The yard was overgrown and the plastic shutters and gingerbread trim a garish blue, but there was something about the little white farmhouse that made Jason Frank’s heart flutter. As these things go, the Andes, New York, house was already under contract, so he and partner Vinny Lopez, who was admittedly less taken, moved on to contemplating other homes in the area. But as these things can also go, the aforementioned contract fell through, and, after some Vinny convincing, the circa-1848 Greek Revival home and its 10 acres of rolling farmland were theirs.
Jason, a set designer and stylist for Ralph Lauren Home, and Vinny, a creative director in TV advertising, alongside architect Gary Morgenroth, then began the journey of transforming the overly updated property back to its farmhouse origins—not as a period-perfect historic building, but as a living home that reflects the tastes and modern lifestyle of its current stewards. “It had been updated in the early 1980s and had lost most of its original millwork,” says Vinny. “It was about making it feel like an old farmhouse again.” Well, mostly old. The high-tech speakers are hidden away in baskets.
A lifelong collector, Jason embraced the task of furnishing their farmhouse as an excuse to feed his habit. “There’s a story behind almost every piece in our home—mostly the adventure of where we found it or how we got it into the house,” he says. “Farm sales, antiques shows, salvage yards, not to mention grabbing the odd item off New York City sidewalks, no stone is left unturned—and we’ll buy the stone, too!”
Below, take a tour of their beautifully restored home:
Revival Tactic: Lived-In Leather
Opening up the floor plan made for a roomier living room, where newly plastered white walls provide a calming backdrop for the arrangement of dark leather seating (all vintage Ralph Lauren) and antique wood tables. “We like pieces that are weathered—authentic objects that celebrate their wear,” says Jason. The couple found the mirror’s frame at the Brimfield Antique Flea Market and replaced its damaged print with antique mercury glass mirror.
Revival Tactic: Barn Board Flooring
The perfectly worn floors in the light-filled sunroom and adjoining spaces are salvaged white barn boards, lightly sanded and sealed with wax. A painted striped border connects the rooms and continues the thread of black found throughout the house, including the lantern lighting. “It’s the punctuation against the white,” says Jason. To make the later addition feel in keeping with the rest of the house, Jason and Vinny had the room rebuilt with six-over-six windows (from Marvin).
Revival Tactic: An Arsenal of Ironstone
Homeowners Vinny Lopez and Jason Frank helped reclaim the 19th-century charm of their farmhouse’s tiny galley kitchen by laying salvaged pumpkin pine floorboards and exposing the original floor joists above. An antique cupboard influenced the design of the newly crafted cabinets. Opening up a half-bath gave space for the wood-and-iron shelf-lined butler’s pantry filled with ironstone. “From the simple to the ornate, it’s an ongoing discovery of different shapes and pieces,” says Jason. “And we use it all!”
Get the Look:
Cabinetry Paint Color: Hepplewhite Ivory by Benjamin Moore
RELATED:20 Best Galley Kitchen Design Ideas That Live Large
Revival Tactic: Nostalgic Wallpaper
A hand-printed Colonial-style wallpaper feels right at home in the back hallway. “It looks like something we could have discovered hiding underneath the paneling,” says Jason. Vinny built the pegboard using antique pegs.
Get the Look:
Wallpaper: “Louise” from Waterhouse Wallhangings
Revival Tactic: Checkerboard Character
Whether just the two of them or a party of eight, dinner is served by candlelight in the dining room. The space’s wood floor got a period—and country house—appropriate painted checkered design.
RELATED: 21 Brilliant Ideas for Painted Floors
Revival Tactic: Collections Around the Corner
Every nook in the house is a place for another collection, including the trio of fruit orchard-themed paintings hung by the back staircase.
Revival Tactic: A Classic Canopy
Inspired by antique canopy beds, the couple enlisted furniture craftsman Lawrence Crouse for a primitive bed that would fit the small downstairs bedroom. No-frills bed curtains made of black-and-white mattress ticking and vintage grain sack pillows echo the painted bed’s clean-lined simplicity. Jason happily scored the early-American dresser for a deal years ago when, at the time, grain-painted furniture was less popular.
Revival Tactic: Curated Arrangements
Tartan wool fabric cozies up the guest room’s walls that feature an assortment of finds, from cheeky art to an old pinball game. “We say it’s the collection of an old Boy Scout who grew up to travel the world and collected things along the way,” says Vinny.
Get the Look:
Fabric: “Duncanson Plaid” by Ralph Lauren
RELATED: Our Favorite Farmhouse Bedroom Ideas
Revival Tactic: Salvaged Beauty
The couple remodeled the upstairs bath around the salvaged claw-foot tub. “It nearly broke the staircase when the guys brought it up!” says Vinny.
Get the Look:
Bathtub: from Vintage Bathroom
This house originally appeared in the October/November 2023 issue of Country Living. Photographs by William Abranowicz. It is also featured in the book, Country Life: Homes of the Catskill Mountains and Hudson Valley by William Abranowicz.
During her more than 25 years in magazines and lifestyle editorial, Jennifer Kopf has traveled coast to coast visiting homes, perusing shops and antiques shows, and exploring back roads and small towns for publications such as Midwest Living, Country Home, and Southern Living. As the Executive Editor of Country Living, she produces, writes, and edits stories about home design, antiques and collectibles, entertaining, and all things related to country life. When she’s not working on the latest Country Living stories, you can find her on the porch of her circa-1900 family farmhouse or out and about at auctions, antiques shows, and estate sales hunting for the next vintage treasure to bring home.
