Getting to know Bovina Farm and Fermentory

22nd December 2025

By Holly Bishop

Bovina Farm and Fermentory, the most idyllic weekend getaway in upstate New York. A place where time slows down and no detail goes unmissed. What a cool place to own and run, all done by Elizabeth and Jake.

We were recently sent photos from them both following the completion of their second deVOL project on the farm and I fell so in love. It’s perfect in every way. I decided to ask Elizabeth and Jake a few questions about this wonderful place and I thought you might enjoy learning a little more about it too…

All the beautiful photography is by Sarah Elliot.

 

Hi Elizabeth and Jake! Please tell us a little about Bovina Farm and Fermentory…
Bovina Farm and Fermentory is a small restaurant, guesthouse, brewery and farm in the Catskill mountains of upstate New York. The farm welcomes visitors year-round to its property for inn stays and weekly Saturday night dinner parties. With a strong dedication to agriculture and local food, the restaurant and brewery sources all ingredients from the farm’s own gardens or from neighboring farms. We built the house, barn and farm outbuildings with the help of a local timber-frame barn builder, family and friends. The main house offers a cozy dining room and three comfortably appointed guesthouse rooms, one of which features a deVOL Shaker kitchen and living space. The main barn is home to the brewery and a loft with a spacious timber-framed inn room. A freestanding guest cottage sits in its own secluded stand of cherry trees on the 20-acre property, equipped with a small deVOL kitchen, living area with a woodstove and whimsical curtained bed nook. The farm is home to a small flock of dairy sheep, two donkeys and a family of chickens and ducks.

A photo of a white-boarded cottage nestled in an area of woodland, the trees have yellow and red leaves indicating it was taken during autumn. A long path leads down to the building.

The Guest Cottage, Elizabeth and Jake’s latest project… and it has a little deVOL kitchen!!

 

And what made you want to start this wonderful business?
Having grown up rurally, we both experienced the joy of having a garden and space to roam from a young age. Growing food, cooking and hosting was central to both of our upbringings, and a love and respect for nature was at the core. During a semester abroad while studying at Cornell University, we lived in the Czech Republic and spent time traveling around various countries to explore the world of food, beverage and hospitality. Upon moving back to the area where Jake grew up, home to the Sackett family since the mid 1800s, we began building out the homestead and blending our love of food, beverage, farming and hosting into Bovina Farm and Fermentory.

 

The first project we worked on together was back at the end of 2020, a simple Shaker kitchen for your beautiful barn on Bovina Farm. How did you discover deVOL?
Yes, the kitchen upstairs in the main house, in what we now call The Maison Room. We drew so much inspiration from Shaker furniture and design during our building process. Friends even began gifting us various Shaker design and furniture-making books! The overall design of the house emerged out of the simplicity of clean lines, practical storage pieces and purposeful décor. The kitchen was to be small but mighty, simple but beautiful and built by hand using natural materials. Our search led us to the Shaker range from deVOL with its hardworking functionality and warm, British design sensibilities.

A landscape photo of a simple kitchen. Along the back wall is a run of shaker-style cupboard, it also houses a white oven and white fridge, as well as a ceramic sink. Above are two sets of open shelves. In front is a dining table with wooden chairs around it. To the left is a wooden burning stove.

The first deVOL kitchen for Bovina Farm and Fermentory, we worked on this in early 2021.

 

Why did you think deVOL would be a good fit for the space?
The style of our farmhouse is simple and pared-back. We knew that we needed a few quality pieces of furniture to anchor the spaces, alongside the built-in cabinetry that we constructed throughout the house. Everything had to be functional and hardworking in addition to being nice to look at – we needed pieces that are meant to be weathered and worn and can stand the test of time. The craftsmanship and simplicity of deVOL’s cabinets felt like a seamless match and the natural materials that develop a patina over time work harmoniously with the raw wood floorboards and other living finishes around the house. Aside from a few antique and handmade treasures, the house has minimal flourish – we let the countryside views and these staple furniture pieces do all of the talking!

A run of shaker-style base cabinets, painted in a soft greige and topped with wooden worktops. A ceramic Belfast sink has been fitted within the run and on the far left is a white cooker. Above, two sets of open shelves have been installed, the hold kitchen aaccoutrement. The walls are an off-white colour and the floorboards are bare.

