Growing Roots

Written by Victoria Van Vlear

Photography by Scarlett Knuth

After living in eight different homes, a couple works to put down roots in a northern Florida farmhouse.

The old oak tree at the front of the property is a classic for the south, with Spanish moss dripping from its branches. “When I saw this house, the thing I loved the most was the large oak tree that frames the house,” Scarlett says. “It’s such a romantic, old-fashioned tree style. Our area is historic and has these trees you drive under with the Spanish moss hanging down. We have another huge one behind the house.”

What kind of home makes you want to grow roots instead of move on? For Instagrammer Scarlett Knuth of White Florida Farmhouse, the answer is a farmhouse with lots of land and lots of opportunity for improvement. By the time she and her husband Stephen found this farmhouse in northern Florida, they had lived in seven different places. Built in 1992, the original homeowners were selling this home. “They were retirement age and ready to move to a condo on the beach,” Scarlett says. Attracted to the acre of land and the gorgeous oak tree out front dripping with Spanish moss, they pulled the trigger and have worked to make the house a place to stay, instead of a place to leave.

When they first saw the house, the exterior was dark brown. “The only way I could get my husband on board was tell him that I wanted to paint it white,” Scarlett says. “It was our first big investment.”

the sofa is an art gallery Scarlett created. “The living room is a small room, so the oversized frames help the walls feel bigger than it really is,” she says. “But it was hard to find the oversized frames. I ended up going to a bunch of different Targets to get six that were all the same.”

Finding Home

The process of living in so many different homes has led Stephen and Scarlett to figure out what they do and don’t like in a house. “We previously owned a much older farmhouse in the same area of town, but it was much more upkeep,” Scarlett says. “We went through a couple of hurricanes in that house, and my kids were babies. So I was ready to not have so much upkeep.” This farmhouse was built in 1992, so it has a newer structure without the chronic plumbing, electrical and roof problems so common to older houses.

Scarlett was immediately drawn to the old tree out front, and the piece of land itself. “To find a good piece of land with a beautiful tree like that, that’s something you can’t change,” she says. “This was the kind of house where we could see
our kids coming home from college to visit. We’ve moved a lot, but this was the first house we could see ourselves staying at.”

The fireplace was brick when the family moved in, which Scarlett decided to update without completely redoing the fireplace and hearth. “The mantel and fireplace are both original, and we painted them white,” she says.

Scarlett’s design aesthetic has changed over the years, and she decided to pull in some bohemian farmhouse touches into this home. “It’s modern farmhouse mixed with boho,” she says. “My word for this house is ‘cozy.’ I wanted people to feel like they could come in and hang out for a while.” The egg chair has become a focal point for the boho farmhouse theme in the living room. “I wanted a unique piece in there that would make [the room] look cozy,” Scarlett says. “That’s become my coffee chair.”

’90s Home

Since the original homeowners had lived in the house for almost 30 years, the décor and style were outdated and needed reworking. “I had to have a vision before we bought the house, because I had to sell it to my husband,” Scarlett says. “It wasn’t our style, so I had to tell him what I envisioned.” That vision included painting both the interior and exterior white, updating the kitchen and bathrooms and working on the outdoor spaces.

The dining area is open to the kitchen. “The room is small, but it has an oversized window, and having that huge window makes it so much bigger,” Scarlett says. The farm table is a custom piece that Scarlett and Stephen have taken with them to several homes. “It has natural quirks about it, and now scratches from when the kids were younger,” Scarlett says. “It’s become a memory table.”

While Scarlett insists she and Stephen aren’t handy, they’ve done quite a few DIY projects since moving in 2021, including installing bathroom vanities, lighting, faucets, wall paneling, and of course, painting. “In my childhood, I wanted to be an architect, and I’ve always had a passion for design,” Scarlett says. “So it came full circle. My husband and I are not naturally handy, but my husband jokes that I can learn anything from YouTube University.”

The kitchen was the first place Scarlett wanted to start renovating—before they found mold in the primary bathroom. Suddenly the kitchen became secondary in importance. “The bathroom took so much of our budget that we had to refinish the cabinets instead of replacing them,” she says. They also replaced all the cabinet hardware and installed a new farmhouse sink, quartz countertops and a garbage disposal, since the house didn’t have one.

The couple has updated the kitchen and bathrooms, and just installed a raised bed garden in the backyard for their ongoing efforts at homesteading. “This house is going to be an ongoing project. It doesn’t have to be done all at once,” Scarlett says. “You get to a point where you ask, ‘Do I keep improving this house, or do I start looking on Zillow?’ But sometimes when I look on Zillow, I’ll get inspired to work on my current house.”

After living in so many different places, Scarlett has found ways of reusing pieces she’s brought with her from other homes. In the office, those include the desk and mirror. “The mirror originally went with the [primary] bed,” she says. She worked to pull everything together into a new modern farmhouse aesthetic with wall art and décor. “The art pieces were a beautiful romantic farmhouse next to a country farmhouse, and that pulled it all together,” Scarlett says. “I also used the chicken statue to bring in a different design aesthetic.”

Now that they’ve been there three years, they like it even more than when they first moved in. “The whole reason I started my Instagram account was that I wanted it to be a love letter to this house,” Scarlett says. “I wanted to turn this into a house I love.”

