Outdoor elements and age-worn antiques come together to bring fall to life in this home.
This was printed in a previous year for American Farmhouse Style magazine, but in light of this year’s barrage of hurricanes in the state of Florida, we just wanted to say that our thoughts and prayers are with those who have suffered damage or even lost their homes.
When it comes to this Florida home decorated for fall, the patina of vintage and natural touches comes to the fore. There’s a certain kind of beauty that only comes with age, but not everyone has the eye to appreciate it. That’s where creative people step in to transform these pieces and give them a second chance at life. Homeowner and Instagram influencer, Monica Boland of @burlaprosesrevivals is one such creative, who used to paint furniture and signs to sell at vintage markets. “It was my creative outlet,” she says. After eight years of selling, she put the work aside for her family, allowing her to focus on filling her own home and caring for her two children.
Homeowner Monica Boland’s love of old mercantile items is evident in her charming dining room with pieces such as an old mercantile counter table, a collection of scales and her handmade general store sign. She and her husband added shiplap to the walls using plywood, construction adhesive and a nail gun, managing to complete the whole room for less than $200. Pampas grass from her neighbor’s yard fills vintage vases and adds texture to the room.
This passion for secondhand pieces contributed to Monica’s love of antiques, which is the foundation of her fall style. Combining antiques with natural elements is her relaxed way of creating a cozy environment for the season.
There’s something about an old truck that evokes nostalgia for simpler times. This 1951 Ford F100 is the perfect place to recreate a day at the pumpkin patch. “It was a fire chief’s truck,” Monica says. “It had an old siren on the side when I got it.” It doesn’t currently run, but Monica has plans to restore it.
A Love of History
Located in Fort White, Florida, this 1,250-square-foot home sits in a historic area. “We live near an old railroad town,” Monica says. “Appreciating where we live has grown our love of antiques.” In fact, all of their furnishings—with the exception of the sofa—were purchased at flea markets, bought off Facebook Marketplace or found in her grandfather’s barn. “My love of antiques came from him,” Monica says. “Everything we own is secondhand.” It’s no wonder she describes her style as rustic farmhouse with a love of antiques.
A pair of vintage corbels from a cathedral are the main attraction of the living room, along with a stunning aged cabinet from Prize KC. Dried leaves, white pumpkins and an orange pillow usher in autumnal warmth and serve as a gentle nod to the season. Monica found the coffee table for $5 at a thrift store, proving that you can always find good deals if you’re patient.
Monica’s year-round color palette consists of white walls with rustic, reclaimed wood tones and neutral elements. “I like to supplement a neutral background with my antiques and build from there,” she says. Her favorite pop of color is turquoise, but she tends to favor earth tones during the fall months. Pillows, blankets, artwork and natural elements in colors like deep red and burnt orange usher in autumnal vibes that work well with the existing furniture. “I love the warm, natural elements of fall, like pumpkins,” she says.
The entryway bench is made out of a bed frame and a piece of wood. “It was one of the first DIY projects we ever did,” Monica says. “The footboard on that bed couldn’t be put back together, so we got reclaimed wood for the seat and made a bench.” The gourds are a favorite farmer’s market addition that Monica uses for both fall and winter.
Unique Updates in the Florida Home Decorated for Fall
To achieve their unique, rustic look, Monica and her husband, Corbin, needed to make cosmetic changes to their builder-grade home. It was built in 2009, and when they moved in two years later, they made the most of its 1,250 square feet with several DIY transformations.
One of the first projects was adding shiplap to the dining room and kitchen walls using underlayment plywood from Lowe’s. They cut the wood down to 6-inch strips and used construction adhesive and a nail gun to attach the pieces to the wall in a staggered design. “It was pretty cheap,” Monica says. “We did the whole room for less than $200.” The kitchen backsplash was done using a similar technique, with wider 10-inch wood pieces so it wouldn’t be visually distracting. But that wasn’t the only project Monica has done in the kitchen.
The chairs at Monica’s dining table are both mismatched and old, bringing that chippy farmhouse feel to the room.
