What makes a farmhouse?
Is it a place surrounded by corn fields?
Where cows graze in green pastures?
Where chickens nest
or
gardens are harvested?
Or is it just a style,
a way of life
carried out in
our hearts?...
For me,
it is a distant memory
of simpler times,
where I helped gather eggs
with my grandmother
and
watched my grandfather
milk the cows.
I suppose
our Cottage
could be considered a farmhouse
as there is evidence of
old apple orchards
dotted throughout the neighborhood,
but as far as I know,
no farmer ever inhabited it.
It was the home of
a gold miner and
his family.
My style of decorating
is a little eclectic.
I have always considered my roots
to be in country
but over time
changes come about
and little bits of other styles
creep in.
If you have checked out
my Pinterest boards
you will see evidence of that
in what I have pinned.
The parlor has a Victorian flair
but not to the extent of
the true Victorian style.
Since the Cottage dates from 1879,
I would love to have seen how
Mrs. Garland,
the miner's wife,
decorated it.
The guest bedroom
is a mix of
country and Victorian.
A more traditional scene
is set in the sitting room
where the emphasis is on
comfort
with a more modern update.
The dining room
is done in a darker,
more primitive fashion,
which is very
appealing
to me...
...which brings us to
the reason for this post.
The reveal of the new "old" kitchen.
If you would care
to refresh your memory
of what came before,
you can see that here.
If you do look back
then you will know
that I stand corrected.
There apparently is
a Time Line #6!!
Since the layout is
pretty much the same,
I won't give you a
play-by-play account
of each picture.
I will start out
with what you would see
as you enter from the dining room
and then turn to your left
as you move around the room
to your right...
I wasn't going to keep this chair
in here
as it has seen better days,
but we soon realized that
Kai
uses it as a "safe" place
in the few times
that he is left alone,
so how could we not?!
When a neighbor moved out of her home
we bought this screen door for $8.
It has found
a perfect use
and a
perfect place.
I have framed
a few of my photographs
that fit into the
farmhouse scheme.
I consider this arrangement
the crowning glory
of the kitchen.
I love the grungy, distressed finish
of the hanging cupboard
and the fun transformation
of the Ikea sideboard.
It's hard to get far enough away
to get one good photograph.
My pretty aprons
act as a window treatment
on the laundry room door
and the refrigerator
still sticks out
like a sore thumb.
My hope is that
I'll be able to talk the Captain
into building a cabinet around it
some day.
I just have to be smart
enough
to pick my battles!
One reason
it took us so long
to get this job done
was a disagreement
that we had about paint color.
As you might recall
the walls were yellow
and this was JUST FINE
with the Captain.
I wanted them white.
Something very different
from anyplace else in the Cottage,
and we all know,
no matter what,
the one item that cries farmhouse
is white walls.
Well,
you can see who won
that war!
DUH!
Which brings us back to...
what is a farmhouse?
It appears
that it is a little of everything
but mostly
whatever is in
your heart...
...with a few chickens
and some farm style
thrown in...
My heartfelt thanks
to the Captain
and
his little apprentice
who made it all possible...
THIS IS FOR YOU...
💕 💕 💕
...Judy...
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