A Fresh Start

Moving to a 1913 cottage after an unexpected loss gives an Ohio resident a blank canvas for honing her DIY decorating skills and building a new life.

After an unexpected loss, an Ohio homeowner employs her DIY know-how to transform an old cottage into a space that honors the past and looks toward the future.

When Vickie Rutherford moved into her Wellington, Ohio, home on a snowy day in January 2011, it wasn’t at all what she had envisioned for her next chapter. She and her husband, Roger, had been planning to retire and move to Georgia when he died suddenly in late 2010. Although Vickie considered carrying out their plans to head south, friends and family convinced her to stay, and she started the search for a new home.

She soon found a 1913 cottage in foreclosure that was solidly built but in need of some cosmetic corrections. “I was shocked that it was in such good shape, and I knew I could change things, like the dark burgundy and pink walls and 1970s wallpaper and light fixtures,” she recalls.

When updating the house, Vickie repapered over old wallpaper and painted nearly every room as well as the kitchen cabinetry and the home’s exterior. One of her favorite fixes was replacing the front door with a shutter-style example reminiscent of some she had admired in New England, where she was born and her extended family still lives.

Several years after Vickie moved into and began rehabbing her new abode, she reconnected with a middle-school beau—Terry Keller. Having grown up with a father who was a builder, Terry had a talent for DIY decorating, plus he and Vickie had some shared interests. “We both like to garden and work on home projects,” she says. “And we like to turn off the GPS and get lost antiques shopping.”

With Terry’s help, Vickie replaced the kitchen ceiling with hickory planks and installed barnwood above an artfully aged mantel as a character-building addition to the living room. More recently, as she prepared to participate in a historic house walk, they repainted the exterior siding and trim, replaced the old kitchen countertops with oak and swapped laminate flooring for pine planks featuring square-nail detailing.

Though she gathers inspiration from many sources, Vickie often combines concepts to create something that will work specifically for her home or garden. “Many times, I grab a sketch pad and draw out my ideas to keep,” she shares.

She enjoys rescuing, rehabbing and reselling furniture, along with her son, Brandon. They sell items via Facebook and at a local shop. For her own home, Vickie especially loves painting or

antiquing pieces with black chalky-finish paint. “I love black—when something looks too new, my instinct is to add black,” she notes.

One thing that Vickie says she will never paint is her treasured Hoosier cabinet, which she acquired some 35 years ago. It was beyond her means at the time, so she put it on layaway at an antiques shop. Returning an unwanted gift (a leather jacket) helped her make the final payment: “I took it back, got the money and brought my Hoosier home,” she recalls.

Vickie has been drawn to country style since she first began decorating in her early 20s, evolving from a traditional look to a more primitive one. “At one point, I thought about going farmhouse, and I bought a rug and white pillows for the living room, but I knew that really wasn’t me,” she explains, noting that she kept the newer items but mixed them in with her cherished antiques.

Her home is filled with family heirlooms as well as pieces that remind her of past experiences. For example, a potato sack in the living room calls to mind childhood vacations visiting East Coast relatives, a clock in the dining room was a gift from her late husband, and some firkins and other collectibles belonged to Terry’s late mother, who also enjoyed antiquing adventures.

No matter the item, however, pieces tend not to stay in one place for long. “If I put something someplace and it’s not talking to me, it gets moved,” says Vickie, who recommends clearing a room completely and starting with a clean slate, adding furnishings and accessories back a few at a time. “Just by moving things around, you can give a room a whole different look.”

Though starting with her own clean slate was due to unfortunate circumstances, Vickie has made the most of her move, shaping her new home into one that both honors the past and looks toward the future.

“I love black— when something looks too new, my instinct is to add black.”

Vickie Rutherford updated the exterior of her home with fresh green paint, yellow trim and a distinctive shutter-style door that generates lots of compliments.

The wall treatment above the living room fireplace was created using boards from a horse stall in a 1930s barn. “The fireplace lacked the age and warmth I wanted,” explains Vickie, who also toned down the mantelpiece finish by rubbing on some black chalky-finish paint. A tobacco basket is a permanent fixture above the mantel and typically hosts a rotating array of seasonal wreaths. The primitive chest in front of the sofa picks up on the other warm wood tones found throughout the room.

The drop-leaf table by the living room window was headed to the trash before Vickie rescued it and gave it a paint makeover. Now it’s an ideal spot for creating seasonal vignettes, like this one starring a child-size chair positioned on layered textiles. An old wood ironing board that she stenciled with key motifs contributes a graphic element to the scene.

Above: Stacked firkins serve as a pleasing focal point in the corner beside the living room fireplace. The door on the black wall cabinet is always left open to better showcase small seasonal decorations. Its dark finish coordinates with a nearby Windsor chair and metal wall sconce.

Left: A tag-sale mirror purchased 40 years ago is the perfect partner to a more recently acquired cupboard in the living room. The cabinet keeps an array of textiles and small decor at the ready for when Vickie’s urge to rearrange arises.

Left: Vickie purchased her Hoosier cupboard nearly 35 years ago, after putting it on layaway at an antiques shop. It has been a kitchen staple ever since and now holds cookbooks, spices and mixing bowls inside while displaying a variety of kitchen collectibles, including a coffee grinder, a glass butter churn, and crocks filled with dried florals and utensils.

Above: A former candleholder serves as a sweet vase for a petite floral arrangement amid vintage tins on a kitchen shelf. “I love using old tins for added color in my kitchen,”Vickie says.

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Below: The beadboard panels on the reproduction dry sink coordinate with the dining room wainscoting. A shelf and shutter with similar finishes hang above it, making for a unified display.

Above: Pairing a Windsor bench with ladder-back chairs at the farm table suits the dining room’s informal feel. The four vintage Nichols & Stone chairs were a steal at just $20 for the lot. In the corner adjacent the window, a clothes-drying rack offers an attention-getting option for highlighting a basket collection.

Right: This little pitcher in the dining room was found within a box of pewter items purchased at an auction, proving that bulk buys can yield useful treasures.

Left: The striking bed in the master bedroom was a Facebook Marketplace find that Vickie updated with black paint. To bolster the presence of the bed, she placed a pair of black louvered doors behind the headboard and uses them to display seasonal artwork. Black and tan bedding complements both the room’s dark furnishings and its light walls.