Home

[Oznell]

Do you like it when magazines follow "real life" people as they slowly renovate their house?  Country Living did this starting in 2021 with Victoria and Marcus Ford, partial do-it-yourselfers who had already transformed their first house.

Victoria describes their style as "classic, with a wink".   And hubby dubbed her online site as "The Prepster Wife".  I'd add: definitely preppy, cottage, with a nice dash of breezy, coastal-inflected Americana.  They clearly like American flags, blue-and-white, libraries, and vintage.

"BEFORE"   living room.   The couple does like blue (as you'll see throughout the house),  but this previous owner's blue to me is blah, and a bit harsh.   Fireplace wall needs HELP!

"AFTER" living room:

Chunky built in shelves, oil painting,  fireplace surround (they left a nice bit of the brick still peeking out), cozy rug and pillows, yes!  

But a big, yet subtle change is their choice of a "warmer", moodier blue, I think.  It's a wee bit dark for me, but it's so effective here.  It's "Endless Sea" by Sherwin-Williams.  

She scored this fab distressed leather sofa, only to have it adorned by their sweet doggie:

BEFORE dining room:

AFTER  dining room.  Love the green:

AFTER  kitchen.  Adore the blue ceiling, beadboard backsplash, and nautical lights:

Cheerful breakfast nook, enlivened by very personal art and photographs:

See what I mean about preppy?  Love the trunk, and wall-mounted vintage racquets!   Tennis (or badminton), anyone? 

It sounds funny, but I might be most nuts about their laundry room and bathrooms.  I have a nightmare laundry room, so I'm deeply envious of theirs:

Here's a charming vignette of the use of beadboard in one of their baths:

BEFORE.  Another  bathroom.  Check out the over-the-top coastal themed room they found when they moved in:

AFTER.  Ahhhhh!   Here's the still-coastal, but elegant, nostalgic bath they turned it into:

LOVE!   If you want to see more of their process and pictures, just search Makeover Takeover 2021 Country Living Colonial Comeback.

[DREAMON]

I like the Kitchen, Breakfast Nook, and Laundry Room. The other rooms are overly decorated for me and I would have to remove most of the art and STUFF.

I prefer the brick fireplace over the wood surround. I don't care for all that wood being stored inside the house. A small amount of wood stacked next to the fireplace is good but more than that is messy and not for me.

[phoenixbrd]

I do love seeing the transformation of "normal" homes....able to relate and often tips that can be helpful.  I like most of the design choices in this house (not too fond of the firewood stash surrounding the fireplace).  Always great to see new ideas, thanks @Oznell!. Love the addition of doggie😉

[DSD2]

My favorite decoration was the doggie!

I loved the paint colors and the couples's beautiful sense of style. The bathroom wall and ceiling tiles were beyond. "Endless Sea" color was perfect. Loved the laundry room flooring.

If I would change one thing, it would be to cut down on the artwork/pictures. Six in that small bathroom space was simply too much. I am sure the tennis rackets in the bedroom have some significance but the wall art distracted from the loveliness of the room.

Oznell thank you for posting this!

[RedTop]

Way too much blue for me.

[Imaoldhippie]

I like everything they did.  Very rich and warm.

[Patriot3]

I take Country Living mag and I did follow the Fords.  Very ambitious people and I like all that they did.

[Oznell]

Maybe I should look into getting "Country Living" again too, @Patriot3 .   I had dropped them, when I thought they were getting away from showing houses, and more into other things, food, "lifestyle" stuff, etc.  But I would have loved the series with the Fords.  I think it was Country Living that did the long series on the remodel of "Bee Cottage",  or am I thinking of a different mag...

On a completely different note, I sometimes think I do a disservice to the rooms by posting these pictures.  The living room of the Fords, for example.  Online (and probably in the mazazine too),  you got a real feeling of how spacious it was--  but here in the thread, it looked more "squinched" together, giving a more clutter-y feeling. You really couldn't tell how beautiful it was.  Sigh.

[manny2]

The couple did a beautiful job updating this home. I have said it before, I love modern clean lines, so this would not be for me. However, my love of modern does not discourage my admiration for other aesthetics. 

I want that trunk at the foot of the bed. I love pieces like that around the house. I have a similar trunk. It adds a little twist to my otherwise modern decor. 

[stevieb]

I believe I saw a layout in the magazine of either this or a prior home reimagined by this couple as something here seems very familiar, though I can't specify what. Warm and inviting, they've done some very nice work on their home.