PanamaTimes

Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024

DIY Projects and Affordable Finds Bring Farmhouse Style to a Dated '80s Home

DIY Projects and Affordable Finds Bring Farmhouse Style to a Dated '80s Home

This North Carolina blogger gave her 1980s house a cozy remake using flea-market finds and achievable woodworking projects.

Jessica Russell of the Itty Bitty Farmhouse blog says any home has the potential to take on a farmhouse vibe. The secrets: good bones, a fearless attitude when it comes to making updates, and readily available materials and tools.

With rich wood tones, including the kitchen's butcher-block countertops, and a generous front porch, the 1,600-square-foot home near Hickory, North Carolina, provided the perfect canvas for Jessica's DIY upgrades. To strip away some of the '80s aesthetic, she removed wallpaper, refaced the dark wood cabinetry, covered dated flooring with luxury vinyl tile, and sprayed a rock wall white. Shiplap, open shelves, architectural salvage, and white furnishings contribute cozy texture and a bright feel to her home, which she's lived in for three years.



Jessica fell in love with the front porch on this house, built in 1987. To add patina-and introduce the style developed inside-she decorated with flea market finds and antiques, including the authentic two-sided sign and an ice cream bucket, which reminds her of summer evenings with her grandparents. "The porch really brings that 'welcome to the farm' greeting," she says.



To create her farmhouse aesthetic throughout the house, and even outside her bedroom, Jessica layers wood tones and whites, adding in the chippy and vintage pieces for a cozy feel.

"I love white and wood tones because I feel that is always a clean feeling, but you can make it cozy or light," she says. To add depth, Jessica brings in texture through neutral fabrics and rugs, with pops of color coming through seasonal decor and plants.

Jessica has been shopping flea markets and yard sales since she was a child, and she started working on home projects as a teenager. An avid woodworker, she built the sliding barn-style doors, shelves, and laundry room countertops.

She finishes rooms using paint, statement lighting, family hand-me-downs, and more to create a home that's personal, cozy, and truly one of a kind. "I have found amazing chunky pieces of furniture along with truly vintage pieces to bring that down-home feeling," she says.



A white palette allows for easy seasonal updates through textiles, plants, and other finds. Jessica decorates with washed-out rugs for their patina. She found this version at Boutique Rugs. On her mantel, she layered old windows with green glass bottles to contrast with the gritty rock wall. The number 3 throw pillow has sentimental value for Jessica-it was the number on several of her sports uniforms.

The living room's stone wall was an eyesore from day one. Jessica used her Wagner paint sprayer ($159, The Home Depot) to coat the rock wall with exterior-grade white paint. It took her three years to muster the courage to tackle this project, and she loves the result. "Never be afraid of what might happen. Go with your gut feeling-at least try," she says.



The lighting in the dining area was Jessica's first project in this house. She swapped out the original fixture for a ladder bracketing a brass chandelier. "I knew I could come up with something creative with this," she says. She searched for months to find the perfect farm table. Collected chairs and other vintage finds add interest.



Just three pieces of wood and dowels create a plate display rack for a speedy art idea. Wall decals form the background (they represent her mom's pound cake recipe).



Removing upper cabinets visually opened up the small kitchen. Jessica painted the lower cabinets with chalk-finish paint (using her sprayer for the doors and drawers and a brush on the boxes), then sealed the paint with wax. She installed luxury vinyl tile directly over the original ceramic floor tiles. She suggests searching how-tos before trying this intermediate-level project. Open shelves provide easy access to daily essentials and display space.



More shiplap adds texture to the master bedroom. The bed is another affordable find-just $10 at a flea market. Jessica's dad sandblasted the finish and powder-coated the surface with white paint.



A vintage North Carolina antiques sign serves as a handy television disguise in the master bedroom. Jessica uses dowels to prop up the hinged sign.

To build wall texture, she mimicked shiplap throughout the home. For budget purposes, she had utility panels cut to 5 1⁄4-inch-wide strips at Lowe's. The 4×8-foot panels cost $15 vs. up to $10 for a shiplap board. To space the strips, she used a quarter-inch metal rod, which is much easier and faster than using a penny or tile spacers.



To give the bath character, she applied shiplap vertically and topped it with trim.



A stained barn-style door (another DIY project) repeats the wood tones used elsewhere in the home and creates privacy for the guest bedroom when pulled closed. Jessica used a barn-door hardware kit to hang the unit and recommends this over a hack solution. A Shaker peg rail gives bonus storage. To build the bed frame, Jessica found two old doors with multiple layers of paint at an old house. She sanded and painted them and completed the unit using 2×10 and 4×4 boards.



Jessica found the glass door at a local shop and added the "laundry" decal and a glass knob-it's now one of her followers' favorite projects. To add texture to the shelf wall, Jessica applied faux-brick paneling ($38, The Home Depot), treated it with lightweight surfacing compound, then sanded. Countertops and shelves are made from 2×10 boards.



