Upstate Update

Influenced by the verdant pastures in rural New York state, savvy homeowners layer their spaces with reimagined antiques, hand-me-down heirlooms and homemade furnishings.

Taking a cue from the bucolic setting that surrounds their rural New York–state home, enterprising homeowners layer their rooms with refurbished goods, family heirlooms and handmade accents.

Drive 10 minutes beyond the city limits of Utica, New York, and the urban landscape fades into rolling hills, forests and farmland. Wanting to trade city living for a quiet place in the country, Kim and Bill Dedrick relocated with their young family to rural Marcy, New York, and embarked on the adventure of constructing a home in 2006.

When considering the type of home they wanted, the Dedricks pictured a modern floor plan distinguished by vintage details and enough space to accommodate their growing family. They ended up building a 2,000-square-foot raised ranch with expansive windows positioned to provide vistas of the neighboring dairy farm.

“We enjoy living in the country for the peace and quiet,” Kim muses. “Our neighbors know each other, help, and look out for one another. My kids, husband and I enjoy watching cows graze across the road. Our views are beautiful and calming.”

In the years since they moved in, providing the home with the antique aesthetic they prefer has happened one DIY project at a time. Bill is a skilled handyman, and his structural improvements have entailed installing stonework above the entry, facing the front door with shiplap and rustic hardware, transforming the large back deck into a dining room and a screened porch, replacing carpet with wide-plank laminate flooring, adding a mantel to the living room fireplace and building a barnboard accent wall in the master bedroom.

Decorating comes naturally to Kim, and her tastes include a blend of earth tones, period lighting and primitive-style vignettes. “I have no training in decorating. I’ve loved to design and decorate since I was a kid, even collecting antiques as a teenager,” she reveals. Customers who shop her booth at Newport Marketplace in Newport, New York, and her Facebook page (LiaBelPrimitives) would argue that Kim is modest and her signature style is one to emulate.

Before Instagram and Pinterest, Kim frequented estate sales and antiques shows for inspiration. Her annual pilgrimage to the Madison-Bouckville

Antique Week in Bouckville, New York, has yielded countless treasures, such as pottery, egg holders, painted signs and grain sacks. Though some people might find 2,000 dealers spread across 14 fields overwhelming, Kim’s focus is steadfast. “I look for items that can be repurposed, such as drawers as shelves on the wall or old boxes stacked as tables. Baskets are great to look for, too. I know what I want to spend, and I never pay the asking price; I always negotiate,” she says.

In addition to their diligently sought treasures, the Dedricks welcome handme-down furnishings and value the memories associated with each bestowed item. For example, Kim inherited a cupboard boasting mint green chippy paint from her grandfather. This, her most-cherished heirloom, presides in her kitchen alongside a butcher block passed down from a friend. Serendipitous finds are also welcome, such as the trashpicked table Bill found on his way to work one day. He knew Kim would recognize the antique’s potential, so he brought it home and she placed it in the dining room near a rustic ladder.

If Kim is not pleased with an item in its current condition, she won’t hesitate to alter it with paint. She gave the kitchen cabinets a makeover with a distressed paint finish. “Paint is a cheap DIY. It totally changes the look of something,” she observes.

When the couple have trouble locating a particular piece of furniture, they team with Kim’s father to build their own. Their collaborations include shadow boxes, a farmer’s table in the dining room and a four-poster bed in the master bedroom.

Last fall, Kim and Bill embarked on a new chapter as their son began attending college. Life changes can be challenging, but the family finds solace in knowing that, even after their children eventually leave, they will always enjoy returning to their comfortable countryside home, which has taken on the welcoming charm of its surroundings.

Kim and Bill Dedrick borrowed styling cues from the countryside and redefined their raised ranch with vinyl shingles, rustic shutters, stonework, a shiplap door and charming accents, including a star, a bunting, a grapevine wreath, a lighted tree, a chicken feeder and birdhouses.

In Kim’s kitchen, the black beadboard island nicely contrasts the cabinets’ light distressed finish. Creative touches, such as a DIY mug rack and a floral-filled bag adorning a cabinet door, bring character to the room. Crates contain everything from veggies to breadboards, making it easy to move the contents to free up counter space. 15

The corner sink is flanked by a window and open wall space that breaks up the kitchen cabinetry. Kim envisioned a blank canvas and created a vignette that combines color, texture and natural elements, including a stainedglass piece hung in the window, potted herbs on the sill and a twiggy wreath mounted on salvaged wood.

Right: Kim’s father made the primitive-style box that hangs from a kitchen wall, where it showcases a pig-shaped cutting board, a muffin tin, kraut cutters and rolling pins. The grouping complements the baking-themed treasures stacked atop the cupboard.

Below: A sliding salvaged door fitted with an old porcelain knob conceals the doorway from the kitchen to the laundry room. Kim appointed the space with primitive-style lighting, an heirloom cupboard, a butcher block and country collectibles.

Below: Plucked from a neighbor’s trash, a small table stationed in the dining room now hosts a collection of wooden wares, including a cheese box, egg crate and sifter. The prairie curtains coordinate beautifully with an assortment of new quilted squares displayed on a rustic ladder. Above: Kim recognized this antique spinning wheel’s sculptural qualities and used a ladder, rake and paddle in a dining room wall display to accentuate it.

Top: The painted dining room hutch becomes a focal point when topped with an antique box and bunting. A rustic barrel paired with a bee skep balances a chair and woven basket, bringing subtle texture to the grouping.

Right: For a pop of springtime color in the dining room, Kim painted an antique commode her favorite shade of robin’s egg blue. She also layered barnwood, baskets and flowers to create threedimensional art on the wall behind it.