A Flea Market Farmhouse

A dining room with a wood floor and a vintage style rug under a table and set of chairs. Above the table is a chandelier made with lights strung through a flea market painter’s ladder.

Photography by Jessica Russell

Jessica Russell of Itty Bitty Farmhouse describes her home as cozy cottage farmhouse style. “It’s a farmhouse cottage, somewhere between cottage and farmhouse,” she explains. “It’s more of a plantation home full of vintage signs and pieces.” Whatever you choose to call it, Jessica’s style is a unique take on the farmhouse look, bringing in flea market pieces with sweet country feels. Step inside Jessica’s gorgeous North Carolina flea market farmhouse, where most everything is either a flea market find or made by Jessica herself.

A white room with an accent wall behind the bed made from eighteenth-century doors from the Facebook marketplace. The accent wall is layered in wallpaper with a pattern of farmhouses and other pastoral features. — The bed frame in the master bedroom of this flea market farmhouse is constructed from eighteenth-century doors that Jessica purchased from the Facebook marketplace. “We went through a rainbow of paint colors, scrapping off paint to make the doors,” she says. The wallpaper on the accent wall comes from Wallpaper Direct in the style, The Allotment.

An entryway with a wall coat hanger which has several white and off-white throws above a mini bench in white chippy paint. — Even this tiny entryway sports a unique assortment of flea market finds and vintage pieces. Soft throws and textured pillows bring in some comfort.

Trips to the Flea Market

Jessica’s home is a tiny flea market farmhouse in North Carolina, backed up against the woods, with a large porch in front. Inside, the abode brims with rare finds from her trips to local antique shops and flea markets. “I try to bring in vintage pieces for the history behind it,” she reveals. “Most of my stuff comes from places that were once homesteads or barns.”

In this way, living in North Carolina has made collecting vintage décor even more effortless. It’s easier to find more vintage items in a state where many families retain their historical homes and properties, she says. In fact, Jessica’s favorite items were picked from local barns, making her home’s farmhouse style feel authentic and lived-in, the perfect combination of antique mall and a contemporary home.

A white bedroom with framed paintbrushes on the wall next to a bed in a wire frame. — The bedframe in the guest bedroom is another great flea market find at only ten dollars. All the baskets above the bed are from Goodwill.

The laundry room has a brick wall behind the laundry machines. The brick is made from brick paneling. Open shelves hold laundry and accessories for doing the chore. — Jessica added the open shelves in her laundry room for easy access. The brick paneling on the back wall adds texture and dimension, a layering effect Jessica uses in much of her home.

The kitchen has countertops made from butcher block in a rich warm wood tone. The backsplash is white tile and the lower cabinets are painted white as well. — The kitchen’s countertops are old butcher block with marks from use, adding character and charm to the farmhouse kitchen.

Woods and Whites

“Wood tones bring a home feel to the house,” she says. Plus, they help balance the cozy vibe. To achieve this, Jessica often pairs bare wood with varying shades of white. The wood adds some warmth but also serves as a subtle contrast to the white colors featured predominately in the home. “I love creamy whites, neutrals and sometimes pops of color.” In springtime, these pops of color are usually green in the shape of blooms and fresh greens from outside.

Perhaps the most interesting piece in Jessica’s home is her wood chandelier above the kitchen island. “Everyone always asks me about it,” she laughs. The unique item is actually a wooden painter’s ladder that Jessica added to dangling lights. “I didn’t just want something everyone else had,” she says of her creation. “It’s versatile. I can change out the lights whenever I want.”

What is French Farmhouse Style?

A view of the dining room table showing the gorgeous white china hutch which has a mini white fence placed on top of it. — Above the china hutch sits a mini fence that originally came from a friend’s barn. It had been used as a little goat pasture fence, a sweet touch to Jessica’s farmhouse.

A small book shelf houses a sign that reads, “Country Fresh Eggs For Sale.” Accompanying the sign are layers of baskets and scales, originally used in markets. — One of Jessica’s favorite flea market finds is the Country Fresh Eggs For Sale sign. The vintage and chippy feel of the sign adds to the cozy vibe in the home’s dining room.

Layering Effect

Indeed, the versatility of the chandelier exemplifies Jessica’s approach to her home’s DIY style. Even the small spaces offer up dazzling vignettes, providing texture and layering to offset the neutral tones embraced throughout the home. Consider Jessica’s paintbrush collection. “I thought why not add a frame to the brushes?” Jessica says about the origin of this piece. The frame hailed from a dresser’s mirror and adds dimension and texture. Layering items together creates something new and original, just like Jessica’s home.

The office wall above the his and her office desk has the words, “itty bitty farmhouse.” The wall is made of white shiplap — The his and her desk in the home’s office comes with a wall made from white shiplap for additional texture. “When I first started styling the space I wasn’t sure about adding shiplap to the entire room,” Jessica says, “but having one wall in shiplap is eye-catching and the first thing guests see when they enter the office.”

Ready for your own little farmhouse? Check out this sweet Carolina farmhouse. Of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for more daily inspiration and farmhouse style.