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22 Articles

Welcome to a New Year in the Country!

Can I admit something that’s not very magazine editor-y of me to say? (Just between us, of course.) I do not love the “new year, new you” energy that’s prevalent right about now. While change can be good for all of us, I prefer a slower, more gradual approach to transformation. Someone once told me that they think of their house like a cast-iron skillet—as something that should be seasoned over time—and I love that sentiment. As much as I hope this makeover-themed issue fills you with ideas and inspiration for decorating your own home, I also hope you remember that curling up on the sofa with a book, building a pillow fort with your children, or enjoying a dinner around the table all count toward creating beauty in their own…

Welcome to a New Year in the Country!

And Don’t Miss…

My 100 Favorite Places to Shop for Vintage Online Scratch your antiquing itch with these online treasure troves. Get our guide at countryliving.com/antiques. The Country’s Best Small Towns Did your favorite town make our 2025 list? Find out at countryliving.com/smalltowns. A Must-Read for Antiques Lovers I’m ridiculously excited about our new All Access newsletter devoted to all things vintage. Learn more at countryliving.com/vintage. PORTRAIT BY BECKY LUIGART-STAYNER, HAIR AND MAKEUP BY HOLLY SIMS; SHELF AND JEEP PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAUL HAVEL AND JACKIE GREANEY; ILLUSTRATION BY JILL DE HAAN.…

And Don’t Miss…

Simple Country Pleasures

1 Cracking open the windows (preferably trimmed in blue!) at the first hint of milder temps 2 Refreshing your hardest working spaces in time for potting and planting season 3 The satisfaction that a few new accent pillows can bring 4 The smell of soup simmering on the stove (See pg. 28 for a few of our favorite recipes.) 5 Outfitting your bedside table with a new stack of hardcovers 6 Frosty morning drives through the countryside 7 Pulling on your trustiest pair of worn-in wellies and going for a Sunday stroll 8 Seeing daffodils, the happiest harbingers of spring, on display in vintage vessels Be sure to follow us on Instagram @countrylivingmag for a daily dose of Simple Country Pleasures. PHOTOGRAPHS BY READ MCKENDREE/JBSA IMAGES, ARCHITECTURE BY MCBRIDE ARCHITECTS;. RICARDO LABOUGLE, INTERIOR DESIGN BY VIRGINIA TUPKER, ARCHITECTURE BY…

Simple Country Pleasures

Wide-Plank Floors

Peruse real estate listings for country homes from the 18th and 19th centuries, and you’ll likely notice a frequently cited feature: wide-plank hardwood floors. Popular with America’s early settlers thanks to a wealth of vast and untouched old-growth forests, these floorboards—ranging from five to 30 inches—were born out of practicality. Felling enormous trees was laborious, so the fewer cuts made to a tree, the better. Once felled, the trunks were often cut into quarters, and then the planks were cut at a 45-degree angle from those quarters, creating what is referred to as quarter-sawn wood. (This technique helps prevent boards from bowing upward.) As the country’s timber supply depleted and building practices became more refined, hand-hewn boards became harder to come by. Today, they’re prized for their humble history, old-school…

Wide-Plank Floors

Planks for the Memories

Evolutia This family-run business in Birmingham, Alabama, offers a variety of wood species that can be custom-milled to exact specifications. StoriedBoards In Lake George, New York, brothers Tyler and Garrett Russell and their dad, Whitney, reclaim regional materials and document their unique origins. Antique Beams & Boards Based in the heart of Ohio’s barn country, this Midwestern resource has a large inventory, meaning shorter lead times. PHOTOGRAPH BY TARA DONNE, STYLING BY OLGA NAIMAN; ILLUSTRATION BY MELINDA JOSIE.…

Planks for the Memories

An English-Inspired Cottage Kitchen

1 Cottage Charm For this historic home’s kitchen remodel, designer Katie Rosenfeld (katierosenfeldandco.com) took inspiration from elements of unfitted British kitchens, which look and feel built and added to over time. “The asymmetrical nature of the design is purposeful,” says Katie of the sink’s slightly off-center placement and the mixed wood and tile backsplashes. A calming palette of white (Pointing by Farrow & Ball) and deep sage green anchors the cottage aesthetic. 2 Belgian Bluestone While the English Cotswolds may have its iconic limestone, Katie looked across the North Sea to Belgium for this kitchen’s flooring. The ashy appearance of the distressed Belgian bluestone is thanks to the country’s millennia-old carbon deposits. 3 Furniture-Like Island To avoid the bulky island look, Katie and her senior architectural designer, Jess Chabot, designed the unique bobbin-legged piece to…

