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"View Slideshow\n\nSeen from a distance, it&amp;#39;s pure Americana. On a former dairy farm in central Ohio, down a long, winding driveway, past pastures, ponds, even a waterfall, sits what at first appears to be a hamlet of pristine farm buildings, including a stylized, rectilinear tower. But, closer in, these turn out to be just one structure, its taller segments, which resemble separate buildings, connected by one-story skylighted corridors. Crisp and low-key, the 15,000-square-foot residence, says interior designer John Barman, is &amp;quot;a wonderful contemporary American farmhouse.&amp;quot;\n\nNo less American, in its way, is the story of the man who lives here, race car driver Jeg Coughlin, Jr. A three-time NHRA POWERade world champion, he&amp;#39;s part of a dynasty, one of four racing sons of another venerable racer, Jeg Coughlin, Sr. All five own and operate Team Jegs, which provides &amp;quot;high-performance parts for race cars of all sorts,&amp;quot; says Coughlin.\n\nRaised on another Ohio farm, not far from this one, Coughlin bought the 135-acre property a decade ago and maintains 50 acres of it as a working farm. It&amp;#39;s a deeply relaxing setting, which seems only fitting, since his professional life sounds anything but: A drag racer, he specializes in short spurts of unimaginable intensity, revving his cars from zero to 200 miles an hour in six seconds flat.\n\nCoughlin hired George Acock, whose architectural firm, Acock Associates, is based in nearby Columbus, because &amp;quot;his tastes were right up my alley,&amp;quot; he says; both he and the architect favor stucco and stone. The house was partly inspired by his parents&amp;#39; vacation properties: Its tower (which houses a library and meditation room) recalls their New England home overlooking Maine&amp;#39;s Acadia National Park; the one-story segments pay homage to their ranch-style house in Florida.\n\nThe game room has a racing simulator on which Coughlin hones his skills.\n\nFrom the massive front door of rich mahogany, the architect&amp;#39;s unabashed love of materials is on display. He brought outdoor elements indoors, too, including North Shore limestone for the walls. The result, says Judy Doll, an architectural designer who worked on the project, &amp;quot;is a totally seamless feeling. You can&amp;#39;t tell if you&amp;#39;re inside or outside.&amp;quot; Capacious glass windows, used in almost all the rooms, intensify this effect.\n\nThe entrance hall feels vastly proportioned, with a glass wall seeming to double an already voluminous space. A staircase of cantilevered limestone blocks &amp;quot;kind of cascades down,&amp;quot; in Coughlin&amp;#39;s words, from the couple&amp;#39;s son&amp;#39;s suite on the floor above. Straight ahead, the dining room can be glimpsed through a generously sized doorway; to the left, the double-height living room appears to soar.\n\nGiven such bold architectural design, the most sensible strategy, when it came to the interior, was to not compete. &amp;quot;It was, how do we not disturb what has already taken place here?&amp;quot; Karen Coughlin recalls. &amp;quot;Anything we put in here could fuss it up.&amp;quot; Barman agreed: &amp;quot;My goal was not to have the decoration take over the house.&amp;quot;\n\nHe anchored the living room&amp;#39;s almost dizzying height with pieces that sit low on the ground. Spare, yet ample, they have a certain deliberate uniformity: &amp;quot;The idea was to keep it controlled. We wanted some sort of continuity, since the rooms flow into each other.&amp;quot; The preponderance of rough stone demanded that &amp;quot;the upholstery be inviting and warm and the furniture comfortable,&amp;quot; he adds. A strict-lined chaise lounge of dark wood\u2014a material Coughlin favors\u2014with a rich brown leather cushion and a pale upholstery fabric seems to sum up the prevailing aesthetic. Because of the ceiling&amp;#39;s height, a long chandelier was chosen: &amp;quot;I wanted some drop in there,&amp;quot; Karen Coughlin says. The one here, of concentric circles, is two-story, like the room.\n\nWhen Barman first suggested fitting the room&amp;#39;s distinctive bay window\u2014which he calls &amp;quot;a glass silo&amp;quot;\u2014with a curved leather sofa, Jeg Coughlin was &amp;quot;worried that it was going to block the view,&amp;quot; the designer remembers, &amp;quot;but I said, It&amp;#39;s going to be the reverse. It&amp;#39;s going to bring you to the glass.&amp;#39; &amp;quot; Now this area, which Coughlin dubbed &amp;quot;the half-moon room,&amp;quot; is a favorite, he says. &amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s a very peaceful spot if you want to sit and cool out. You might even fall asleep!&amp;quot;\n\nThe dining room, too, basks in what the designer describes as the &amp;quot;really park like setting.&amp;quot; The flat plane of the Barman-designed dining table (inspired by Jean-Michel Frank) reflects the level midwestern landscape; the strong verticality of the room&amp;#39;s tall chairs and hanging lanterns recalls the majestic surrounding trees. Above the fireplace, a painting by artist Megan Lightell evokes the local landscape so exactly that it creates an almost trompe l&amp;#39;oeil effect. Opposite the dining room, a skylighted corridor leads to the master suite, with its creamy palette.\n\nIn an interior with such subtle hues, the occasional burst of bright color comes as a shock. And nowhere more so than in what Coughlin calls his &amp;quot;very racing-themed, very racing-oriented&amp;quot; game room and study (which adjoins a wine cellar and tasting room, theater room and guest suite). This oval room, conceived in yellow and black\u2014Coughlin&amp;#39;s team&amp;#39;s colors\u2014is chock-full of distractions, from pinball games to a racing simulator on which he hones his skills. Framed memorabilia line the bright yellow walls; the witty black-and-white-checked carpet, of Barman&amp;#39;s own design, could be a racing flag writ large. &amp;quot;That really makes me dizzy,&amp;quot; Karen Coughlin says with a laugh. &amp;quot;The whole room has a Las Vegas feel.&amp;quot;\n\nIt&amp;#39;s an atypical burst of exuberance for a house that&amp;#39;s &amp;quot;all about restraint in decorating,&amp;quot; Barman says. The goal, he adds, &amp;quot;was to make it look effortless. It&amp;#39;s like Armani clothes. Everything has to be perfect and tailored and exact.&amp;quot; It was demanding work, but, as Coughlin puts it, &amp;quot;the end result is outstanding.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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