Jessica is never short on work space with this desk that stretches the width of the wall. The butcher-block countertop is from Lowe's, and she found the file cabinets at Goodwill. Black spray paint updates filing cabinets for a quick desk base. The sconces above the shelves are another Russell original: A remote device controls wireless puck lights.



To remove the rust from the vintage lockers in Jessica's office, her dad sandblasted the finish, then she sprayed the unit with Rust-Oleum Chalked Paint in Linen White ($38, The Home Depot).

Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
Apple warns against drying iPhones with rice
In a recent High Court hearing, the U.S. argued that Julian Assange endangered lives by releasing classified information.
Global Law Enforcement Dismantles Lockbit Ransomware Operation
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony
The President of Argentina Javier Mile does not fly private, he flies commercial, with the citizens he represents. And they LOVE him for it.
Bitcoin Reaches $50,000 for First Time in Over Two Years
Belo Horizonte: Brazil's Rising Carnival Hotspot for 2024
In El Salvador, the 'Trump of Latin America' stuns the world with a speech slamming woke policing after winning a landslide election
Tucker’s interview with Putin is over 50M views on X within the first 5 hours.
Finnish Airline, Finnair, is voluntarily weighing passengers to better estimate flight cargo weight
President Nayib Bukele has proudly announced El Salvador's remarkable achievement of becoming the safest nation in the Western Hemisphere.
Former Chilean President Sebastian Piñera Dies in Helicopter Crash
This farmer seems to understand science a bit more than the event organizer, Klaus Schwab.
Facebook turns 20: From Mark Zuckerberg's dormitory to a $1trn company
The Coolest Dictator in the World" on the Path to Victory in El Salvador
Macron, France and fake news
Indian-Origin Man 'King' Arrested For Smuggling $16 Million Drugs Into US
Can someone teach Americans that not every person with slanted eyes is Chinese?
Europe's Farmers Feeding the People, Protesting Against Politicians Who Do Nothing for Their Country and Serve Only Themselves at Taxpayers' Expense
Paris Restaurant That Inspired 'Ratatouille' Loses $1.6 Million Worth Of Wine
Brazilian Police Investigate Bolsonaro's Son for Alleged Illegal Spying
Police in Brazil Raid Residence of Bolsonaro Associate Over Allegations of Illegal Spying
Border Dispute Escalates as Texas Governor Vows Increased Razor Wire
OpenAI Enhances ChatGPT-4 Model, Potentially Addressing AI "Laziness" Issue
The NSA finally acknowledges spying on Americans by acquiring sensitive data
Report Reveals Toxic Telegram Group Generating X-Rated AI-Generated Fake Images of Taylor Swift
US Border Patrol States 'No Plans' to Remove Razor Wire Installed in Texas
Bitcoin Experiences Approximately 20% Decline in Value
Klaus Schwab recently appointed himself as the Earth's "trustee of the future."
DeSantis Drops Out, Endorses Trump.
Nikki Haley said former President Trump is "just not at the same level" of mental fitness as he was while president in 2016.
Residents of a southern Mexican town set the government palace on fire in response to the police killing of a young man
Samsung Launches AI-Driven Galaxy S24, Ushering in New Smartphone Era
Judge Questions SEC's Regulatory Overreach in Coinbase Lawsuit
The Ecuador prosecutor who was investigating the television studio attack, has been assassinated.
Is artificial intelligence the solution to cyber security threats?
Vivek Ramaswamy suspends his US election campaign and endorses Trump.
Viral Satire: A Staged Satirical Clip Mistaken as Real Footage from the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos
The AI Revolution in the Workforce: CEOs at Davos Predict Major Job Cuts in 2024
Ecuador Reports 178 Hostages in Prison Gang Standoff
The Startling Cuban Espionage Case That Has Rattled the US Government
Two Armed Men in Ecuador, Dressed as Batman and The Joker Storm the Streets.
Armed Gang Raids Ecuadorian TV Station Following State of Emergency Declaration
Anti-Democratic Canada: Journalist Arrested for Questioning Canadian Finance Minister on Support of Terrorist Group
Ecuador's 'Most-Wanted' Criminal Vanishes from Prison
Mexican Cartel Supplied Wi-Fi to Locals Under Threat of Fatal Consequences for Non-Compliance
Border Surge Leads to Over 11,000 Migrants Waiting in Northern Mexico
Outsider Candidates Triumph in Latin American Elections
As Argentina Goes to the Polls, Will the Proposal to Replace the Peso with the Dollar Secure Votes?
Fatal Shark Attack Claims Life of Boston Woman Paddleboarding Near Bahamas Resort, According to Police
×