The state of Southern California real estate is such that something branded as a "farmhouse" can sell for millions of dollars — the rustic factor is played up as a design style rather than any traditional understanding of the word barn.
One such example of a fancy farmhouse is the 6,700-square-foot estate in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles that was listed for $10 million and just sold for $9 million.
As first reported by real estate website Dirt.com, Campbell Soup Company (CPB) heiress Ashley Dorrance Kaplan purchased what is now her third home in the L.A. area earlier this month.
The Soup And Real Estate Empires Of Ashley Dorrance Kaplan
As memorialized in the first part of her last name, Dorrance Kaplan is the great-granddaughter of John T. Dorrance — the Pennsylvanian chemist is credited with inventing canned soup in 1897.
Dorrance had started out working what was then called the Joseph Campbell Preserve Company for $7 an hour. After moving up and serving as president between 1914 and 1930, Dorrance eventually bought it out and turned Campbell Soup Company into one of the country's most iconic food brands.
While Campbell went public in 1954, Dorrance Kaplan's father and real estate developer Bennett Dorrance still retain a 15% stake in it. Shares have risen more than 10% over the past 12 months.
Dorrance Kaplan, in turn, is a big equestrian fan and runs the horse training grounds Bellisima Ranch in Arizona. Along with her new Brentwood estate, Dorrance Kaplan owns an estate with horse stables in Sullivan Heights and a 8,600-square-foot house in Pacific Palisades that she also purchased for $9 million in 2011.
Tucked away into a cul-de-sac near the Brentwood's Riviera Country Club, Dorrance Kaplan's new house comes with six bedrooms, seven bathrooms and an adjoining pool with its own cabana guesthouse.
The boxy design and slate gray color give it the farmhouse air that opens onto a sprawling patio in the indoor-outdoor style favored in luxury Southern California real estate circles.
Other home features include a chef's kitchen, formal dining and living rooms as well as vaulted ceilings and multiple fireplaces. See more photos of the home on Dirt.com.
The Continuing Appeal Of The Barndominium
While the word "barn" once came with connotations of unkept properties in rural areas, the "rustic" style has evolved into an aesthetic that can sell for millions of dollars.
Recent years have even brought the term "barndominium" — a stylish home created out of a barn or other farm-style storage structure.
The term was popularized by Chip and Joanna Gaines when they started showing them on the HGTV show Fixer Upper. It took off as a more affordable approach to homes in certain parts of Texas and the West Coast.
That said, many barndominiums are far from cheap and sell for millions of dollars. There is also the "barndominium look" that costs big bucks to recreate.
While barndominiums are converted from actual barns, the "farmhouse look" is often little other than a marketing term for a design style that is currently popular in real estate — high ceilings, exposed brick and beams and a more industrial style.
Sometimes, the term "rustic" or "farmhouse" can reach absurd proportions as when a Tribeca penthouse that singer-songwriter Taylor Swift bought for $20 million in 2015 was billed by some as "rustic" and "farmhouse chic" due to the fireplace and abundance of wood.