A closer look at this perfectly simple kitchen…

 

We were lucky enough to work with you for the second time last summer, please tell us about your wonderful new Guest Cottage and why you decided on deVOL again.
The Guest Cottage is our little labor of love that we spent the last two years building. We pulled in several willing friends and Elizabeth’s father to help us build it from the ground up, hoist its impressive rough-cut beams and clad its wooden walls. The Cottage is surrounded by cherry trees, so we settled on cherry floorboards and a cherry butcher block countertop with various shades of green used in its interiors to mimic the forest around it. With the Cottage being only one room, it was important that everything inside worked well together and made an immediate good first impression. The deVOL cabinets painted in Wilkes Green add a touch of whimsy against the lighter green walls and flow nicely into the built-in bench that Jake built to nestle beside the deVOL Vineyard Table in the dining nook. We used a green gingham linen fabric to create curtains that enclose the bed, to provide some separation from the rest of the space. But our suggestion: sleep with the curtains open to awaken to the view of the mountain valley tumbling out in front of the wall of windows and to see that gorgeous little deVOL kitchen awaiting its morning cup of coffee!

A landscape photo of a little cottage, to the left is a short run of base cabinetry, beside it is a round wooden table with seating. To the right is a bed. Straight ahead are 3 windows looking out to countryside views.

All you could ever need… more photos below.

A shaker-style kitchen, it's just a short run of base cabinetry, painted in a deep green with wooden worktops. In the middle is a ceramic Belfast sink with a ribbed front. To the right is an cupboard which has a curtain front. Above are two windows and in between two shelves have been fitted. The walls have been panelled and painted in a soft green, the floorboards are bare.

An angled photo of a wood burning stove fitted in the corner of a simple room. To its right is a white cooker. The walls have been panelled and painted in a soft green, the floorboards are bare.

A straight on photo looking at a double bed set up. It has a panelled base and curtains fitted at the top to give it a four-poster vibe. The bedding is white and there's a brown blanket over the top. The walls and ceiling have been panelled and painted in a soft green. The floorboards have been covered with a jute rug.

 

I really love the cottage’s simple country look, it’s humble but you can tell every detail was so considered. What is your favourite thing about it?
Our favorite thing about The Cottage would have to be its light, both natural outdoor light and subtle indoor lighting. Even when it was still just a construction site, The Cottage had some of the best light on the property, warm and golden come early evening. It floods into the small abode through the wall of windows on the south-facing wall and through the sets of French doors on either end. Since The Cottage is off-grid and powered only by a solar array, electricity is minimal. Aside from soft candle light, our favorite indoor light is the pendant hanging above the deVOL table, handmade by our friend Camille, who sells the pendant and other ceramic goodies through her business, Camille Callahan Clay.

An angled photo of a little dining area in a simple space. It has a round wooden table by the window and two wooden chairs pulled up to it, against the wall a bench seat has been fitted. A small section of kitchen cabinetry is visible from the left hand side of the photo.

The prettiest views and such lovely, soft light.

 

What are your plans for this wonderful little place?
The last two years were all about getting The Cottage built and standing! It has been such a joy to see it come to life in the hands of all of the inn guests who have already walked through its doors since this summer. Next spring, we can focus on completing its outdoor space. We plan to add a small porch off the side next to our donkey pasture. We’ve already snuck a handful of tulip bulbs into its yard and a small rose hedge of apricot-colored roses flanks its woodland border. We want to add some garden benches out in front of the valley view so folks can enjoy this outdoor space as much as the inside. We would also love to spend some time staying there ourselves, perhaps we’ll have to block off the inn calendar for a while!

A photo looking out through an open door in the countryside. To the right is a bed with curtains fitted around it. The floorboards are bare and the walls and ceiling have been panelled.

Leading outside to the cherry trees and the donkey pasture, how perfect.

 

Thank you so much for your time and for choosing deVOL not only once but twice! It is so special to see our handmade cabinetry, furniture and accessories in such a beautiful setting. What’s next for you on the farm?! Any exciting plans in the pipeline?
Thank you for working with us and for helping to bring our visions of home to life! On the horizon right now we see house wine and a vineyard, a bigger produce operation and pigs! Perhaps a three-season cabin or two. Stay tuned! x Elizabeth and Jake

 

– You can find out more about this incredible place here, Bovina Farm and Fermentory.

– If you’d like to create your own little haven, we’d love to hear from you. Our Design Service tab explains how to get started.

– Keep up to date with all our latest projects and exciting news on our Instagram.