An English-Inspired Cottage Kitchen

A Classic White Farmhouse

$325,000 Huddleston, VA 3 BR; 2 BA; 2,192 SQ. FT. WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT: That wraparound porch is just waiting for a row of rockers! Inside, freshly painted millwork, refinished original hardwood floors, a windowwrapped sunroom, and an updated kitchen provide a pretty blank slate ready for decorating. AGENT: Laura Simms Hengerer; lshrealestate.com WORK REQUIRED: $299,000 Clarendon, VT 4 BR; 2 BA; 2,362 SQ. FT. WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT: After taking in mountain views from this stately Victorian’s porch, you can step through the original stained glass front door to an impressive staircase and wide-plank hardwood floors throughout. AGENT: Alison McCullough; alisonmcculloughrealestate.com WORK REQUIRED: $495,000 Amsterdam, NY 4 BR; 2 BA; 3,200 SQ. FT. WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT: Known as Dunlap Farmhouse, this Georgian Colonial has scenic views of the Mohawk Valley. Throughout, modern finishes mix with preserved details such as hardwood…

A Classic White Farmhouse

What to Collect Now

Desktop Perpetual Calendars Patented as an automatic wristwatch mechanism by Patek Philippe in 1889, perpetual calendars display a properly paired weekday and date, no matter the year. Manual versions became popular desktop accessories in the early 1900s and are seeing a resurgence today thanks to younger generations’ penchants for flip phones and other analog devices. The stately Edwardian wooden turn knob styles (bottom left) of the era can cost up to $1,000, while midcentury brass pieces run $50 to $200. Sold as travel mementos, flip calendars (sailboat, top left) typically ring in under $40. Scarab Bracelets The 1922 discovery of King Tut’s tomb sparked an international craze for all things ancient Egypt. Scarab beetles subsequently became a popular jewelry motif, with carvings etched into semi-precious chalcedony cabochons and linked together as bracelets. Resurrected…

What to Collect Now

What Is It? What Is It Worth?

“This rug has been in my family for several generations.”—E.S., Terryville, CT WHAT IT IS: American Hooked Rug Antiques Roadshow Executive Producer Marsha Bemko shared your family heirloom with appraiser James Ffrench of Beauvais Carpets. He tells us, “Hooked rugs of this type were usually made from a ‘kit’ that included a printed burlap scrim and sometimes wool or cotton yarns. But often, only the burlap scrim was purchased and the hooker would use scrap materials they had on hand. Based on the pure folk art aspects of this piece, I am fairly certain that the fabrics used to hook this design were household scraps being repurposed.” He notes that it is unusual that it appears to be dated, an uncommon practice, and that this was likely added by the crafter herself. WHAT…

What Is It? What Is It Worth?

From the Farm to Your Table Here, five ways to embrace peak beet season. Recipes, pg. 78 FIELD NOTES How to Buy (and Store) Beets To get the most out of your produce, choose beetroots that are firm with few to no blemishes. (The smaller they are, the sweeter they’ll be.) If the edible stems and leaves are attached, look for bunches with unwilted leaves. Remove the stems and leaves, wash and dry them immediately, then store wrapped in paper towels in a zip-top bag in the crisper for three to four days. (Use them as you would chard or other winter greens.) Store the roots, unwashed, in the crisper up to two months. Wash just before using. RECIPES BY CHRISTOPHER MICHEL; PHOTOGRAPH BY BECKY LUIGART-STAYNER; FOOD STYLING BY TORIE COX; PROP STYLING BY KAY…

WARM UP WITH… Lasagna Soup The beloved Italian casserole gets a spoon-friendly twist in this tomato-based soup featuring sausage, spinach, and lasagna noodles, served with a dollop of fresh ricotta. PAIR WITH… Cheesy Garlic Ciabatta Recipes, pg. 80 WARM UP WITH… Matzo Ball Soup Featuring tender dumplings made of matzo meal, along with chicken and coins of carrots, this brothy dish is the next best thing to a hug from your bubbe (that’s Yiddish for grandmother). PAIR WITH… Pickle-and-Havarti Matzo Crackers Recipes, pg. 80 WARM UP WITH… Black Bean Soup Ideal for Tex-Mex lovers, this veggie-rich soup includes onion and bell pepper, along with canned black beans and toppings like cilantro, avocado, and red onion. PAIR WITH… Chicken-Chile Quesadillas Recipes, pg. 81 WARM UP WITH… Potato Leek Soup While there’s some debate about this creamy soup’s origin (the Irish, Welsh, and French all stake a claim), everyone can agree that…

