Houzz Tour: Relaxed Farmhouse Life for a Texas Family

“I don’t want anything to feel like Dallas.” This was the main direction that interior designer Marci Barnes’ client gave her regarding her family’s new country home, about an hour outside of the Big D. Using soft shades of blue and green, casual textures like burlap and seagrass, a dash of Shabby Chic style, and antiques and collections found along the way, the designer helped the pastoral home provide ease and comfort the moment one views it from the driveway.

Photos by Danny Piassick

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: This is the country home for a family of 6 and the permanent home of 60 goats, 2 horses, 3 donkeys, plus chickens and bunnies.
Location: Athens, Texas (about an hour from Dallas)
Size: 4,500 square feet (418 square meters); 4 bedrooms, 4½ bathrooms, plus a pool house
Designer: Marci Barnes of M. Barnes & Co.

“Not feeling like Dallas” to this homeowner meant no fussiness. The family wanted to have a casual, comfortable country feeling at their pastoral getaway.


The inspiration for the home was traditional American farm style, and it combines elements of farmhouses and barns. It has a metal roof and a cupola, which is accessible and provides views of the bucolic landscape.


One of the homeowners loves to collect and had many pieces she wanted to try to use in the country house. Barnes and her clients also “found things along the way,” Barnes says, at antiques stores and at Round Top, one of the best flea markets in the country.

One of the homeowner’s fathers collected antique hand planes, and the homeowner continued the tradition by picking up more as he came across them over the years. They create a beautiful and unique composition on the wall. To the right, a long antique bench fits just right.

Barnes used key elements that hark back to old farmhouse style throughout the house. One big one is the floors, which are 10-inch-wide hand-scraped reclaimed pine. Another shows on many of the walls, which are whitewashed planks with spaces of ¼ inch between them.


The family room, dining room and kitchen all occupy one large, open space, with French doors and windows that overlook the rolling hills down to a pond. “This room has a spot for everyone,” Barnes says.

“The house is very unpretentious and casual,” she says. “The soft blues and greens plus a healthy dose of white give it that easygoing feel — there’s not a lot of color, and warmth comes from the floors.”

Eclectic touches like the antique windmill blades over the fireplace and a large ottoman fashioned from an antique child’s bed also help to keep things casual. “It’s a clean, simple style. There’s nothing ornate,” the designer says.


The family room, dining room and kitchen are wide open to one another (the dining room is just out of view to the right).


The dining room is a few steps up from the family room but completely open to it. The room is slightly more formal but maintains a causal ease.

A long antique farm table scored at Round Top keeps meals in here more casual. Barnes mixed in a few Shabby Chic–style moves, like slipcovers, that add to the comfortable feeling. A crystal chandelier dresses things up overhead.

The window treatments are lined sheer fabric and are lightweight. Along with the sea grass rug and slatted skylights overhead, they keep things from getting too weighty. Look back at the second photo in this story; the dormers on the right side of the house actually serve as two skylights that bathe the dining room in light.

The sideboard is a French country piece that the homeowners already had. “I told her, ‘Let’s paint it and see if it works in this house,’ and it did,” Barnes says. Specialty painter Sean Kerr finished the piece. Incidentally, his brother Scott Kerr is the artist who created the painting hanging over it.

Drapery fabric: Cowtan & Tout


To the left you can see the French doors along the great room and kitchen; to the right is the master bedroom. We’ll get there in a bit.


In the guest room, the bed, nightstand and stool are all Round Top scores. The bedding is by Mary Cates and Co. The rug is wall-to-wall sea grass. The cheerful bird artwork is from Z Gallerie.

Planked walls are more casual than drywall and add texture and depth. You can see the effect of the milky finish on the planks. “It’s almost like they are simply primed,” Barnes describes.


“I really wanted the guest bath to make this feel like a fun place to stay,” Barnes says. It’s a special experience thanks to ruffled sconce shades, a crystal chandelier and a wonderful blue leopard wall covering.

“We decided to introduce a little more color into this guest bathroom palette,” Barnes says. “There is a powdery red in the floral shower curtain fabric.” That country fabric with the ruffle and the octagon and dot tile floor are the farmhouse touches in here.

Wallpaper: Nina Campbell; sink: via Westside Kitchen and Bath


If you look back to the family room photo, you’ll spy this hallway to the left of the fireplace. It leads to the master suite. The light fixture is an antique; the piece under the windows is an antique wooden bassinet filled with vintage blankets.

Another way Barnes nodded to old farmhouses was to stain the doors a different color than the trim. The stained pine contrasts with the crisp white trim. Throughout the house she chose hardware from Acorn, a company that specializes in pieces that have an Early American look.

Window treatment fabric: Osborne & Little


The master bedroom has several soothing blues. Barnes amped up the aqua in here. Of the armchair fabric, the designer says, “You’ve got to do a little leopard where you can!” A large box-check pattern on the bedding is a modern take on farmhouse style; an oversize paisley print is dynamic. The white coverlet keeps the pattern pairing calm. She picked up on the bed linen fabrics in the window treatment’s banding fabric.

The floor lamp is solid timber. “It weighs a ton and is not easy to move,” the designer says. Its texture helps rough things up a bit.

Leopard-print fabric on chair: Kravet; linens: Carleton V.


In the master bathroom, planked walls and skirted vanities bring in country style. “I wanted this room to look like it had been a different room before and then been turned into a bathroom,” Barnes says. Knowing tile would have been cold and vast in here, she used the same pine floorboards as elsewhere but with a different finish. They also lend the new home a sense of history. “I wanted the room to look like it used to be used for something else,” she says.


The tub looks out onto an amazing pastoral view. The skirted ottoman, covered in a matelassé, adds a few frills.

Bathtub: BainUltra


“These days people really want their laundry rooms to look like they’ve been well thought out,” Barnes says. Fabric tucked behind chicken wire lends a farmhouse look to the cabinet doors. A limestone counter provides a folding surface above the front-loading machines. Shelves and baskets provide storage for freshly folded linens and other items.


Adjacent to the house and pool is this charming pool house.


The main room in here is comfortable. It’s a favorite with the kids and includes a large sectional, a TV and a pool table.


The homeowners already had this sofa. Every upholstered piece here is covered in outdoor fabric to stand up to abuses like damp bathing suits, and the rugs are indoor-outdoor as well. The floors are concrete throughout.

Barnes worked a little more blue leopard print in via the ottomans, this time in green. The drapes are a casual burlap, and most of the artwork is of farm animals.


This collection of tractor seats began with some from the dad of one of the homeowners; she collected the rest over the years. Now they make an artful display on the pool house’s brick wall.


“I swear, you can’t be unhappy in this room,” Barnes says of the cheerful guest room in the pool house. Her client owned the happy dog painting for years, and this is just the right spot for it to set the tone. A few of the brighter colors seen on the pillows and accents take their cues from the colors found in the brick fireplace surround.

“The bed skirt falls from the top of the mattress to the floor, which gives it a real old-fashioned feel,” Barnes says. Lots of extended family and friends enjoy invitations to the farmhouse and stay out here.

Fabric: Pindlar


More skirts add playful ruffles in the pool house’s guest bathroom. The walls are covered in a classic quilt pattern. White Calacatta marble countertops and crystal knobs add elegance to the mix.


The bathtub has a view of the pool. The stool is another piece found along the way; one of the homeowners found the playful artwork.


Here is that pond mentioned earlier. The homestead is a true getaway where the homeowners enjoy casual family time.

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