Along with a Stikwood accent wall, new butcher-block countertops and handmade open shelves, Monica and Corbin’s biggest DIY was the range hood. “We built the range hood out of plywood and tobacco sticks from a tobacco farm in Georgia,” Monica says. After completing the 2 x 4 frame, they spent two weeks slowly building the diagonal design, and now it is the statement piece in the kitchen.
Family treasures mingle with vintage trinkets in Monica’s son’s bedroom. The turtle shell belonged to her husband when he was little, and now it’s a statement piece alongside a vintage sign and a printer’s tray. Miniature white pumpkins blend in with the neutral palette, while adding the perfect hint of fall.
A Creative Touch in the Florida Home Decorated for Fall
Other imaginative projects include the entryway bench made out of an old bed frame and a piece of reclaimed wood, their master bedroom board-and-batten wall and Monica’s handmade signs. Her favorite piece is the general store watermelon sign in her dining room, which measures 6 feet by 4 feet. Using reclaimed wood from a historic home as a base, she hand-stenciled the lettering and painted it turquoise, and it has since received a lot of attention on social media. “It’s my favorite piece I’ve ever made,” she says.
While Monica admits they’ve made a few mistakes during their upgrade, everything eventually came together and developed into a farmhouse where they celebrate aged beauty and second chances. “For me, antiques go hand in hand with love of the history behind everything,” she says.
The kitchen balances a clean white foundation with warm wood tones. Wide shiplap panels provide a neutral background, and the vintage stove from 1952 is a functional and sentimental piece. Monica made the open shelves out of reclaimed wood and cut the corbels out of extra wood using a jigsaw. Nothing can quite match the character of an old door, and though they had to widen the door frame to make it fit, this piece was well worth the effort. “I went on a road trip to Alabama for this door,” she says. “It was listed on Craigslist for $40, and they looked at me like I was crazy for driving all the way there. I don’t think they knew what they had.” She had someone local design the glass window to fit the old style of the door. Managing to mix vintage style with girlish appeal, Monica went for a European cottage theme in her daughter’s bedroom. “It was a fun place for dainty girly items that I couldn’t get away with in my room,” she says. An intricate bed frame from a local antiques shop was a lucky find, and an old trunk serves as a nightstand. Vintage newborn dresses, an old rocking horse and white, chippy furniture contribute to the European cottage feel of this little girl’s room. “My daughter loves horses, and she fell in love with this one at an antiques store,” says Monica. “When she outgrew it, I took it off the rocker, and the horse sits on her dresser as a reminder of when she was younger.” You don’t have to settle for plastic children’s toys when vintage miniature furniture can be found. Monica snagged this tiny hutch from Facebook Marketplace and uses it to house small pumpkins and candles during the fall. The wood accent wall in their son’s room was a DIY project made from old fence boards. “My son picked out the color,” she says. “We layered it to look like an old wood wall.” Monica made the sign above the desk to pay homage to the Atlantic Railroad using milk paint, plywood and a border of fence-board wood.A vintage flower painting from Etsy has the perfect color palette to contribute to this fall display. The distressed drawers were a Facebook Marketplace find, and they provide an elevated setting for seasonal vignettes. Monica’s collection of vintage sailboats started as her husband’s hobby, but she’s since added to his collection. “Most of them were his prior to us getting together,” she says. “I started adding to them because they give off romantic, Peter Pan imagery.” The mirror behind the boats was part of a broken dresser and now helps tie in the warm wood tones of the room. With the right pieces, the simplicity of farmhouse style can easily transition to a child’s room. Monica purchased her son’s chalkboard—a vintage airport sign—at Renninger’s Antique Center, and she found his bed frame and trunk nightstand on Facebook Marketplace. The trunk provides eye-catching texture and conveniently hides his toys.Rather than pay for an expensive wall design, Monica and her husband created their own version of a board-and-batten accent wall in the master bedroom. Small touches such as a plaid blanket, a leaf garland and pumpkins create a cozy
fall vibe in the space, while their cat, Sassy, sits on a bench Monica won at a
furniture auction.
Kristin Dowding is a freelance writer, contributing articles to both print magazines (American Farmhouse Style, Cottages and Bungalows and Atomic Ranch) and websites. She enjoys editing novels, reading and flipping old furniture.
