Country Sampler Farmhouse Style Spring 2022

Just as spring brings new life to nature, it prompts us to give a new look to our homes as well. When the days start getting longer and temperatures rise, it’s time to throw open the windows, bring out the light and sunny decor and imbue our spaces with warm-weather charm. Giving rooms a springtime update doesn’t have to be involved or expensive. It can be as simple as wrapping pink or green ribbon around throw pillows or swapping out winter kitchen towels for light linen ones. If you tend to have fuller arrangements of florals and greenery, try some wispy bouquets of wildflower blooms and fern fronds. Even a few cut branches of forsythia in a white earthenware pitcher can provide a cheerful touch to a table in no…

FARMHOUSE CHANDELIERS If you’re looking to shed new light on your kitchen, dining room, foyer or other space with an on-trend fixture, check out the chandelier choices available online through Lamps Plus. Browse hundreds of farmhouse options, complete with customer reviews and photos. www.lampsplus.com LISTEN UP Former teacher turned blogger Dani Watson of www.figandfarmathome.com started a podcast in 2021 to help inspire other moms on a budget with affordable and practical decorating tips and DIYs. She helps others break through the barrier of what’s keeping them stuck in their home design while also encouraging them to authentically tell their home’s story. https://figandfarmathome.podbean.com PIN-WORTHY IDEAS Corey Hudson of the Hudson Farmhouse blog shares great farmhouse DIY and home decor projects on her blog, www.hudsonfarmhouse.com, but she’s also a Pinterest pro. View…

For centuries, people have crafted wood containers to hold goods of all sorts. This includes wood crates, which have long been utilized for transporting and storing food products. Crates were valued for their strength, durability and stackable nature-enduring attributes that have resulted in many vintage food crates being used in today’s farmhouse homes. From crates designed to hold fruits, vegetables or nuts to those that once held bottled beverages, eggs or cheese, all can add charm to your decor while also offering storage when placed on a shelf or tucked beneath a bench. These days, most fruits and vegetables are no longer transported in wood containers because of health code restrictions and the advent of automated packing. Anthony Munoz, owner of California-based The Crate People, has been buying and selling…

Très Magnifique! Though her second-floor laundry was handy, Anne Zirkle of Simply 2 Moms found it left her feeling flat. The cornflower blue walls and stark white laminate cabinets didn’t mesh well with the elegant farmhouse look she’d grown to love. So, she decided to give the room a glow up with French country flair. A new French door lets light flow through the space and illuminate the pretty new peel-and-stick vinyl tiles that cover the worn linoleum. The tiles provide an instant update and pop of pattern. Across from the washer and dryer, Anne installed base cap molding to create shadow-box detailing on the feature wall (see photos on her blog), which complements the custom wood valance that brings architectural character to the window. Similar trim above the existing…

Farmhouses’ humble origins are rooted in Colonial times. When settlers acquired acreage, agriculture preceded architecture. Agrarian structures were simple and functional. Kitchens lacked formal cabinetry, so sundries were stored in butteries strategically positioned in the cooler north-facing corners of houses. Inside, open shelves lined with ironstone, canning jars, tinware and yellowware made food and dinnerware accessible. Today, open shelves have migrated beyond the pantry to provide savvy storage and display all around the home. Perhaps the reasons why open shelves reign as social media darlings are because they’re an affordable DIY project, easy to rearrange, and dramatically enhance the look of a room. Simply install a shelf, showcase some treasures, and the space is ready for its close-up. Who doesn’t love a good-looking shelf propped with daily essentials and artful…

Grow on an Embroidery Hoop Trellis Create a sculptural trellis for vining plants using wood embroidery hoops. Fabiana at Ciao Newport Beach secured these hoops with sturdy wire formed into long U-shaped anchors. Insert the anchors in the soil and attach the stems of plants to the hoops with thick ivory thread or string. Finish the look with multicolored pebbles or gravel around the plant base. It’s no surprise that houseplants gained a new wave of adoring fans during the pandemic. We know that plants help us bring nature inside, fill our need to nurture and even improve air quality. In the past, it has been common to keep a plant or two indoors, maybe a pothos vining down a cabinet or a spiky aloe vera plant in the kitchen.…