This Antiques Dealer's Farmhouse Is Just as Beautiful as You'd Expect
Talk about cool, calm, and very collected!
When Lindsea and Danny Dragomir began their house hunt in 2012 in the Pacific Northwest, they were on a mission to find something old and teeming with original character. (No renovated flips, thanks very much!) After driving all over Washington State, they ended up finding their dream home where they least expected it: a mere 30 seconds from where they were currently living. "We drove by it pretty regularly, but it's up on a hill, and it was overgrown with blackberry bushes and trees," says Lindsea. "You wouldn't see it unless you were looking for it." The dilapidated state of the century-old, 2,000-square-foot farmhouse on 10 acres did little to discourage the couple. "We had seen a lot of old houses, but most of them had been updated. This house had the old trim, molding, and windows. We saw the potential and knew we could do something with it," she says. With the help of friends, they peeled back old wallpaper, restored the original hardwood floors, and made practical updates in the kitchen and bathroom. Furnishing the house was the easy part, due to Lindsea and Danny's shared passion for scouring old buildings, estate sales, garage sales, and antiques stores throughout Washington and Oregon. The duo regularly looks for items to both keep and re-sell through Lindsea's online business, House of Harvest. Ask Lindsea what they collect, and she rattles off a seemingly endless list—"ironstone, trophies, apothecary jars, inkwells, cutlery, birdcages, paint palettes"—and that's just scratching the surface. While the size, shape, and patina of the collections vary, there's one predominant neutral that ties much of it together: a milky shade of white. Says Lindsea, "Everyone comments that our whippet, Ava, matches our decor. She just blends right in."
Take a step inside to see how Lindsea's layers of vintage collections bring life to every room.
Living Room
Despite dark hardwood floors and an antique brown leather-studded naval captain's chair, the Dragomir's living area feels light and bright, thanks to tall windows, linen sofas, and a 1900s beadboard jelly cupboard that hides the television. The coffee table, which sits atop two rugs—one jute, one hemp—is a repurposed, cut down baker's table. Lindsea liked the look of the chipped paint so much that she sealed the top as it was. The Dragomirs were immediately drawn to the home's windows, which boast wood trim and the original roller shades.
Get the Look:
Wall Paint Color: Extra White by Sherwin-Williams
Cozy Cast Iron Stove
The couple replaced the existing 1970s wood-burning stove with a more efficient model.
Hutch
Assorted trophies, which Lindsea prefers unpolished are on display alongside ironstone pitchers, plates, creamers and jelly jars, old Bibles, framed butterflies, hand-painted apothecary crocks, ram horns, and more. "I get a little carried away," Lindsea says.
Dining Room
Lindsea scored another antique wooden baker's table at a garage sale that is now right at home in the wood wainscotting-wrapped dining room. "It was originally used in a hotel kitchen," she says. "There are so many good scratches on the top—dot marks from the tools you use to score pies." Lindsea's assortment of seating includes distressed bentwood chairs and a picnic bench with a metal crossbar, all of which she found at local antiques stores. Up top, old flower market containers filled with oakleaf hydrangeas make the perfect centerpiece.
The room's built-in is the perfect spot for both the pretty and the practical. Apothecary jars, leather-bound books, and seasonal squash are displayed alongside the couple's frequently used ironstone platters and bowls.
Kitchen
The home's updated kitchen features new appliances, concrete countertops, and the addition of an antique sink. Because there are no cabinets underneath, Lindsea covered the opening with linen that she cut and tied to old cafe curtain rods that were original to the house. She stores her rolling pins, whisks, and mallets in ironstone vessels on the counter alongside her wooden cutting boards, but keeps her nonessential kitchen tools (pizza cutters, ice-cream scoops) tucked away in the adjacent cabinet.
Ironstone Collection
"This shelf, one of the first pieces we bought for the farmhouse, sits on top of a worktable in the ktichen," says Lindsea. "It's where I keep my ironstone dishes. I love how the pieces have varying tones—from white to creamy to beigy-brown. Over time, the stoneware's seal fades away, and if you expose it to light or water or anything, it changes the color."
Laundry Room
"When we found the house, this room had not been updated—it had old cast-iron plumbing," Lindsea says. The Dragomirs converted it into a light and bright catchall by cleaning it up, painting, and sealing things off. The fabric curtain under the wood topper hides a washer and dryer. Built-in shelves are now home to firewood and a variety of terra-cotta pots.
Bedroom
"We just wanted a spot that was restful and calm," Lindsea says of the master bedroom, a space that was anything but tranquil when they moved in. "The walls were covered in a 1970s oversize pink floral wallpaper, and there was a pink floral rug that matched the laminate floors," Lindsea says. Once they peeled off the paper, they uncovered drywall that was bowed, so a friend hit it with a hammer and discovered shiplap, which they painted white. They brought in a platform bed, antique blankets, and an old leather chair from Craigslist. A pair of mismatched shaving mirrors hangs above antique typing tables used as bedside tables.
Desk Area
In the bedroom, one section of shiplap doesn't match the rest. "We think they built the house in sections and had to have a door at some point, and later filled it in with more shiplap," says Lindsea. It makes an interesting backdrop for a tucked in desk area.
Bathroom
The couple made the home's lone bathroom feel airier by ripping out the existing vanity and replacing it with an antique wall-mounted sink with cast-iron legs. An old metal basket lined with linen houses extra rolls of toilet paper. The chest of drawers wasn't actually part of an estate sale Lindsea and Danny were shopping, but that didn't stop them from making an offer. "We loved it, and now it's where we keep all of our toiletries," says Lindsea.
Lindsea's Studio
"This is the room that made us want the house the most, but we joke that it's probably what scared everyone else away," says Lindsea with a laugh. "The floors are wavy and wonky. It looks like an abandoned space, but the light is so pretty. You can see the mountains and an evergreen Northwestern scene from the window. I use it as my dreaming room."
Lindsea loved the peeling wallpaper so much that she couldn't bring herself to remove the remnants, so she left it and painted the remaining wall white.
Vintage Wall Art
Although she doesn't consider herself a "flowery" person, Lindsea liked the way this set of a dozen herbiers—pressed and mounted specimens—looked like wallpaper.
Collected Art Supplies
Handblown glass inkwells in blue and green hues pair with paintbrushes, a hat, and a stencil on an old pine shelf.
Studio Desk
Lindsea gets down to business at an old jeweler's desk topped with antique clocks. Danny rewired a vintage cage light with cloth cord and swagged it down the wall.
Collections on Display
Simple bulldog clips display a quartet of moon prints from an early 1900s textbook. A pair of restored vintage fans and an old camera stand in a sculpture on top the cabinet.
Love the look of an all-white farmhouse? Take a tour of a few more of our favorites:
•White Cottage Farm, the Michigan farmhouse of blogger and author Liz Marie Galvan
•a rustic Tennessee farmhouse that you won't believe is a new-build
•Laura Crouch's Georgia farmhouse that has the best porch ever
Editors' Picks: Farmers' Market Inspired Recipes
Is This the Best Small Town in the Midwest?
This Lakeside Cabin Is Full of Old-School Charm
23 Perfectly Patriotic Ways to Use Mason Jars
