WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

Learn how a patient Indiana couple waited two years for their dream house to go up for sale and then reinvigorated it with a palette of muted primary colors and a trove of treasures to artfully merge his and her passions for primitive and French country.

Patience pays off for an Indiana pair who finally take ownership of their dream home and artfully merge her affinity for French country decor and his preference for primitives.

Indiana residents Charlene and Tom Kortzendorf had already restored and rehabbed two older houses during the late 1980s and mid 1990s, but by the late 1990s, they were ready to do it again. During their search for a home, the couple came across several potential new digs, but they didn’t always see eye to eye. One day, Tom drove past a listing Charlene had told him about, but he didn’t care for it. On the way home, however, he discovered a property that piqued his interest—an 1841 brick farmhouse with a slate roof in Indianapolis. Later, he took Charlene to see it, and they both fell in love with the place. The only problem was the house wasn’t for sale.

Not one to be deterred by a roadblock, Tom boldly knocked on the front door and told the teenage boy who answered that if his parents ever wanted to sell, he was interested, and he left his contact information. Two years later, in 2000, the owners were ready to make a deal.

“We were definitely thrilled, and we still are,” Charlene says of the opportunity to purchase the house. “We feel we are in something very, very special.”

Tom adds, “We had high hopes we’d be able to get it, but there weren’t any guarantees. We kind of stuck it out, and it all fell into place.”

Fortunately, the previous owners had completely replaced and upgraded the home’s aging infrastructure and mechanical systems, but their decorating preferences were quite different than the Kortzendorfs’. Charlene isn’t keen on wallpaper, and the home had an abundance of it. She favors muted primary colors of brick red, navy blue, mustard yellow and olive green, as well as plaids and florals, which complement her affinity for French country and Americana decor. Tom, a third-generation machinist and all-around do-it-yourselfer, is drawn to primitives. “When we bought this house, the way I wanted to decorate was like you were walking into the 1840s,” he says.

The couple started buying antique and vintage furnishings soon after they married in 1976, and their current four-bedroom farmhouse gives them ample space for their decades of acquisitions. “We just have a mixture of it all because we actually like it all,” says Charlene, who sells antiques with best friend and business partner Sonna Surface, whose home was featured in the May 2020 issue of Country Sampler. Their booth, Junk in the Trunk, can be found at the Vintage Whimsy home decor store in nearby Franklin, Indiana.

A major undertaking for the Kortzendorfs was rebuilding the decrepit summer kitchen, which was built before the farmhouse in 1838, and turning it into a beloved gathering spot for guests and a quiet retreat for Tom. They also constructed a trio of outdoor living spaces that enhance their appreciation of the bucolic landscape, reconstructing the front porch in part with fretwork serendipitously discovered in a dumpster, laying a brick patio between the back porch and the summer kitchen, and building a deck outside the breakfast nook.

In their serene moments, Charlene and Tom look over the home they meticulously shaped to reflect their combined sense of style, and they agree—the long two-year wait for the house to become theirs was well worth it.

Charlene Kortzendorf decorates the living room with strong primary colors of red, blue and yellow. “All of our wood trim is dark,” she notes. “That’s why I like to throw a lot of color and light in.” She fills the bay window area with a conversation grouping that doesn’t block natural light and is a breeze to exchange with a Christmas tree in December.

PAMELA DITTMER MCKUEN BILL MATHEWS KRISTIN SIMS

Above: Charlene and Tom quickly fell in love with the stately 1841 brick farmhouse featuring a patterned slate roof. The couple spend many a summer day out on the deck, enjoying the verdant landscape.

A quiet corner in the den, which doubles as the computer room, is ideal for a nursery-themed vignette. The marriage of mismatched patterns in the toile-covered chair and Asian-style rug works because of the red tones in each. The wardrobe is stocked inside and on top with children’s toys and books, while the dressing gowns are hung in full view. Framed portraits extend a family-friendly vibe and recall generations past.

Charlene and Tom spend as much time on their vintage-styled porches and patios as the Indiana climate permits. “We love being outdoors and having 3 acres,” Charlene says. “It’s peaceful and quiet out there.”

Charlene focused on the braided rug to swath the French country dining room in red, green, royal blue and mustard hues. The individual colors are reflected in twin wingback chairs, vintage textiles, and organized rows of yellowware and salt-glazed crocks, while the penny runner combines them all. White cabinets and a two-tone dining set soften the palette and draw light into the space.

A built-in cupboard with glass doors is grand for showcasing gleaming glass and white dishware in the dining room, but it leaves a slim nook. Charlene decorated the challenging space by composing a desk tableau with a small wooden table and a wall-mounted cabinet that houses neat rows of crockery and a bold rooster. She topped off the display with a wreath to visually match the height of the cupboard.