This new home, built on a working farm, added fresh, bright colors to transform an open floor plan and to give liveliness to the rooms in constant use.

The fireplace wall, above, separates the kitchen and the living room. Since stone to the vaulted ceiling would seem too massive, a bright green color was chosen to cover the area above the mantle. The mantle was custom fit from a salvaged barn beam. Like the green? Try Benjamin Moore’s “dill pickle.”

The daily mudroom entry also houses a shower–to rinse off daily work dirt–and the laundry machines. Visible from the kitchen, the orange color provides a sunny hue and a strong contrast against the white woodwork. Marmoleum flooring withstands the wear and tear of a well-used area and hides the farm dust and lint from the laundry machines. Benjamin Moore’s “Adobe dust” is a nice, terra cotta-type orange.

The neutral warm gray walls provide a backdrop for cabinets, tile and floors

With all the color in view of the main living area, a neutral, warmer gray was chosen for the great room. The neutral color allows the white woodwork and cabinetry to stand out, but allows the glass tile, wood floor and furniture to look grounded without being too much of a contrast. “Abalone” by Benjamin Moore is a good, warm gray.

The master bath has a fun, unexpected shower floor. For people who make their living from the land, a nice connection to the earth was formed by using real stones for the shower floor. Subway tile and a glass shower door make it more contemporary. A custom seat was formed inside the shower to provide a place to sit.

“Farmhouse” can mean many things in the world of design, and this real working farm house doesn’t compromise style for daily functionality.

Have you noticed that laundry rooms are all of a sudden center-stage? There are so many accessories, furnishings and design ideas for the laundry room.

Why? I think the advent of new machines are one of the drivers. Today’s options include front-load, top-load, water-saving, high-efficiency and stackable. You only used to have to worry about selecting by capacity and features. Now too you have more color choices than white (and maybe almond). Race-car red would make wash-day an adventure. How about royal blue to make you feel regal, in command of your loyal sock-subjects?

Maybe laundry domains have become more popular because our clothes-care takes up a significant portion of our daily lives, and an organized, attractive room just takes some of the drudgery out of the chore.

Given a convenient, easy-to-use and attractive space, maybe all the kids (cool or otherwise) will be excited to be doing laundry.