Happy Hide-Away

Buoyed by a childhood dream of riding her horse cross country, in 2010, musician Linny Kenney set off with her Arabian, Sojourner, on an eight-and-a-half month, 3,700-mile journey from Los Angeles to her hometown of Bath, New Hampshire. Ahead of the trip, she used her stepfather’s leather-working tools to create custom tack for her mare and a guitar strap for herself. After posting photos to her blog, friends began asking her to craft pieces for them. “I made things when I could during the ride,” she says. “And the business kept organically growing.” So, too, did Linny’s product line, which now includes oven mitts, knife rolls, aprons, tote bags, and more. Most pieces are stitched from naturally tanned full-grain Italian leather, and sometimes hand-decorated with acrylic paint or pyrography. In 2016, rally…

Happy Hide-Away

Madison, Georgia

Enjoy an old-fashioned diner lunch ahead of a historic home tour…… and 20 more ways to savor the distinctly Southern charms of Morgan County. Perch on the Patio: Situated just off the town square in an old gas station, The Sinclair (opposite) serves as a gathering spot for Madison’s early risers. Set Out for a Stroll: A selfguided walking tour of the Madison Historic District takes old home enthusiasts past pristinely preserved Queen Annes, Greek Revivals, and more. Step Back in Time: First built in 1809, the Rogers House museum (pg. 41) provides a look at middle-class life in the late 1800s. On the lot next door, Rose Cottage was built in 1891 for Adeline Rose, a previously enslaved woman who financed her way to home ownership by taking in washing and ironing…

Madison, Georgia

In Good Company

The sky in Central Florida that afternoon appeared as though someone had mistakenly pulled a blanket over the sun. I stared overhead, transfixed, as the clouds swirled past, their swollen sides punctured by sudden bursts of blinding white lightning. After a breathless moment, the heavens broke open and dropped down a flood. The gloom of it all matched my mood. I’d been working on a novel and none of it was going right. Deep in my first bout of writer’s block, I felt lost and alone. I kept looking for a sign that my muddled thoughts would suddenly clear up, but there was nothing but darkness. After what seemed like hours, the sun sliced through the dim and shone the world fresh and green. The wind had left behind a tangle of…

In Good Company

Back to the Basics

CHRISTINA SALWAY doesn’t scare easily. The Brooklyn-based designer and owner of 11211 Design (11211design.com) has taken on eight personal home renovations (a previous farmhouse was featured in our March 2016 issue) and countless more for her clients. Even so, she was shaken to her core the first time she toured a circa–1850s home in Hudson, New York. “I walked in the back door and it definitely looked haunted,” she says. “I said, ‘Nope,’ and walked out immediately.” Days later, the Colonial-style residence continued to haunt Christina. She knew she’d never be able to find another four-bedroom home on four acres at that price point, so she took a deep breath and returned—this time with reinforcements. “I convinced my husband, John [Moskowitz], to go, and we made it through the entire house,”…

Back to the Basics

Home Swede Home

For two years, Tara Mangini and Percy Bright, the design duo behind Jersey Ice Cream Co. (@jerseyicecreamco), were living like the proverbial cobbler’s kids who had no shoes. The main living area of their upstate New York country home was furnished with power tools, piles of plaster mix, and stacks of salvaged tile, while just steps away, their “kitchen” consisted of a hot plate and a five-gallon bucket for a sink. Living in a construction zone is standard practice for the designers who are known for moving into a client’s house for months at a time while renovating it before the owners return for the big reveal. So, it wasn’t unusual that when the couple bought their own rundown 1870 farmhouse, they trusted their process—to live in the house and let…

Home Swede Home

just couple for ROUGH HOUSERS

Round Top, Texas is known for many things—its antiques fairs, bluebonnets, the pie at Royers Cafe—but the sign along Highway 237 touting the 90-person population may be the most iconic. However, designers Leanne Ford (@leannefordinteriors) and Grace Mitchell (@astoriedstyle), who are no strangers to an overhaul, think even it could use an update. “I joke that they need to change the sign to 99 to include the Mitchell party of six and the Ford party of three,” says Grace. That’s because the creatives—best known for their respective HGTV series (Restored by the Fords; One of a Kind)—have officially put down roots with a home in the Texas Hill Country. As is the case with many a Round Top purchase, the 1880 farmhouse was an impulse buy. “It was truly on a…

just couple for ROUGH HOUSERS

Country Calendar

The Nashville Show February 13-15 | Nashville, TN Head to the fairgrounds in Music City to source antique Americana and primitives from more than 150 seasoned dealers. (Also visit Fiddlers Antiques Show next door.) jenkinsandco.com Kitsap Antique Show February 22-23 | Bremerton, WA Make your way to this town that’s just a ferry ride away from Seattle for vintage and antique baubles and trinkets, plus appraisals of family heirlooms. antiqueshowkitsap.com The Great Junk Hunt February 28-March 1 | Del Mar, CA Spend the day at the fairgrounds filling your wagon with vintage goods while sipping cocktails and listening to live music. thegreatjunkhunt.com A Gathering on the Prairie March 1 | Arthur, IL Travel to Illinois Amish Country to scoop up country antiques and primitive wares. Psst: Don’t miss the traditional lunch buffet at Yoder’s Kitchen around the corner. facebook.com/agatheringontheprairie…

