Decorating & Design
October 20, 2020
The Most Breathtaking Fall Farmhouses From House & Home
Ready for a day trip to the country? These homeowners and designers are opening up their homes (virtually, of course) and are happy to invite you in. We think these picturesque properties embody everything we love most about fall: the coziness, autumnal colors and relaxed, laidback vibe. You can practically smell the cider warming on the stove (since the closest coffee house is miles away), so pull up a chair and scroll through the best fall farmhouses that have graced the pages of H&H.
A New Build In Beaver Valley, Ontario
This country home in Kimberley, Ontario, was a blank slate: the paint was barely dry, the woodwork was pristine and the floors were still unscathed when the homeowners moved in. Purchased in 2016, the 20-hectare property had nothing more than a long-abandoned farmhouse and an old barn on it, but the panoramic view of fabled Beaver Valley was spectacular.
Like a giant exclamation mark, a wall-mounted, oil-rubbed bronze charger and handsome pendant anchor the living room.
“That table is indestructible!” says the homeowner of the dining area’s rustic, kid-proof wooden table. “Every stain and spill just adds a memory and more character.”
“Quintessential farmhouse touches such as wrought-iron shelf brackets, antique dishes and cutting boards create the casual aesthetic we wanted,” says designer Allison Willson.
Is there a better way to take in the fall colors? A huge window in the principal bedroom is a ringside seat for the changing leaves.
A Georgian Farmhouse In Stirling, Ontario
Toronto tastemakers John Baker and Juli Daoust-Baker of west end homewares store Mjölk were looking for an escape where they could unplug when John found a listing for a 170-year-old Georgian-style farmhouse just outside Stirling, Ontario. The farmhouse is full of autumn-inspired design moments. The love seat in the sitting area, just off the kitchen, is covered in woolly gray sheepskin upholstery for added texture. The pickets on the sofa nod to classic English Windsor style but with a Danish-modern twist
The antique glass-fronted cabinet was imported from Tokyo, but we love the unfitted, down-home look it gives this farmhouse kitchen, tempering the modern touches and displaying the couple’s tabletop and cooking essentials.
A throwback cream enamel stove is just begging for a pot of chili. The dining table is a Mjölk original based on a classic Enfield Shaker design. “It’s a mashup of Shaker and Danish styles,” says John. A cozy spindle-back bench offers lots of space for everyone at the table.
The texture of the stone walls provides plenty of visual interest, but it’s the fleece-upholstered sofa that really grabs our attention: there couldn’t be a more perfect fall perch. The Alvar Aalto tea trolley in the dining area was moved here from John and Juli’s city home, and the grass art is by Norihiko Terayama.
A Victorian Farmhouse In Caledonia, Ontario
This quaint farmhouse in is straight out of a storybook. The homeowners enlisted designer Susan Burns to help achieve a modern-vintage look that seems to have evolved over time.
Windsor dining chairs were updated with a few coats of glossy paint. A hammered-metal pendant gives the antique hutch and dining table some edge. The battered finishes are an authentic country touch on vernacular furnishings, and white stoneware pops against the black hutch.
Placed in an alcove at one end of the living room, this pretty blue-gray hue hutch was the starting point for the home’s palette and conjures up a fall vibe with a simple arrangement of branches. Lightweight chairs casually draped with faux fur throws offer a mod counterpoint.
In the dreamy principal bedroom, which is flooded with light from two gothic windows, eaves shelter the custom bed frame. The homeowners added a fireplace and walk-in closet (not shown) to ensure the space stayed cozy and clutter free.
A Contemporary Farmhouse In Rural Ontario
When two siblings asked designer Mazen El-Abdallah of Mazen Studio to make their country house as comfortable as possible, he was inspired to update the typical farmhouse formula. “There’s a beautiful simplicity in the familiar volumes of the house and its restrained palette,” he says.
Isn’t this room the ideal spot to watch the leaves change color? Between the casual sofas, generous windows and roaring fire, it doesn’t get more comfortable than this. The architect designed the ceiling with rough-sawn white pine painted the same shade as the walls.
The island is a popular destination for the homeowners’ five kids to gather around during meal prep, but a bench covered in throws is our pick when drinking a warm mug of cider.
A walk in the woods is a perfect opportunity to snag the perfect autumnal arrangement, like these fiery branches. The driftwood tone of the stained oak was chosen to complement the oiled wide-plank flooring.
On the covered porch, boxy teak sofas and chairs echo the wood-framed windows. “They’re deep and low, and great for reclining,” says Mazen. The dining table was custom made in metal and teak to seat 12 people comfortably.
An Italian-Style Farmhouse In The Eastern Townships
This Tuscan-inspired farmhouse is set the Quebec countryside, a bucolic area 50 minutes from Montreal. An expansive iron chandelier plays up the drama of the double-height ceiling in the living room.
The dining area’s slipcovered chairs are on casters so they’re easy to manoeuvre. The equine art and exposed beams add to the rustic feel.
