A Small Town Farmhouse With Big Style

A modern farmhouse with white interior space and two large blue counchs facign each other.

Written by Autumn Krause

Photography by Ryan Liu

Styling by Stacey Rossetti

Deep roots bring a deep understanding of an area and oneself. That’s the case for Stacey Rossetti, an RN and the face behind the Instagram account @farmhousechic4sure. Don’t let this small town farmhouse in Shelton, Connecticut, fool you. The home has big farmhouse style!

When Stacey first toured the colonial-style home they would buy, she loved how its location embodied small-town life. “It’s right across from an empty field, and there’s a pumpkin and strawberry farm behind it,” she says. But while the property was idyllic, the home wasn’t. “It lacked any personal style or custom features, so we knew from the beginning that we’d need to change that,” Stacey says. Over time, the self-taught designer transformed the basic colonial home into a custom farmhouse that’s full of surprising DIYs and creative wall treatments. It reflects her fashionable sensibilities while accommodating her active family, composed of two kids and three dogs.

A white exterior with a sea foam green door and blue wood paneling on the floorboards of the farmhouse porch — Originally, the exterior of the home was yellow with a burnt-orange stairwell and porch. “Paint was huge in transforming the outside of the house. I appreciate how it’s such a quick and easy way to update a space,” Stacey says. Fresh coats of crisp white paint instantly create small town farmhouse charm. The door took a bit more trial and error—several tries—but eventually the couple found just the right color. It’s a shade called Wythe Blue.

A mudroom-inspired area with an organization station of hooks, bins and shelves — Faced with a blank wall in her kitchen, Stacey knew she couldn’t let it go to waste. “I’m huge on bringing storage and functionality into the home and knew I wanted to make the best use of this area,” she says. She created a mudroom-inspired area with a bench that’s full of storage options and hooks for shoes and bags.

A white buffet cabinet transformed into a coffee bar on which cups and saucers sit. — A buffet cabinet turned coffee bar shows how farmhouse style can
include different interpretations. “The cabinet is a little more vintage,”
Stacey says. “That’s the beauty of farmhouse style; there are so many
variations that a lot of pieces can work.” The buffet was a labor of love.
She got it at an auction house for $100 and used a bleached wood
technique on the legs for a unique look.

A white staircase with white shiplap — With the hallway’s high ceiling, the bare walls felt unwelcoming. Stacey remedied that with her shiplap DIY skills. “By this time in our renovations, I’d added little bits of shiplap throughout our home,” she says. “The clean lines of shiplap make any space modern farmhouse style and add interest. I capped off the shiplap halfway up and left the original oak stairs and banister for contrast.”

The Heart of the Home

Stacey calls the kitchen the heart of the home. “I don’t mind that we splurged a little bit here to make it functional and our style,” she says. Creative changes to the existing cabinets, molding and white paint took the kitchen from ho-hum to harmonious. While Stacey eventually wants open shelving, this stage of life wasn’t quite right for it—she plans to do that when the children are older and it’s easier to maintain organization. So for now, she extended the original cabinets for optimum storage and painted them white for a clean and modern take on small town farmhouse chic.

White sliding barn doors behind a modern blue couch in this modern farmhouse style home in connecticut — It’s a doorway to nowhere—but that doesn’t matter because it’s big on style. Stacey installed a sliding barn door with a wooden track to decorate a huge wall. “I get asked all the time what’s behind it, but it’s completely for visual interest,” she says. “Barn doors are so beautiful so it was just right for the empty spot.”

To avoid monochromatic overload, Stacey broke up the white in the kitchen with a unique DIY: a brick backsplash. “We took a chance on it,” she says. She made the brick backsplash from BrickWeb, a thin brick on a mesh backing. “It’s easy to apply and covers more square footage at once,” she says. “My darling hubby did the grouting, and I applied a mortar wash to soften the look.” The brick backsplash, along with the copper sink, are Stacey’s favorite parts of the kitchen.

White cabinets in an exposed brick kitchen with a small kitchen table and dark chairs surrounding the table — Stacey dubs the table in her kitchen a “chunky farmhouse table” because its legs are wider than most. “I found the DIY plans for it by Ana White, and since I hadn’t yet honed my DIY skills, my dad built it for me,” she says. “I’ll cherish it until the end of time.” Two black benches offer ample seating—though they were originally intended for outdoors. “I got tired of moving six dining room chairs around, so I put these Target benches here instead,” she says.

