Second Chances

Wisconsin homeowners use their DIY talents to restore the 1880 farmhouse they adore, filling it with vibrant color and generations of heirlooms.

Wendy & Steve

Singleton almost missed out on their rustic Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, farmhouse. They were looking to downsize and settle in the popular resort area when they fell for the 1880s abode at first sight. Unfortunately, the home had already sold. Disappointed, the couple continued house hunting, but to no avail.

But, as luck would have it, six months later, Steve drove past the farmhouse and again spotted a “for sale” sign. The original deal had fallen through. This time, the couple’s offer was accepted, and they moved into the home in April 2018.

The Singletons, who have lived most of their lives in southern Wisconsin and visited the area often, were thrilled with the home and its location. “We fell in love with it,” Wendy says. “We’re within walking distance to a lot of stuff. Lake Geneva is a walking town.”

The three-bedroom, two-bath farmhouse had been renovated for commercial use, so the couple set out to restore it to a family residence and its 19th-century roots. “The people before us had remodeled to newer, more modern stuff,” Wendy explains. “It had blonde flooring and cheap vinyl woodwork.”

The two biggest projects involved replacing the flooring and kitchen cabinets. Wendy’s top flooring choice was hardwood, but the floors throughout the home were too uneven. She settled on more-flexible manmade planks for the kitchen and dining rooms and reluctantly agreed to carpeting in the living room and office, where the slant was the worst.

Wendy and Steve previously owned an even older home, so they had plenty of DIY know-how to bring to this one. For the kitchen, they purchased unfinished cabinets, which they painted a dark, steely green. The counters are a granite lookalike with speckles of white, black, gray and green. Wendy considered a tile backsplash, but Steve suggested beadboard, which they painted a brighter shade of white than the walls to match the countertop and draw more light to the workspace.

Other projects included cutting down their dining room table, which they made five years ago from the wood of a grain wagon. It was too big to fit in the new home, so they trimmed it from 13 to 9 feet. Wendy also sewed all the curtains in the house, using painters’ drop cloths, and she changes out the tiebacks depending on the season and her decorative inspiration.

Green and red are Wendy’s preferred colors, and she employs them with subtlety rather than showiness. It’s a palette that adapts well to seasonal decorations, she says. She goes all out for Halloween and Christmas, her two favorite times of the year. “I can switch out the holidays more easily with green and red, which I couldn’t do with blues and pinks,” she explains.

Both Singletons are antiques lovers, as were their parents and grandparents. Wendy started collecting as a teen using funds earned through babysitting. After they married 40 years ago, she and Steve jointly pursued their antiquing endeavors. “Years ago, I bought a lot of oak stuff,” she says. “Now, we are looking more for primitives to Colonial. Your tastes change.”

Neither seeks out any one thing in particular. They are more likely to own disparate items that intrigue them, such as a sausage stuffer and a coal miner’s pit lamp, rather than build collections. Wendy has three pieces of green spatterware, and she figures that’s enough.

Over the decades, Wendy and Steve have bought and sold hundreds of pieces, and their antiques-buying efforts have helped furnish their children’s homes as well. Though they adore their charming farmhouse for many reasons, the couple agree that they especially like the way it accommodates the furniture and heirlooms inherited from their families, along with the memories and stories they hold. This is proof positive that their once-frustrating home search was well worth the fortuitous result.

“I can switch out the holidays more easily with green and red, which I couldn’t do with blues and pinks.”

Below: A panel of decorative shingles draws attention to the front entry and adds architectural interest to the stucco facade of the 1880s farmhouse.

Far left: Wendy’s color scheme of green and red carries throughout each room, tying together the casual and formal spaces of the farmhouse. Groupings of cups, bowls, glass jars, oil lamps and other kitchen paraphernalia are small in number and uncluttered. Left: A live miniature tree, placed inside a spatterware bowl, is a verdant complement to the pert green linens on the dining table.

Right: A curated selection of glass dishware and neutral-toned treasures, including bobbin candleholders and a mandolin, allow the handcarved details of the stepback hutch in the dining area to shine. 55

Opposite: Medium-hued woods bring visual flow to the dining area, where the mismatched casual country feel of the press-back dining chairs contrasts with the formal area rug. Painted risers and balusters help the staircase blend into the white walls and lighten the look of the space. A handcrafted metal turkey, attached to a piece of barnwood for stability, watches over the room from his perch atop a primitive cupboard that functions as a pantry. Left: Green spatterware, red kitchen linens, utensil-filled crocks, baskets brimming with winter-appropriate fare, and a scale form a culinary-themed dining area vignette with a rustic workbench as the anchor. A vintage golf bag sprouting branches adds a whimsical note to the scene.

Left: The mudroom is a long-ago addition that served to enclose the formerly outdoor access to the basement. Wendy brightened the utilitarian space with reclaimed-wood shelving painted in a muted primary shade and then organized it with storage containers for winter wear.

Above: Wendy created extra storage and display compartments along the ledge above the basement stairs by fashioning an elongated shelving unit to fit the space.

Above: Thanks to their low profiles, a trunk, toolbox and beadboard cabinet provide display and storage space without overwhelming the small living room. The trio of mismatched lamps includes one Wendy’s father made from a crock. “We don’t buy reproductions,”Wendy says. “We try to stick with originals.”

Left: The formality of the English his-and-hers desk and presidential wall portrait in the office are countered by an ornate lamp base topped with a wicker shade and a rustic beadboard cupboard. Inside the cupboard, a neatly folded array of blankets and afghans handmade by Wendy, along with an eclectic assortment of collectibles, contribute color and coziness.