birdy_10

Good advice! I even refuse to have 'a well stocked home' and be prepared for everything life may throw at me. I also don't change cushions, carpets or curtains just because a new season has arrived. It would simply mean owning way too much stuff and having to store it somewhere. To many it's a joy, to me it's a burden.

I WAS GOING TO PAINT MY BASEMENT WITH LIGHT GRAY AND ACCENT COLOR FOR 2 WALLS BUT i AM NOT FOR SURE WHAT COLOR FOR ACCENT. I picked out pediment from sherwin williams for the base walls and had also received ideas for misty as accent walls or samovar .If I can get the right gray for all the walls bbut the 2 accent walls.would be nice.Whhen I saw the colors that you have in teracottas and charcoal gray,i like them too. So do you have any suggestions for me,My house is small. Here are my pictures and the rug is about 15 years old but still looks good. It is berber,and I can't afford to change it right now,and I know the colors are dated. Please help! Oh and popular gray is another suggestiion for my main walls,but I want to make sure before I put the lighter gray on all the other walls.Agray that will go wiith different accents

THIS IS THE COLOR WE THOUGHT OUR VYNL SIDING TRIM WOULD BE.

Distractions could definitely be a posibility, Michael. Also perhaps all the images we see of others' homes--others who may have vastly more money / time / creativity / resources / help than we might. Houzz and other websites and tv shows like it are very useful, they also incite discontent with all the things we do have. Homes are like family members, sometimes you just have to love them and work with what you have :-D

OMG - clearly you've all had the budget to hire someone to take off all those layers of paint over layers of wallpaper over layers of paint - I never did, and I'd never leave any behind for someone else, either. Well, I and my steamer and my scraper are experts at this. I should start up a new business! BTW - much easier to take it off lathe & plaster than sheetrock!

I have 6 different patterns of wallpaper in my own home and my Hubby and I installed them all. I buy vinyl prepasted, stripable (spelling?) wallpaper. I have removed wallpaper from 3 rooms and rewallpapered them again. They came down in big sheets. Hubby filled the holes from wall art. It is not ever a good idea to put one wallpaper on top of an old wallpaper. Homes with the best style use wallpaper.

This Ideabook made me have to go back and reread the Ideabook on Fred McMurray's farm. The difference between the two Ideabooks was very significant. Granted, the title of this one "Modern Farmhouse Style" indicates that this is about today rather than the era of real farmhouses, but still it creates food for thought.
First thought. One of the statements in the McMurray piece was, "people bought things that would last." To me, and it is ironic that my house is an attempt at farmhouse style, the modern farmhouse style is just another trend that will be over in the near future and all those modern farmhouses will be gutted and the art and the quilts will be sent to goodwill. The modern farmhouse style is just too precious to last.

Second thought. The art that you show on the walls is just grotesque. Of course, that is just my opinion, but it is what someone who has never been near a farm thinks of as "farm-like" Why would a farmer have a painting of a cow, when he has dozens of the irritating critters right outside the door? Same with the grain sacks. Grain sacks are a symbol of poverty. Not anything a moderately prosperous farmer's wife would consider having in her house.

Third thought. Shaker style furniture. The only farmers who had Shaker furniture were Shakers! The lack of attention to regional differences in farmhouse style is regrettable. To have a "real" farmhouse the owner has to investigate the locale in which the house is located. Local antiques are going to make your farmhouse much more homey than something from 1500 miles away. The Midwest, which to me is the beginning of the farmhouse style, is awash in local antiques, as is the South.

Last thought. Barn doors indoors. The most ridiculous thing I have ever seen.

Finally this rant is almost over. I understand completely that Houzz is about design and not about making your house a museum as the McMurray house is. I get it! But still, I wish that we houzzers could make some attempt to encourage people to hold on to what they have, and go with what their house's architecture dictates rather than encouraging people to create something that is not even close to true. The "touches" advocated in this Ideabook are not going to create a farmhouse, not even a modern farmhouse. They are a mishmash of Products, as indicated by the fact that the first two comments here are selling something. I regret this trend in Houzz. The creation of "styles" that are only to sell, not to inform or educate.

I wish Houzz would come to my tiny community and see what the people here have done with real farmhouses. It is amazing, creative, and entertaining. And authentic. But there isn't a single grain sack, barn door, or metal chair anywhere.

Hi Laurie. Any chance of removing or cutting back some of the trees? I'm not just thinking about the plants. My mood reacts favorably to sunlight. Maybe you can get an expert who knows how to trim them.

I already had that done when I bought the house. I removed some trees and had the rest trimmed up. The windows are smaller in these older homes and my eves are a lot larger than newer homes. I'll live with fewer house plants since the summers here are really hot. I need the shade.

Great article. I absolutely love ferns. Yes, the Ostrich ferns need to be thinned every few years if they spread too aggressively. I usually design fern gardens with mixes of native ferns, planted in clumps and drifts to create a tapestry of different textures.

I agree with your design style. The garden is much more interesting when several species or cultivars are used.

Nicole Lepoutre-Baldocchi
You say, "the only creatures that ever sit in that corner seat are the pups." like that's a BAD thing. ;-)

@reedb56, I wasn't sure of your question. Are you buying a sofa in addition to the Ethan Allen chairs you have? Would need to see the room or layout. If you start a discussion, post on here and let us know and I promise to hop on the discussion. Thanks.

Thanks so much Jillybeansisme ! I'll check out that website....

colors - dark cabinets and light watery grey tiles