If you have to hang a sign in your house that says “Farmhouse”, then it probably really isn’t one.
I like the farmhouse style of decorating that is trendy now. It makes me reminisce about the farmhouse style I grew up with in the 50’s and 60’s. For awhile my family lived in a house owned by the landlord of our farm, so there was little freedom to decorate the house or even make minor changes. Why fix up someone else’s house since there wasn’t much extra money to spend anyway?
Despite this, Mom found ways to make the house a home. I remember her down on her hands and knees sponge painting the cracked linoleum on the kitchen and back porch floor. It was a definite improvement but a far cry from the wood floors and laminate floors that are used today. The places in the floor that were hard to camouflage could easily be covered by a throw rug… usually a rag rug style.
The farmhouse sink, with the apron front, is all the rage now. My first memories of a kitchen sink was a hand pump (like you see as garden decorations nowadays) I was four years old when we finally got running water in rented home. I’m sure Mom was delighted to finally have hot water that came from a faucet.
I admire the “shabby chic” projects that so many DIYers work so hard to achieve. Let me tell you, it had no place in my childhood. If a piece of furniture was chipped or distressed, you tried to cover that up or refinish it. You certainly didn’t make it look that way on purpose! In fact, painting furniture was a last resort… if you could not make it look good… you painted over it. Reclaimed barn siding? Not a thing at all. It belonged outside… on the barn. The same could be said for exposed beams. Or sliding barn doors….Not in the house!
White, white, white and neutrals are what farmhouse styles call for today. White was to be avoided on the farm when I was growing up. Plain and simple, it showed the dirt!
Despite the differences in style over the years I enjoy looking through Instagram and seeing the “farmhouse” styles that younger families are using in their homes. They are clean looking and cozy and full of vintage looking accessories that take me back. It really doesnt matter if you step outside your front door into Suburbia or into the Back 40…you can appreciate your farmhouse!
Retired Ruth 
It saddens me to see so many “real” farmhouses being torn down and replaced with newer, more “modern” styles homes. Farmhouses are a piece of our history that should be preserved, IMO. I suppose I can understand wanting something new, with modern plumbing, heating, etc., but its a shame we’re tearing them down.
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