The forest scene beyond the kitchen windows offers an inspiring view while cooking. Crema Delicato marble is a beautiful upgrade on the island, which was previously topped with wood.
A Converted Stone Schoolhouse In Eastern Ontario
A 150-year-old former schoolhouse in Eastern Ontario, that was once home to inkwells, now offers a master class in laid-back country living. An iconic white picket fence and cheerful red trim frame the front door of this sweet escape, owned by art director Carmen Dunjko and Barnaby Marshall.
Carmen originally built the dining table (with birch stumps and a wooden plank wrapped in artist’s canvas) as a temporary solution, but found its woodsy look worked perfectly with the pastoral setting. Old wood panelling was stripped to reveal the 2′-thick fieldstone walls.
The schoolhouse’s floors were once an abrasive orange. Carmen achieved their current patina by layering on translucent white paint, then hand-brushing the boards with steel wool for time-scarred allure. Two Mission-style daybeds dressed in hand-woven blankets serve as seating (as well as guests’ sleeping quarters) just off the dining room.
A Traditional Clapboard House In Quebec
Designer Luke Havekes’ country house in Knowlton, Quebec, was a long-time dream come to life.
A bright yellow door offers a warm welcome to visitors, with homespun elements like a turned chair and needlepoint pillow instead of a bench for putting on shoes.
A mix of color and pattern creates the layered look Luke was after in the dining room. “I stayed away from trends and opted instead for a more intuitive sense of what I wanted my home in the country to feel like, which was more layered and enduring,” he says.
A Cedar-Shake Country Home North Of Toronto
Built on 100 acres on the Niagara Escarpment in Caledon, Ontario, the New England-style house affords vistas of emerald hills that tumble out in Technicolor splendor, and a 2 1⁄2-acre pond that shimmers in the distance.
Designed by Sarah Richardson and Natalie Hodgins of Sarah Richardson Design, the sunken great room is a quintessential spot for a lazy weekend. Painted freestanding hutches have a country-casual charm and provide display for antlers and antique bronze copperware vessels that accentuate the high coffered ceilings.
In the portico located off the great room, a stone fireplace and a basket of blankets keeps the lounging area comfortable well into the fall. On the dining table, a colorful collection of pumpkins and gourds are loaded into a butter bowl.
No farmhouse is complete without a barn, and this one comes in handy for the homeowners’ daughter and her horse.
A Quaint Retreat In Haliburton, Ontario
The humble barn-shaped weekend retreat of H&H alum Morgan Michener is set on 100 acres in Haliburton, Ontario, with resident moose, deer, wild turkeys, barn owls and beavers. A grouping of chairs is clustered around a fire bowl for family nights.
In the living room, Morgan updated an old love seat and junk shop armchair in ticking. The space doubles as a guest room. “There’s a real void in the market when it comes to comfortable, attractive sofa beds,” she says. “I finally found a slipcovered version while sourcing for another cottage shoot.”
The kitchen is a medley of repurposed furniture in harvest hues. “Our dining table is actually a desk that was given to us as a wedding present,” says Morgan. “I had the two benches on our city front porch forever, so I had cushions made in a forest-inspired print and brought the benches up north.”
“We replaced the screening where needed in the sunroom, painted the walls white and brought in some crazy-comfortable vintage furniture,” she says. “Everything can stay out year-round, including the indoor-outdoor rug.”
A Historic Home In Paris, Ontario
Talk about a country house with dramatic chops! Antiques dealer Douglas Stock’s 1850s home in Paris, Ontario, has served as a backdrop for Netflix’s Anne of Green Gables and Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Both the house and his antiques business, Maus Park Antiques, which he now runs out of a converted barn on the property, are named for the family who built the house over 150 years ago.
Homestyle dining doesn’t get much fresher than this setup on an open porch. Earthy cedar floors and simple linens are no fuss. The harvest table and English mahogany Chippendale chairs are original to the house.
There’s a relaxed, unfitted British look to the kitchen. The French La Cornue stove, which Douglas calls the Rolls-Royce of stoves, is the pièce de résistance.
In the side vestibule, Douglas replaced the original wood floors, which were rotting, with cut limestone that complements the stone walls. “You don’t have to worry about salt and ice and snow and rain,” he says.
A Rustic Home In Upstate New York
Don Howell and Ray Camano’s 19th-century weekend home in New York’s Catskill Mountains has been renovated and decorated with an eye for every little detail. The house was left in its un-refinished siding to blend into the surroundings, and mimic the varied textures and hues of the trees.
We love the pure, pared-back simplicity of this rustic dining room. The table’s bouquet of maple leaves is suitably casual and earthy. The rosewood chairs are 1960s-era pieces by Danish designer N.O. Møller, and Don and Ray commissioned the hemlock table.
Battered finishes are beloved in this uber-rustic kitchen. The dishwasher is tucked behind honey-toned panels of timber so it won’t disrupt the authentic throwback charm.