After living in a mobile home in their central Washington farm for 18 years, Cari and Greg Horning and their growing daughters needed an upgrade. The couple had planned to raise the roof for an improvement, but they ran into a number of building limitations.
Talks with the builders in WM Construction persuaded them to refuse their addition strategies and build a modern farmhouse that showcased their family history as many salvaged and reclaimed rustic furnishings as possible.
in a Glance
Who lives here: Cari and Greg Horning, daughters Kendall and Piper, gold retriever Scoop and 3 farm cats
Location: Quincy, Washington, 2 1/2 hours from Seattle
Size: 2,400 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
That’s interesting: The Hornings bartered two bags of onions from their farm for your salvaged metal desk at the home office.
Kimberley Bryan
The open-format kitchen, dining, family and living space is vast, with a soaring white painted wood ceiling, yet it manages to embody warmth through its dark hickory floor.
Floors: Dark Roast, Mendocino hardwood hickory, Connected Flooring; light: Schoolhouse Electric
Kimberley Bryan
Wish to understand how to effectively create a functional open-concept home? Divide your space into quarters, leaving a generous route down the middle.
Family photographs and memorabilia from both sides of the family elegance the entry. On the left a photograph of Cari’s grandma hangs next to the Marine uniform worn with Greg’s grandfather. The homeowners assembled the seat catchall utilizing wood from their own farm design as well as broad, weathered planks from a salvage lot nearby.
Tile: Frostbitten slate, American Slate
Kimberley Bryan
The large freestanding island is soapstone attached to closed iron legs. The stools are iron and wood.
Leftover soapstone became the dual kitchen sink. With fresh shelves and dishware from Ikea, the kitchen is a relaxing and relaxing heart of the home.
Light boxes: Habitat for Humanity ReStore; Island counter, sink: M. Teixeira Soapstone
Kimberley Bryan
Pots, pans as well as the microwave hang below the island for better accessibility and to free up counter and cabinet space.
Kimberley Bryan
Hanging pendants from Schoolhouse Electric cast a warm glow over a classic trunk, an extra-deep leather couch and a reclaimed coffee table.
Furnishings: Aurora Mills, Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Earthwise Architectural Salvage, Second Use
Kimberley Bryan
The family uses the oversize salvaged table as a bar during get-togethers.
Kimberley Bryan
A wall of built-ins surrounds a wood-burning fireplace, which required a while to include. “We had to take away some of the square footage of Piper’s room to put in the fireplace, however, Greg really wanted one,” Cari says. “It was worth it.”
Kimberley Bryan
A bartered-for salvaged metal desk and a classic trunk mix with numerous Americana at the home office.
Though many things throughout the home are directly linked to family, the trunk was a different story. “It has a classic Notre Dame sticker on the side. I am a fan. That sounded like motive,” Cari says.
Kimberley Bryan
The master bedroom is spacious and airy, with light pouring through large windows and French doors. With exactly the exact same dark hickory hardwood floors as the main space, the layout flows uninterrupted, allowing the carefully chosen vintage bedside items and wall sconces to take center stage.
The room “ended up bigger than we’d anticipated,” Cari says, “but we both have our very own cabinets, so that ended up not being a terrible thing.”
Sconces: Schoolhouse Electric
Kimberley Bryan
Every opportunity is taken to display the family’s background in unique ways. A flashed Canton account register in the master bedroom has been mounted onto a dresser to show off classic pictures from the family’s archives.
Kimberley Bryan
A sliding plantation door opens to reveal the master bath and Cari’s walk-in closet.
Kimberley Bryan
The door was custom created by WM Construction and then stained by Cari. Greg cut flat iron from the farm store to hang the doors, along with the few used salvaged bushings from an old potato digger as spacers.
Kimberley Bryan
The dual sink in the master bathroom “is your old sink from Nathan Hale High School,” Cari says. “I was quite lucky to encounter it.” The base of the sink was painted the school’s colors of red and blue; Cari pressure washed away the paint to reveal a deep, earthy charcoal.
Apothecary-style cabinets shop toilet supplies in closets, while accessories in shades of turquoise, gray and yellowish provide subtle pops of color in the glassed-in cabinets.
Sink, accessories: Second Utilization; hardware: Cape Cod Brass, House of Antique Hardware
Kimberley Bryan
A soaking tub with a salvaged soap holder sits in a angle near a doorless shower enclosure surrounded by tumbled tile. “We were trying to find a coved tile to the shower entry base, but the kind we liked only came in 12-by-12 pieces,” Cari says. “We brought it home and cut and fit it all ourselves. Everything we could do, we did on our own. We needed to save money.”
Bathtub: Signature Hardware; heater grates: Aurora Mills
Kimberley Bryan
The laundry room counter consists of reclaimed slate, bought for under $100.
Tile: Frostbitten slate, American Slate
Kimberley Bryan
The few built daughter Piper’s loft bed, that has a rope swing for dismounting.
Kimberley Bryan
A salvaged shower pan from a Portland-area shop Aurora Mills provided the remedy for this little bathroom. “We didn’t have room for a bathtub, and we didn’t want a enclosed shower,” Cari says.
Kimberley Bryan
Metal shelving with wire mesh baskets from Aurora Mills produces a practical solution for the family’s many shoes and often-muddy boots.
Photography: Alyssa Fortin Photography
Kimberley Bryan
The owners struggled to find just the right siding for their new farmhouse; ultimately they picked white clapboard from Marson & Marson in neighboring Leavenworth, Washington. For the metallic roof, they had to look somewhat further, in Montana.
House building: WM Construction; clapboard siding: Marson & Marson; metal roof: Bridger Steel
Kimberley Bryan
Among the family cats lolls from the aggregate walkway, absorbing its warmth. “I can’t even remember the cats’ names,” Cari says. “It is exactly how it is. They’re farm cats. Mousers. They don’t come inside.”
Kimberley Bryan
A giant boulder anchors the massive patio structure, which was built from railroad ties from the farm. “I really don’t understand where these ties initially came out,” Cari says, “but I am glad we had them.”
Kimberley Bryan
The flat iron X-braces are made through Cari and Greg’s sweat and blood. “We used a saw and mobile welder to put them together,” she says. “The device we used cut the iron and punched holes.”
Actually, the homeowners did lots of work themselves to save money. “The garage wanted paint and a brand new roof. To get that accomplished, we needed to step in and be a real part of the home construction process,” Caris says.
When asked if their level of involvement went well with their builders, Greg smiles. “We heard a lot of, ‘That is the way we do it,’ but in the end they always listened to what we had to say. It was a real collaboration,” he says.
Kimberley Bryan
Cari Horning and daughters Piper (left) and Kendall stand facing what Cari calls on their “living wall,” a growing display of family photographs and memorabilia from the remote past to the present. “We are a farm family,” Cari says. “Greg is a third-generation farmer. We are living where we are supposed to be living, and doing what we are supposed to be doing.”
This includes not boxing family memorabilia and keeping it off. “If something doesn’t have a pragmatic use or private resonance, it is not to us. I don’t shop items,” says Cari.
Live on a farm? We would really like to see your farmhouse. Please discuss it now below!