1. 22 American Farmhouse Style | Summer 2015
Come In &
STAY AWHILE
Decorate your guest room in a style that provides
both essentials and comforts to any guest.
B Y S T E P H A N I E B A K E R
P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y B E C K Y R O B E R T S , S W E E T C O T T A G E D R E A M S
Essentials
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2. hat makes you feel most welcome when you’re staying in
someone else’s home? Is it the access they give you to the
kitchen, or the size of the bathroom you’re using? Maybe it’s
the softness of the comforter or the number of pillows on the
guest bed. Becky, owner of the popular blog Sweet Cottage
Dreams, has always felt at home in a farmhouse-style set-
ting—places that exude simplicity, hospitality and the desire
to kick off your shoes and get settled. In her own home in
the Central Valley of California, Becky combines English cot-
tage style with New England farmhouse style to create an
environment in which any visitor will feel comfortable—a
feeling that’s most prominent in her guest room.
Becky grew up visiting family members on a farm and
always admired the homey feel of their houses, along with
the hospitality they offered and the slower pace of life. When
her children moved out of her home, she decided to convert
one of their bedrooms into a guest room. She already had
the farmhouse style incorporated in her half bathroom, din-
ing room and laundry room, so she decided to continue that
theme in the guest room. What better way to make her
guests feel comfortable than with the same homey style that
left such an impression on her memory as a child?
EFFICIENT SIMPLICITY
When visitors come to stay, they most likely want to relax
and disconnect from the distractions of their world so they
can reconnect with you. Simple furnishings in the room can
help prevent your visitor from feeling too crowded or over-
whelmed. Stick to the essentials—bed, dresser, night-
stand—so they feel comfortable enough to unpack their
suitcase, yet not inundated with too many drawers or extra
storage space. Hospitality doesn’t have to be elaborate to
work well. Your guests should feel like they're staying in a
home, rather than a hotel. For Becky, the farmhouse style is
a reminder of the days when people took the time to enjoy
visiting with each other, and she wants her guests to have
that same experience when they stay with her.
FARMHOUSE FLAIR
Giving a back-to-the-farm feel to a room can be as simple
as adding an antique dresser and some horse décor.
W
This room is ready to provide whatever a guest might need—extra pillows and old
quilts on the bed, a nightstand with a lamp for reading or journaling and a simple
bureau with room to lay out jewelry or a wallet.
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3. 24 American Farmhouse Style | Summer 2015
Many antique and vintage furnishings
have farmhouse appeal, merely
because they harken back to an era of
hard work and no technology. Some
cowboy decorations—a straw hat or
horseshoe, a picture of a country
scene or a plaid quilt—can help com-
plete the look and fill the room with
homegrown comfort. Keep colors neu-
tral and designs simple—this will
enforce the idea that you can take the
girl out of the farm, but you can’t take
the farm out of the girl.
WELCOMING COMFORT
Above all, you want your guests to
enjoy their stay. Extra pillows and
blankets in the guest room, as well as
a lamp on a nightstand, are simple
touches that go a long way toward
making guests feel welcome. You can
also make them feel at ease with
sparse collections and few items hang-
ing on the walls—“simplicity without a
lot of fuss,” Becky says. Designs don’t
have to match exactly; similar colors
and themes can be enough to tie the
room together. As Becky tells it, the
finished room “will bring a sense of
peace and a desire to sit in your
favorite chair with a glass of iced
sweet tea.”
LEFT, TOP: Becky made this small pillow from an
old grain bag she found at a local shop calledThe
Antique Gardener.To incorporate your own handi-
work into a room, find an old seed bag on Etsy or
eBay and then sew it into a pillow.
LEFT, MIDDLE: Adding an award ribbon or some
other personal touch to the room will give it a
homey, lived-in feeling. Personal touches like this
are a great way to make sure your guests doesn’t feel
like they're staying in a hotel.
LEFT, BOTTOM: Old mirrors and vintage books are a
great way to add some farmhouse history to a room
and still keep things simple.
FOR MORE OF BECKY ROBERTS’ DECORATING
TIPS, VISIT SWEET COTTAGE DREAMS BLOG AT
SWEETCOTTAGEDREAMS.BLOGSPOT.COM.
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4. American Farmhouse Style | Summer 2015 25
Farm Follows
Function
Weave farmhouse charm into your home
using a few practical tips.
1. Start with the walls and work inward.
Becky suggests trying bead board, shiplap
or planked walls painted white to best
highlight the farmhouse style.Then add the
furniture—antiques and vintage pieces
usually work well to bring a farm feeling to
the room.
2. Most of your farmhouse touches will
appear in the details.You can add almost
any item, if you do it creatively. Becky’s
suggestions include “a picture of a cow, a
French grain sack pillow, a small cream can
to use as a vase, a stack of old ironstone
plates or a collection of old wooden
cutting boards.”
3. The Internet is a very useful tool—use
it! Many blogs adhere to the farmhouse
style and can provide inspiration. Etsy and
eBay are also great resources to find décor
that fits this theme without leaving the
comfort of your home.
4. Whether you’re styling the whole house
or just one room, Becky advises that you
stay original with your décor.You may feel
inundated with ideas and information, but
don’t let that tempt you to mimic what you
see others do.When you’re feeling
overwhelmed, just remember: “Keep it
simple, keep it original, and be yourself.”
RIGHT, TOP: With enough originality and creativity, any-
thing can become a vase. Flowers—whether fake or real—
are a great way to bring warmth and liveliness to a room.
LEFT, BOTTOM: Becky found this Horseshoe Brand clothes
drying rack, and it inspired her to add horse décor to the
room, which include the straw hats, the horse doorstop and
the 1931 Horse Show award ribbon.The drying rack and the
framed poem are the only two items that hang on the wall in
this room, keeping things quaintly simple for guests.
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