Inspired By Farmhouse Freshness

Click on any photo for a larger view. The porch is so welcoming! Hello, is anyone home? Can I have a look inside? Gosh, let me tell you, I just love the trim over the doorway, the screen door (that would most likely have that pleasant and timeless "slam" after I walk in), and the cheerful geraniums, the six over six windows (I WANT THOSE!) and the old signs, the Coca-Cola cooler (oh, how I love COKE!) and the metal glider...all of it!

Click on any photo to enlarge and see more details and read the text...I like how she's worked white and off-white in together in the buffet photo on the upper left, the bucket of daisies, the all white plates on an all-white wall, all over an off-white buffet (Who would've thought?) and the blue and white bowlful of apples. And, if you click on this photo, on the top right you can see the homeowner's clever use of an old laundry room sink in the bathroom!

Oh, be still my heart: a planter made with an old marbled blue enamelware container! And that little curly-haired boy bringing the eggs inside with that gorgeous bucket! I just can't tell you how happy all the primary colors make me!

This kitchen makes me go weak in the knees, there's so much that I love, love, LOVE about it! For one, the plates on the wall, the cafe curtain fashioned from dishtowels, the glass jars on the work island with all the different color metal lids, the glass cabinet doors and what's inside them, and that LIGHTING!


A cozy upstairs bedroom tucked under the eaves, with quilts in my favorite colors: red, white, and blue, and that adirondack chair with the starry pillow would be perfect to sit and read a book. Check out the curved railing and curved steps: I can just hear them creaking under my feet as I walk upstairs to go to bed....in that cozy bedroom!



Oh, look! A red gingham slipcovered couch with blue ticking covered pillows! WOW! Roosters, and baskets, oh my! Rag rugs, Boston ferns, green shutters hung on the inside! And the sun showing up those shiny oak floors!

Blue willow dishes with the gorgeous red geraniums are GORGEOUS! If you click on the photo, you'll see another clever use of a redwork dishtowel in place of a cafe curtain!


What a cool cabinet to have in the kitchen...WOW! And more cool lighting, and don't you just love how she repurposed large napkins for placemats and just hung the extra over the edge of the table? And those cheery cherry chair covers (say that ten times, fast), mixed with red-painted chairs, all so crisp and cheerful!



Another red gingham couch with a blue ticking ottoman...couldn't you just sink in and put your feet up? And a milk-can lamp? Oh, mercy! I think I better stop gushing now and hush.



This is the cover of the magazine, so that if you go looking for it and all the inspiration inside, you'll know what it looks like. The spread featured in my post is just the beginning of the all the fun inside!

The recent notifications from publishing companies whose certain magazines will be discontinuing publication are sad; for me it means at least three of my favorites are gone.

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Blogging helps with the enjoyment I get from being able to browse and look at other homes for ideas, and inspiration and admittedly, a bit of escape--however, you can't take the p.c. with you to browse through while on a road trip, while rocking in the chair as you watch television (magazines are great to flip through during the commercials) or for times like waiting in the school parking lot in the car for your son to finish basketball practice.

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All that is to say I don't see the need for me to have a magazine close at hand going away anytime soon. I have at least five years more of waiting for practice to end, and a lifetime (I hope!) of travel.

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Recently I stopped into a home improvement store for a tension rod, and near the cash register I spotted this: "COTTAGE STYLE" but wait, it's a publication by Hearst Magazines, (so is it actually a magazine?) and best of all, THERE ARE NO ADS to interrupt photo spreads! It was around $10, but so worth it, and I can't wait until the next one comes out. Inside are many homes done in the cottage style, and all so different and all lovely to look at.
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But, inside was also a home I'd seen a year or more back (and never forgotten!) in "Midwest Living" and I thought I'd saved the article, and I probably did, but now I don't have to hunt it down because here, at the front of the book is a spread on this inspiring farmhouse! (Click on link for more photos on the Midwest Living website.) I wanted to share the photos of it with you, so you can enjoy some farmhouse freshness with me.

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This is what I aspire to in our old farmhouse...what I like about it is the combination of farmhouse country and the cottage look living in perfect harmony! I love, love, love the bright use of color in this home, and am so happy that I've been able to find another publication (even though it's only published bi-monthly, it featured SIXTEEN homes!) that I can take along with me for browsing through with that cup of coffee or wherever. Enjoy!