Happy Friday! Welcome to another Feature Friday. Today I’ve got a fun treat from Instagram and a gal I met there recently. I saw her house and love her classic style and she lives in a historical home in upstate NY. When I inquired further with CJ Swank about her house she gave me the background of purchasing her home and how she’s furnished it which you all will find very interesting. I’ll let CJ share her own words below, so enjoy the tour of her charming historic home. She tells a great story!
I bought my 110 year old farmhouse sight unseen at an auction just minutes after I saw the listing. I’d been there before. No inspections were made, no friends or family were in the area. There was nothing to reassure me I was making the right decision with y life savings. My dream was to own a piece of land with an idyllic setting, water views, and a feeling of privacy, a classic affordable farmhouse to become my forever home. I didn’t hesitate. I was willing to take the risk.
After moving across country from Seattle to New York a few weeks later, the very first thing I did was get myself a dog, a Golden Retriever I named Skye, who quickly became my shadow and likes to walk himself. Life on the farm was not as idyllic as I’d fantasized. It had been vandalized in the decade it was uninhabited. Copper pipes were long since gone, and so was the plumbing, heating, hot water, electricity, gas, and much, much more. Appliances had been stolen Walls were unmercifully painted with slop. Weeds and wildflowers adorned the landscape. Time had ravaged this once magical farmhouse. But I was undeterred. I saw past the neglect to its beauty, and knew “Riverview Farm” was home. These days, Skye and I explore the fields, fences, riverbank, and wildlife like a land baron. It’s not much, but it’s ours.
I enlisted in the Air Force right out of high school at the tail end of the Vietnam War. I wasn’t being overly patriotic or anything. I just couldn’t wait to escape my small town and see the world. After being one of 16 kids in my Catholic school class, my parents had picked out a small Catholic college and I wasn’t having any of it. I served my 5 years as a Command Post Controller, married an AF pilot, and enjoyed being an officer’s wife during which time I traveled the world extensively. The marriage didn’t last, but my love for travel has.
So has my love for porcelain coffee cups from which I drink my morning coffee. 30 years after falling in love with Royal Worcester while visiting London my collection is now rather vast. Covered in the most gorgeous 18th C fruit sprays, it has graced every holiday table I’ve ever set. Now that I live alone, 2000 miles from my only child and grandchild, it’s probably seen its last formal table. But it’s still the only thing I reach for when the coffee is done brewing.
I had to replace all my furniture last year, second hand and during a pandemic on a limited budget. I collected one piece at a time via Facebook Marketplace and had to be flexible. There was no design board or plan just a phone screen to scout the local area for whatever was being offered that day. One of the first pieces I found was this 1960’s brass coffee table for $30! It’s so vintage the feet have verdigreed into a bright turquoise. Turns out, there’s a name for my collected, curated, vintage style – it’s grandmillennial!
I furnished my entire house last year on an extremely limited budget (2,500 s.f. for under $4K). I shopped entirely off of Facebook Marketplace, consignment stores, and just collected whatever fell into my lap that day. I buy what I love, and make it work somewhere, anywhere. Gotta stay fluid!
Wasn’t that a great tour? I knew you all would love seeing CJ’s home in NY. What a treasure she has found and I love the story of how she furnished it all. She’s my kind of lady and grandmillennial is definitely my style too, I identify with all the pieces she has put together to make her house a home. Gorgeous and classic! If you’re on Instagram be sure to follow CJ there too. She’s a great story teller and shares the most beautiful pics. Once I spotted her, I can’t stop watching!
Hi,
This week we toured Asheville, NC. Saw the Antique Tobacco Barn, amazing place! Bought a 1996 BH&G cookbook. A must see tourist stop..
I’m so glad you enjoyed, the Tobacco Barn is a fun stop.
This house is one of my favorites you’ve ever posted! I’d love to see the outside too.
I do follow CJ! I like her style, and it is like yours. I like this style, too, and incorporate pieces of it. I’m going for more of an English Country Home/English Cottage look for my home, and of course classic styling works perfectly with those!
CJ Swank is one of the prettiest posts I follow. It’s beautiful and feels like a home.
Wow….wow….wow. What a charming and unique home. I am in love with her style and her objects-de-art. I must say Facebook Marketplace in her corner of the world is vastly different from the Facebook Marketplace I see. Here, Facebook Marketplace equals junk nobody wants and they don’t have a way to haul it to the thrift store or dump. 🙂 I do see lots of worthwhile children’s wear – but I’m not on the hunt for that. I need to ask – is the lovely sofa a Marketplace find??? Wish I was an Instagram user – but alas I’m trying to pare down time I spend looking at social media. Thanks, Rhoda, for this delightful post. Happy weekend everyone.
I was wondering too if she got the sofa from Facebook. I would be amazed if she did!
Rhoda, this is one of my favorite houses that you have shared! Fabulous style and I too furnish my home this way! The hunt is thrilling for me!
This has got to be the most beautiful home that I have seen on these decorating sites.. Her style reminds me so much also of yours Rhoda. Everything is so lovely and I would love to the grounds of this home. I personally love upstate NY and we have been visiting there for years considering it is so close to us only separated by the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario..So many old stately homes in the small towns.. Thanks for the link today..
Elizabeth
What a gorgeous house! Love, love it… and her decorating. Who knew such treasures were on FB Marketplace!?
This has to be my favorite home of all the beautiful places you have featured! Antique but not stuffy, looks so warm and comfortable. She truly has a gift for design and a home to treasure!
I can’t stop drooling – I could move right in! What an incredible eye she has for putting things together. I could move right on! Love it ❤️❤️❤️
I loved this so much Rhoda. I follow CJ- she’s one of my most favorite Instagrammers. Great hearing more about her home and how she pulled it all together! She’s a lovely person too. Thank you for sharing this. Have a great weekend. Kim
I really really love this house. Thank you!
This house is amazing! My favorite so far. The details are just perfect in every room of the house.
Happy Friday!
I found CJ’s story so intriguing! Wow, how brave for a woman to buy a house sight unseen and move across country by herself with no friends or family nearby. Sounds like she has always been her own person and knows what she wants and isnt afraid to go after it. Her home is beautiful and I love her sense of style which mirrors mine alot. I didn’t know my style had a name either until you featured a post about the Grandmillenial trend.
So personal, loved hearing about CJ’s adventures. She’s the kind of person I would love to have as a neighbor! Thanks so much for sharing her story.
This lovely home has taken my breath away! By far, my favorite house tour Ever! Thanks for sharing Rhoda : )
I saved that first post you did on grandmillenial style and this is going to be saved too. Love it and love CJ’s tenacity and style! CJ, kudos on such fantastic furnishings and flair in your style!
Thanks for posting. like her style. Agree with the comment on Facebook Market place. NY is a whole lot different than here as far as finding interesting pieces. I still use Ebay and local antique shop,and garage sales,and have filled this house with slot of stuff. Husband says if I bring in anything more,something must go! Also like the term grandmillinials, I waited so long to get into this house,then realized it was a midcentury house,so have had to become very creative with the design, etc.
Love this! It’s my style and I’m so glad it is back!