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Aimee and Kevin Buccellato designed a new 6,000-square-foot home in Momence, Illinois, to appear as though it had grown from the site over generations. The project also restored the property’s original 19th-century barn and corn crib; the designers say the goal was to honor the rural setting and the owners’ ties to the area.
Designers Aimee and Kevin Buccellato have created a new 6,000-square-foot farmhouse in Momence, Illinois, with the appearance of a home shaped gradually over generations. The project pairs traditional materials and period-inspired rooms with the restoration of the property’s original 19th-century barn and corn crib, reflecting the owners’ wish for the house to feel rooted in the agricultural landscape where they have family ties.
The homeowners are a retired couple returning to their Midwestern roots. According to House Beautiful’s report, they wanted the new house to feel so established that neighbors might imagine the original farmhouse had survived and been carefully renovated, rather than replaced. Aimee Buccellato said the property held memories because she had grown up nearby.
The new home contains four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms. Its design draws on traditional farm complexes, which often expanded over time, rather than presenting as a single, newly built statement. The Buccellatos also worked on the existing barn and corn crib, connecting the residence with structures that predate the new house.
Inside, the reported design details include antique white oak floors, salvaged beams, heritage-patterned fabrics and landscape-inspired colors. In the kitchen, a broad window wall replaces upper cabinets, with storage and food-preparation functions shifted to an adjoining dish room and larder. The house also includes a glass porch with views toward the Kankakee River and a tucked-away speakeasy inspired by the original farmhouse’s stone foundation.
A New House Tied to Its Farmstead
The project shows how a newly built home can be designed to acknowledge an existing rural site rather than erase its history. For the owners, the property was both a place connected to personal memories and a setting for new ones. Retaining and restoring the barn and corn crib gives the design a physical link to the farmstead’s earlier life, while the house’s scale and materials aim to keep it in conversation with those structures.
That approach matters to readers interested in renovation and residential design because it highlights choices beyond reproducing an old-fashioned look. The designers describe a strategy of restraint: using familiar forms, salvaged materials and views of the surrounding land to make the new construction feel settled. The result, as described in the source, is an intentional appearance—not evidence that the farmhouse itself is centuries old.
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Designing Around Local Memory
The project is in Momence, a rural community in Illinois, on a property associated with the agricultural landscape and the Kankakee River. Aimee Buccellato told House Beautiful that the nearby area held a strong sense of memory and place for her. The clients’ return to the region shaped the aim of the design: make a new home feel familiar to its surroundings and to the people who know the property.
Kevin Buccellato said the team looked to traditional farm complexes, where buildings and additions accumulated over time. That reference informed both the house and the restoration work on the 19th-century outbuildings. The interiors continue the same approach through details such as antique-style flooring, salvaged timber and furnishings selected to suggest an acquired-over-time collection. House Beautiful identifies Buccellato Design and Architecture as the designers and features the home as a digital house tour.
“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, as quoted by House Beautiful
What the Project Report Leaves Open
The source does not state when construction was completed, provide a project budget, or detail the extent of the barn and corn crib restoration. It also does not identify the age or provenance of every salvaged material and antique-style furnishing. The description of the home as appearing centuries old is the designers’ intended effect, not a claim that the new residence is historic.
The available report focuses on the design and homeowners’ brief. It does not provide independent assessments of the restoration, construction methods or the property’s earlier history beyond identifying the barn and corn crib as 19th-century structures.
The Home’s Public Design Feature
House Beautiful has published a digital tour of the home, including photographs and descriptions of rooms such as the entry, sitting room, kitchen and dining room. The source does not announce a further construction phase, public opening or scheduled project milestone. Any additional information about the restoration or the property’s history would need to come from the homeowners, designers or a later report.
Key Questions
Where is the new farmhouse?
It is in Momence, Illinois, on a country property near the Kankakee River.
Who designed the house?
Aimee and Kevin Buccellato of Buccellato Design and Architecture designed the home, according to House Beautiful.
How large is the home?
The house spans 6,000 square feet and has four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms, according to the report.
Is the farmhouse actually centuries old?
No. The featured residence is new construction designed to look as though it developed over time. The property’s original barn and corn crib are described as 19th-century structures.
What features give the home its old-farmhouse appearance?
The report points to antique white oak floors, salvaged beams, traditional furnishings and landscape-inspired interiors. The design also draws on the way traditional farmsteads grew through additions over generations.
Source: housebeautiful.com
