the building’s history. “We wanted to bring it back to its agrarian roots, which is why we did the seamed metal roof and the board-and-batten siding on the exterior, then we carried that theme to the interiors as well,” he explains. Farmhouse design elements include beadboard, nickel gap paneling and terracotta tiles that reference the region’s prevalent brick herringbone floors.

Summing up the project, Rouse says, “It was about taking something that was existing and not tearing it down but—in a very green way—giving it some TLC and creating something new.”