From Boring to Beautiful

Originally, the family room was a huge open blank space that felt cold and boring. Stacey filled it with textures and treatments to create a sense of intimacy. “I started with the shiplap above the TV; then I added board and batten on either side of the fireplace,” she says. “When we purchased this house, shiplap was just becoming popular on shows like Fixer Upper and on Pinterest.” To DIY the shiplap, Stacey created a frame to attach 1×4 boards that were cut to length and even got her husband involved. “When I first started doing DIY projects, he thought I was nuts,” she says. “This was a good starting point because shiplap is a really great beginner’s DIY. Now he helps me all the time!”

The fireplace bricks also received a farmhouse facelift. Stacey used the same mortar wash technique (often called German Schmear) that she used on the kitchen brick backsplash to soften the bright red fireplace brick. “These bricks were porous, so it created a much lighter color, which I love,” Stacey says. The final notes of warmth come in with rugs, throw pillows and soft blankets that encourage coziness for the small town farmhouse.

Exposed brick works as a modern farmhouse style backsplash in the kitchen of the modern home — The kitchen was renovated in stages, and finally reflects Stacey’s vision. “It was a huge project and the most costly,” she says, “so we took our time.” The final touch was lighting. Instead of going for one style of lighting fixture, Stacey selected two different types of pendant lights that contrast with each other beautifully.

Bare wood floors add to the modern style of the home — The kitchen and family room are open to each other, while a hallway feeds into the formal dining room. “We get that open concept feel,” Stacey says. “It’s what I really desire in my home.”

A woman makes coffee in a modern farmhouse kitchen — Originally small, maroon-colored and topped with Formica, the kitchen island was in desperate need of a revamp. Stacey added 18″ to the island with wainscoting trim and supported the expanded top with pillars. She switched out the Formica top for a black walnut butcher block and now has ample elbow room for food prep.

Gray rustic wood paneling behind a piece of sign art — A reclaimed wood treatment enlivens the upstairs hallway. “I applied a whitewash over it to brighten the space,” Stacey says. She also added a sign to give the area a personalized feel and tie into the other signage throughout the home. “I’m a bookworm,” she says. “I’ve just always been drawn to words and quotes, and the signs serve as inspirational reminders for me and my family.”

An all white office-with white chair, window frame and floor--except for the dark wood desk and silver of the apple mac — Since the designated office is used as a playroom, Stacey set up this office area for her work in the master suite. “This spot is my compromise, since the kids get the actual office room,” she says. A dark wood desk sits beneath a vintage Office sign. It’s just the place to get loads of inspiration. “The window overlooks a gorgeous open field,” Stacey says. “In the summer, the owners let the grass grow really tall and then bail it for hay. It’s so relaxing to watch and reminds me of simpler times.”

Ceiling Style

Looking up is easy to do in the master bedroom of this small town farmhouse, and not just because of the beautiful light fixture. It’s because of a stunningly creative ceiling treatment that mixes weathered boards and shiplap. “The weathered wall boards are from Weaber Lumber,” Stacey says. A whitewash finish gives the boards a rugged farmhouse-style look and is also a DIY. Stacey thinned some white paint and lightly brushed it onto certain spots, installed the boards vertically, and then used shiplap on the center part of the ceiling. “The shiplap gives more depth,” she explains.

A dark black bed frame with white and light gray bed sheets and comforter. above the bed hangs a wreath made of green leaves. The room is white — Color contrast is at its best in the guest bathroom, where a chocolate-colored granite countertop and wood framed mirror pop against the white shiplap and board-and-batten walls. “It’s very striking,” Stacey says. “I couldn’t find the exact countertop I wanted, but this was a remnant piece that worked just right.”

Stacy updated the rest of the room. This included a fresh paint and a faux brick wall that brings unexpected tactile beauty to the room. A light fixture with metallic details gives a sense of polish, while a dark green wreath feels like a rich neutral in the bedroom’s color scheme. It’s a bright and happy place to wake up and face a busy day with the kids or at work.

With her creative DIYs, Stacey’s home is a warm and inviting version of the modern farmhouse aesthetic. It embodies both the closeness of small-town love and the elegance of modern style—and, most importantly, it embodies Stacey. “It’s really important to love your home and make it really yours,” she says. It’s obvious that she’s done just that in her small town farmhouse.