Coming Home

An Indiana antiques dealer returns to the ranch where she spent her teenage years and makes it her own with character-boosting updates, cherished collections, and a personalized blend of farmhouse and primitive style.

An Indiana antiques dealer and her husband take up residence in the home where she spent her teenage years, renovating it to accommodate their cherished collections and showcase elements from both classic country and primitive decor.

Even good things can be improved upon, observes Sonna Surface, referring to the inviting Indianapolis ranch that she has called home, in one way or another, since her teenage years. Her parents were the original owners, and Sonna and her husband, Bruce, moved in five years ago and began updating the interior to suit the primitive/farmhouse style they love.

Sonna’s parents built the 2,600-squarefoot, three-bedroom residence on the city’s south side 45 years ago, when she was a high school senior. Over the years, the home has been the backdrop for many holiday celebrations and other family gatherings, including Sonna and Bruce’s backyard wedding ceremony. “My dad built the covered porch for the wedding,” Sonna notes.

The couple moved back to the area to help care for her aging parents—and ultimately decided to stay put in the family home after they passed away. “My mom always loved this house and I do, too,” reflects Sonna, a retired teacher, antiques dealer and design enthusiast. “It has a lot of potential and good memories.”

However, the beloved abode needed a few updates after Sonna and Bruce took ownership. They preserved the home’s coziness while putting their own stamp on it by adding hardwood floors, removing the wallpaper that covered nearly every wall, painting doors and trim, screening-in the back porch, and remodeling the kitchen and bathrooms.

They also kept the semi-open floor plan, which Sonna remembers as the perfect backdrop for her mother’s antiques and one, she knew, that would be equally welcoming to hers. “My mom’s love for collecting definitely inspired me,” Sonna admits. “We did shows together for more than 30 years on the weekends and had antique booths together in Kentucky.”

Many of Sonna’s favorite pieces, in fact, once belonged to her mother or were gifts from her. For example, the

crocks collected in a 1700s cupboard in the living room were annual Christmas gifts. The first antique her mother bought—a substantial 18th-century corner cupboard—now perfectly anchors a dining room corner, where it showcases her large cache of vintage pewter.

Sonna still sells antiques locally and enjoys the style and stories they bring to her life and her home. She describes her decor as “primitive country with a touch of farmhouse,” adding that the

Right: The red goat wagon that came from a farm auction is stationed between the living room windows, where it totes a display that includes items that evoke playful memories, including a prim teddy bear and a wooden house. “It works really well in the living room and is definitely a conversation piece,” Sonna says. On the adjacent wall, coordinating accents include a garage-sale sampler, an old flag with 46 stars and a framed quilt piece.

Above: The front door and refurbished rockers, both painted in Sonna Surface’s favorite hue, brighten her Indianapolis ranch’s small front porch.

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Left: The crocks tucked inside the refurbished 1700s cabinet in the living room are treasured gifts from Sonna’s mother. A vibrant penny rug hung on the wall provides a graphic touch to the seating area and reflects the palette used throughout the home. Below: Sonna and her husband, Bruce, love to spend leisure time out on the screened-in porch that her dad built for their 1981 wedding. “My dad could build or fix anything,” she says proudly. Bottom: Red reproduction chairs complement the vintage pieces in the living room, where a crimson corner cupboard that once belonged to Sonna’s mother holds a place of honor. “I fell in love with the red color with the blue interior,” Sonna says. The table between the chairs was once blue, but she painted and distressed it to match her other pieces.

Below: An heirloom pie safe and a sign Sonna picked up at a garage sale add interest to a corner of the dining room. “I saw the sign and literally went running,” she remembers. A green metal lantern fills space atop the pie safe and picks up on some of the hues in the sign, while a vivid red-and-white quilt tucked into a basket beneath commands attention at floor level.

The dining room’s corner cupboard was the first antique Sonna’s mother purchased 45 years ago. It now stores an enviable assortment of inherited pewter pieces. Stacked boxes— including a rare blue ballot box— provide both height and color and fill an otherwise empty corner.