serenbe art farm Archives – McKenzie Interior Design
In partnership with our friends at KMH Interiors, McKenzie Design is excited to participate in Serenbe’s Artist In Residence (AIR) program by donating their time to design and install the interiors of the first two artist residence cottages. These cottages will serve as home base for two talented artists – one being designed with an eye toward painterly arts and the other with a focus on writing/composition.
Steve and Marie Nygren (founders of Serenbe) have believed from the beginning art was important to the kind of sustainable community they wanted to create. Recently, a large 40+ parcel of land was acquired adjacent to Serenbe to found the Serenbe Art Farm. The Art Farm and the AIR program, conceived 7 years ago to bring artists to work and share their process and vision and work with the Serenbe community, are non-profit organizations. It is their vision to have a place where artists can live/work and find affordable housing. They have raised money via the showhouse, private donations and the art auction Steve McKenzie participated in, in conjunction with ASID, to fund the building of the first two artists cottages, with a goal of building them on a budget of only $20,000!
View of the picturesque site where the two initial artist cottages will sit.
The Nygrens have joined forces with the The Rural Studio of the University of Alabama to design the first two cottages. The Art Farm at Serenbe is the site for the first wave of 20K Houses built in collaboration with Auburn University’s award winning Rural Studio program, to be used as live-work artist cottages.
The relationship between The Art Farm at Serenbe and Auburn University’s Rural Studio is multifaceted. Serenbe’s institute for arts and culture, The Serenbe Institute, is limited in the number of artists it can bring and house each year and the collaboration with Rural Studio responds to this need. The Art Farm will be built out to house multiple artists and nurture the arts in the Atlanta region.
Actual Ground Breaking at the site. Pictured from left to right: Rusty Smith, Associate Chair of the Auburn University Program of Architecture and Rural Studio Associate Director, Simon Shell, contractor who is building first cottage at Serenbe and Serenbe founder Steve Nygren.
Rural Studio is very excited about this program because these cottages will be the first two structures they have had built commercially, and not from within the program. The two cottages will serve as a place where artists can come and stay during their time in the AIR program to live and work for a period of time.
KMH Interiors and McKenzie Design are currently working to procure donations from vendors for the furnishings, as they work up their plans for the cottage interiors.
Steve Nygren, founder of Serenbe, addresses the crowd at the groundbreaking.
Steve shares that he is “really passionate about this project because as an artist I know how important programs like this are to push your creativity and let you get away from the day to day and focus on your art. As a designer it is thrilling to create a space I know will be used by other artists.”
Original log cabin on the Serenbe AIR property.
We’re excited for Steve, Kerry Howard, of KMH Interiors, The Rural Studio of the University of Alabama program, and the Serenbe/AIR teams, to see this wonderful project come to fruition!
Please keep an eye out for future posts, here on the blog for steve mckenzie’s, detailing how these projects are progressing and hopefully, by the end of the year, what the finished cottages look like.
We’ve shared a bit about Serenbe before – it’s a fabulous, progressive community connected to nature, just southwest of Atlanta. It’s the definition of picturesque… Fresh air, farm to table, timeless architecture. But, beyond all that, Serenbe hosts a fantastic organization in their Art Farm and Artist in Residence Program.
An event with Serenbe’s Artists in Residence
It’s an amazing program really, making it possible for artists of all disciplines to reconnect with nature at Serenbe, and be gifted with uninterrupted time to create and be inspired. As an artist himself, Steve (and, of course Jill) is a big fan of Serenbe and the Artist in Residency Program.
Serenbe’s “Art Walk”
As a way to enlighten more people about Serenbe’s Artist in Residence Program, and to act as a fundraiser, Steve is organizing art and artists to participate in an auction, benefiting Serenbe’s Art Farm/Artist in Residence Program, as well as ASID Georgia’s chapter office renovation project!
The Art Farm at Serenbe
There are two events in conjunction with the art auction fundraiser – on March 12, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams will host a preview party, then the auction will take place on March 26 at ADAC… For details on the auction, click here.
The auction will feature works by:
Amy Morris Amy Wikman Bill Peace Chris Little Elayne DeLeo Gina Christman Jason Moattar Joel Kelly Julie Witzel Kerry Howard Linda LeTard Lucy Aiken Johnson Mark Williams Matthew Quinn Melanie Millner Melanie Turner Michel Boyd Patricia McLean Pipa Bradbury Rita Carson Guest Robert Grayson Scott Kirk Steve Mckenzie Terri Duffy Tish Mills
Tricia Jones
Here’s a sneak peek at a work that will be up for auction by our own Steve McKenzie…
A big thank you to Brandon Hinman, Director of Serenbe’s Artist in Residence Program, who is working with Steve to make this auction a great success – and fundraiser!