Country Calendar

The Local Hardware Store

If “can-do” attitudes aren’t born at the hardware store, it’s certainly where they get their wings (and wing nuts). Whether you’re purchasing supplies for a DIY or seeking an urgent fix, the friendly, highly capable staff always knows exactly what you need and will happily (and patiently!) walk you through the how-to. Add in a dazzling paint chip display and row upon row of neatly organized tools, and the whole experience provides a reassuring respite from the outside world. STORE EXTERIOR COURTESY OF MUELLER’S HARDWARE IN PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.…

The Local Hardware Store

The Almanac PRIZE RECIPES

Panacea Cocktail WORKING TIME 20 minutes TOTAL TIME 20 minutes MAKES 8 servings 1 large or 2 medium beets (about ½ pound), peeled and chopped into ½-inch pieces1 (1 ½-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced4 ounces fresh lemon juice, plus 8 pieces lemon peel, for garnish2 ounces pure honey8 ounces gin 1. Puree beets, ginger, and ¼ cup water in a blender until smooth. (Add up to 2 more tablespoons water if mixture is too thick.) Strain through cheesecloth, squeezing pulp to remove all juice. (If necessary, add water until yield equals 1 cup.) 2. Combine 1 ounce beet-ginger juice, ½ ounce lemon juice, ¼ ounce honey, 1 ounce gin, and ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake until honey is combined, about 30 seconds. Strain into a coupe glass; garnish with lemon peel. Repeat with…

The Almanac PRIZE RECIPES

The Almanac RESOURCES

Currently Craving PAGES 8-9 “Petites Pommes” café curtain fabric; decorsbarbares.com. “Architectonics2” subway tile; waterworks.com. “Cruz” barstools; lawsonfenning.com. “Expedition” barstool seat fabric; zakandfox.com. “Anders” pendant lights; urbanelectric.com. PAGE 10 “Strawberry Thief” café curtain and cushion fabric; wmorrisandco.com. Jasper Fabrics “Dutch Stripe” pillow fabric; michaelsmithinc.com. PAGE 11 “Bramshill” chandelier; urbanelectric.com. “Wallis Ticking” chandelier fabric; carletonv.com. Custom trestle table; nickeykehoe.com. “Rajmata Tonal” chair seat fabric; peterdunhamtextiles.com. In With the Old PAGE 17 Perpetual calendars: Industrial Artifacts, industrialartifacts.net; As We See It, asweseeit.etsy.com; The Last Roundup Antiques, @the.last.roundup; Lackluster Co., lacklusterco.etsy.com; SMS Designs Studio, smsdesignsstudio.etsy.com; Palm-American, palmamerican.etsy.com; Flying Cheerio Studio, flyingcheeriostudio.etsy.com. PAGE 18 Scarab bracelets: Maejean Vintage Jewelry, maejeanvintage.com. PAGE 19 Rush chairs: 86 Vintage, 86vintage.com. Jockey carnival game pieces: 1stDibs, 1stdibs.com. PAGE 20 Mahjong set: Vintage Alchemist, @vintagealchemisthome. Newspaper tubes: 5oakz; ebay.com/usr/5oakz; Rustbelt Vintage Co., ebay.com/usr/rustbelt_…

The Almanac RESOURCES

From the Archives: January 1996

Atlanta was gearing up for the Olympics, Beanie Babies were all the rage, and the Spice Girls debuted their first single. Another across-the-pond sensation: the 18th-century Georgian house that graced our winter cover. Nestled in the English countryside, the rooms still feel fresh almost 30 years later, thanks to creamy white walls and simple green woodwork. ALSO IN THE ISSUE: A Connecticut cottage with a dreamy writing corner, a guide to collecting bookmarks (at left), and a Pennsylvania kitchen peppered with enough produce to fill a Trader Joe’s. See More! Country Living All Access subscribers can enjoy this entire issue (plus others!) at countryliving.com/archives.…

From the Archives: January 1996

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