FARMHOUSE ROOTS

A designer brings modern farmhouse style to the small Connecticut town where she was born and raised.

A designer brings modern farmhouse style to the small Connecticut hometown where she was born and raised.

Deep roots bring a deep understanding of an area and oneself. That’s the case for Stacey Rossetti, an RN and the face behind the Instagram account @farmhousechic4sure. She’s built a life—and a home—for herself and her family in Shelton, the small Connecticut town where she was born and raised. When Stacey first toured the colonial-style home they would buy, she loved how its location embodied small-town life. “It’s right across from an empty field, and there’s a pumpkin and strawberry farm behind it,” she says. But while the property was idyllic, the home wasn’t. “It lacked any personal style or custom features, so we knew from the beginning that we’d need to change that,” Stacey says. Over time, the self-taught designer transformed the basic colonial home into a custom farmhouse that’s full of surprising DIYs and creative wall treatments. It reflects her fashionable sensibilities while accommodating her active family, composed of two kids and three dogs.

“It’s really important to love your home and make it really yours.”

THE HEART OF THE HOME

Stacey calls the kitchen the heart of the home. “I don’t mind that we splurged a little bit here to make it functional and our style,” she says. Creative changes to the existing cabinets, molding and white paint took the kitchen from hohum to harmonious. While Stacey eventually wants open shelving, this stage of life wasn’t quite right for it—she plans to do that when the children are older and it’s easier to maintain organization. So for now, she extended the original cabinets for optimum storage and painted them white for a clean and modern take on farmhouse chic.

Creating coziness was the biggest priority for the family room, which was big on space but scant on intimacy. “It’s easy for pieces to get lost in such a large room, especially with the high ceilings,” says homeowner Stacey Rossetti. “I anchored the sofas with a rug to provide a warm feeling and then added pillows and throw blankets to make the room feel lived in.”

Faced with a blank wall in her kitchen, Stacey knew she couldn’t let it go to waste. “I’m huge on bringing storage and functionality into the home and knew I wanted to make the best use of this area,” she says. She created a mudroom-inspired area with a bench that’s full of storage options and hooks for shoes and bags. (opposite) Originally, the exterior of the home was yellow with a burnt-orange stairwell and porch. “Paint was huge in transforming the outside of the house. I appreciate how it’s such a quick and easy way to update a space,” Stacey says. Fresh coats of crisp white paint instantly create farmhouse charm. The door took a bit more trial and error—several tries—but eventually the couple found just the right color. It’s a shade called Wythe Blue.

A buffet cabinet turned coffee bar shows how farmhouse style can include different interpretations. “The cabinet is a little more vintage,” Stacey says. “That’s the beauty of farmhouse style; there are so many variations that a lot of pieces can work.” The buffet was a labor of love. She got it at an auction house for $100 and used a bleached wood technique on the legs for a unique look.

With the hallway’s high ceiling, the bare walls felt unwelcoming. Stacey remedied that with her shiplap DIY skills. “By this time in our renovations, I’d added little bits of shiplap throughout our home,” she says. “The clean lines of shiplap make any space modern farmhouse style and add interest. I capped off the shiplap halfway up and left the original oak stairs and banister for contrast.”

It’s a doorway to nowhere—but that doesn’t matter because it’s big on style. Stacey installed a sliding barn door with a wooden track to decorate a huge wall. “I get asked all the time what’s behind it, but it’s completely for visual interest,” she says. “Barn doors are so beautiful so it was just right for the empty spot.”