These events promise not only a good time, but also some fabulous organizations to support! What could be better than an evening of art, shopping and supporting some extremely deserving not-for-profit organizations?!?
We hope to see you there!
Earlier this week, we gave you a head’s up about the first ever Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Designer Showhouse at Serenbe – and hopefully enticed you to visit. Well, if you haven’t set the date yet, hopefully you will after seeing some of the steve mckenzie’s items featured throughout the home!
As Steve shares, “The Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Decorator Showhome at Serenbe is unique to most showhouses, as it’s design’s cohesiveness is so obvious. The home flows seamlessly through each space; it’s as if a family really lives there.”
The team here at steve mckenzie’s was thrilled to either loan or provide products, which are highlighted throughout this spectacular home, not the least of which, a fabulous custom charcoal pinstripe textile, used as the drapery fabric in Yvonne McFadden’s, of Y. McFadden LLC Interiors, master bedroom space.
Y. McFadden LLC Interiors’ Master Bedroom at the AH&L Serenbe Designer Showhouse
It was actually these paintings, on showcase in the home’s master bedroom closet, also designed by Yvonne, that inspired this unique fabric.
Paintings by Steve McKenzie, which inspired the charcoal pinstripe fabric featured in the AH&L Serenbe Showhouse master bedroom.
This stunning vignette in Yvonne’s master bedroom space offers a more detailed look at this custom fabric…
Moving to the other side of the bedroom, a reading nook welcomes weary visitors with just about anything they’d require for a peaceful moment. Steve’s ready to move in right now!
On another wall in the master bedroom space hangs a collection of antique frames Yvonne discovered throughout her trips to Europe. Collections like these, found over time and with a passion, are what make a space something truly special!
Although we hate to tear ourselves away from this enveloping master bedroom space – thank you Yvonne – we had to give you a glimpse at some of our other favorite spaces in the home.
We are truly in awe of the home’s chic, modern office space, designed by Julie Witzel of J. Witzel Interior Design.
Yes, you spy a steve mckenzie’s exclusive thick leather satchel, gracing the side of the desk in the showhome’s stunning gentleman’s office.
In addition to the leather satchel accessory, other key elements in this space include the overall art selection and custom light fixture by Sarah Atkinson of Grey Furniture – wowzas!
Oh, and we cannot forget about the handbags on show in the office bookcase – they’re handmade in Bali and just fantastic – visit the steve mckenzie’s showroom today and see them for yourself!
Oh, and on the way to our next space, why don’t we take a glimpse into the powder room…
Wow – the wallpaper in James Wheeler’s, of J. Wheeler Designs, is seriously such a showstopper! We love it so much, we had to ask James about it, so we could share the details with you. It’s de Gournay ‘Fishes’ Blue Pearl design colors on realsilver gilded paper with De’sargenter Pearlescent antique finish and hand painted fish motif. Now, who wouldn’t want to powder their nose with these fishes???
If you visit the showhouse, one area you’re sure not to miss is Kerry Howard’s, of KMH Interiors, stairwell, where you’ll see this funky grouping of art pieces by Rebecca Wood, who’s currently on show in the steve mckenzie’s showroom.
The view from the top of Kerry’s beautifully designed stairwell…
And these Mitchell Black pieces, also available at steve mckenzie’s, are on display in the Serenbe showhome’s stairwell:
The last space we’ll share with you is the terrace level artist retreat designed by Niki Papadopoulos of Mark Williams Design Associates. This is where it got especially real for Steve. It was almost as if this room was designed around him…. If only we needed to be closer to Serenbe.
This would make a phenomenal artist’s escape – take it from Steve. From the small accent pieces, to the gallery wall grouping, this room is perfection. Niki even utilized art books and brushes from her father’s collection to emphasize the room’s unique personality.
Doesn’t it look as if some great artist just stepped away from their workspace for a moment?!?
Phew! If you’ve made it all the way to the end of the post with us – thank you. Now, get to that showhouse and see it for yourself!
If you require even more convincing, you’ll be happy to know that proceeds from the showhouse go to support Serenbe’s Art Farm, which is a collaborative project between Serenbe and Auburn University’s Rural Studio, whose goal is to raise the funds to create affordable artists’ housing on-site at Serenbe. Now your visit will not only provide you with unlimited visual inspiration, you’ll also be giving back to the Serenbe community.