Scarlett’s daughter’s bedroom is a vision in pink and white. “I designed it, but with her approval on things. Pink is her favorite color,” Scarlett says. The glass chandelier in this room matches one in the primary bedroom closet and is a miniature version of the chandelier in the primary bedroom.

The primary bedroom is Scarlett’s favorite space in the house. “The bed frame is my favorite piece of furniture because it’s hand carved. I love being able to retreat to my bed, curl up and watch something,” she says. The bed frame is a piece the family has brought with them across multiple houses, as is the glass chandelier above it. “That’s the one big piece in my first house that I invested in,” she says. “I always refuse to include it in the sale. I love sparkly, glittery things and that chandelier represents that side of my personality.”

The downstairs powder bathroom has received an update too. “It was very dated,” Scarlett says. “I didn’t gut it, but I painted over the tile, installed a new vanity, added trim with board and batten and peel and stick wallpaper.” Now it’s a perfect place to show off her style when guests arrive.

The primary bathroom is the first space Scarlett and Stephen renovated when they moved in—though not by choice. “During the inspection, we found mold behind the shower, so we had to gut it and redo it,” she says. “I had wanted to do the kitchen.” But it was worth it, because the space is Scarlett’s favorite project in this house so far. “I love how it turned out,” she says. They contracted out for elements such as the demo, plumbing and tiling, but then installed the new vanity, hardware, faucet, lighting, and ceiling shiplap themselves.

Scarlett and Stephen spruced up the front porch with hanging begonia plants, new lighting, hardware, and front door paint. “The front door was green,” Scarlett says. “I still want to get a new front door with glass, but it’s another investment we’re saving up for.”

This charming corner was already partially in place when the Knuth family moved in. “The swing was already here,” Scarlett says. “I wanted a new one, but then realized this one had a cool vintage feel to it. We think we want the newest and latest of something, but then you can stop and appreciate the history of the item.” She set up a vinyl mat from V-Mat underneath, to look like an outdoor rug but without the upkeep. “With Florida weather, it’s hard to keep a rug nice,” she says. “This is really easy to clean.”

The charming chicken coop was a partial DIY project. The couple bought a kit to build, then customized it with white paint, old-fashioned hinges, more secure fixtures, and a cute Fresh Eggs sign. Then as their flock expanded, they knew they needed more space. “I let my chickens free range when they’re supervised, so I call them part-time free rangers,” Scarlett says. “But we needed more space for everybody to run around. So we took 2x2s and pieced them together with hard wire cloth and found plastic roof material that matched.” Now the customized coop is perfect for their flock of 10+ hens.

The Knuth family’s backyard has become an oasis, especially as a homeschooling family. “I wanted my kids to have nature be a big part of our journey in homeschooling,” Scarlett says. They just finished installing a raised bed garden and meandering cobble pathway. “I wanted it to feel like I was in an old English garden going down my cobblestone pathway,” she says.

3 Steps to Start Homesteading

An ongoing project for Instagrammer Scarlett Knuth of White Florida Farmhouse is to become more self-sufficient through homesteading. Here’s her advice for anyone looking to start.

Start with baby steps. Learning to homestead doesn’t mean you have to become a fully self-sufficient farm overnight. “Each step leads to another,” Scarlett says. Start with one or two steps you can take toward growing your own food or raising animals and learn that before moving on to anything else. “Start with learning to grow herbs, and try hydroponic gardening,” Scarlett says. “That’s gardening for beginners.”

Have realistic goals. Whether you want to grow food, raise animals or both, set realistic goals you can manage and work toward. “Make them realistic of what you’re capable of taking on,” Scarlett says. “There’s always a learning curve.” For example, start with a manageable number of animals to care for. “I started with three chickens, and it eventually grew to more,” she says. “But it was a good starting point for learning how to care for a flock.”

Tips for Outdoor Spring Decorating

Embrace your mistakes. Don’t get discouraged when you fail; after all, practice makes perfect. “We went to a you-pick garden with cabbages,” Scarlett says. “I spent hours slicing up the cabbage to make my own sauerkraut. But within a couple of days, it all molded. I took it as a learning lesson, and it’s been a good lesson in letting go of perfection.”

Best Beginner Groceries to Grow

Scarlett has recently started growing her own groceries, and you can too, even with minimal space and experience. Here are the easiest plants to start your gardening journey.

Herbs. “Start with learning to grow herbs,” Scarlett says. Basil, parsley, mint, oregano and cilantro are good candidates for indoors. If you have a sunny kitchen window, simply place several pots along the windowsill. You can also grow these plants outside for a constant source of fresh cooking herbs.

Tomatoes. Tomatoes are notoriously easy to grow, but remember that you need a sunny spot for them. Smaller varieties such as cherry tomatoes are often easier than the larger-fruited tomatoes—plus, they’re so much sweeter than the cherry tomatoes you can buy in the store.

Greens. If you have a shaded bed or patio, greens are a wonderful way to start growing your groceries. Try kale, lettuce, cabbage and arugula for easy vegetables that you can grow and turn into delicious salads. “I’ve been able to grow a lot of great salad ingredients,” Scarlett says.

Bulb and root vegetables. Some bulb and root vegetables can be easy over-winter vegetables to grow. Try carrots, spring onions, garlic and beets. Remember that some of these need to go into the ground in the late fall or early winter if you live in snowy regions. For warmer regions, you can plant them year-round.

To see more of Scarlett’s home visit White Florida Farmhouse on Instagram.