My Houzz: DIY Love and Nature-Inspired Colors Update a Couple’s Garden
Secondhand finds and favorite pieces add whimsical beauty to this animal-loving couple’s property
When artist Jennifer Lanne and her husband, Dick, moved into their 1782 Colonial in Ballston Spa, New York, the property had a ton of potential but the yard and auxiliary buildings needed a lot of work. They created a new foundation for the larger barn, as the old one was rotting away, gave each building a fresh coat of paint and reworked the landscaping to turn their yard into the farmhouse oasis it is today.
The Lannes went with a Benjamin Moore paint color called Olive Branch for all the building exteriors. “It was an undertaking painting the house and barn and smaller structures, as they were all red — even the house,” Jennifer says. “I loved the warmth and historic charm of the Olive Branch color. I just felt it blended in well with the outdoors and made the house and barn more united.”
These green Adirondack chairs surrounded by honeysuckle and berry bushes are painted in Bronze Green by PPG Pittsburgh Paints.
“I love looking out and seeing the animals and the view of the outbuildings,” Jennifer says. Among the farm pets are Pumpkin the pygmy goat, 11 chickens (with baby chicks on the way) and a number of cats. The couple also is expecting two baby pigs by summer’s end.
“I love looking out and seeing the animals and the view of the outbuildings,” Jennifer says. Among the farm pets are Pumpkin the pygmy goat, 11 chickens (with baby chicks on the way) and a number of cats. The couple also is expecting two baby pigs by summer’s end.
The landscaping provides the perfect backdrop for a picnic. Here, Jennifer set a table outside her art studio entrance.
“I love purples set against the greenery and olive tones of the barns,” she says. “A few of my paintings boasting purples were brought outside for a backdrop, as well as the piece laying on the table, which is a painted tarp also showcasing purples, plums and lavenders.”
“I love purples set against the greenery and olive tones of the barns,” she says. “A few of my paintings boasting purples were brought outside for a backdrop, as well as the piece laying on the table, which is a painted tarp also showcasing purples, plums and lavenders.”
“I have a large collection of mismatched, cast-off farm chairs that look great,” Jennifer says. “I love using little antique pieces in a tablescape. It helps add center height as well as interest. Here I used an antique metal scale, silver Victorian vase and a mixture of pretty vintage floral plates.”
Jennifer also made this little place for sitting and relaxing during the day. “I love incorporating artwork in vignettes. It’s such a pop of color and visual interest, and it really grounds things,” she says. “The mirror in the box reflects the outside, and the chandelier adds some shimmer. The chairs and petite farm table I picked up over the years at flea markets, antique [shops] or barn sales.”
The couple use zinc planters they bought at Lowe’s as window boxes. “The potato vines do well in the shade, so they are always a favorite, plus I love that citron color,” Jennifer says. “The larger vines are mature grapevines that scale the barn.”
This building, which is now Dick’s blacksmith workshop, was already on the property when the couple moved in. “The ferns we transplanted from other parts of the property,” Jennifer says. “The gate and stone fence we also added for the pig’s pen next door, and the metal and iron pieces on the front are from Dick’s collection.” They added shutters to the exterior.
My Houzz: Step Inside a Blacksmith’s Home Workshop
My Houzz: Step Inside a Blacksmith’s Home Workshop
This part of the barn is where the couple keeps their pygmy goat. Jennifer’s studio space, part of which is seen here, is a large room off the barn where she can keep all of her materials and escape to work.
“We added the fencing and the stone wall and windows. We added the bushy peegee hydrangeas a few years ago for their mammoth blooms,” she says.
“We added the fencing and the stone wall and windows. We added the bushy peegee hydrangeas a few years ago for their mammoth blooms,” she says.
Pictured here is Pumpkin, the pygmy goat.
Mature grapevines span the space between the chicken coop and the barn. “They can be very invasive and intrusive to everything else. But some — like these — we leave, as they take on such a sculptural quality,” Jennifer says.
The green lantern on the back was picked up at a yard sale. The couple added a candle in it to light the garden at night.
The hosta plants were already existing. The couple transplanted them to form this tidy row facing the chicken coop.
The hosta plants were already existing. The couple transplanted them to form this tidy row facing the chicken coop.
A large metal letter “L” hangs on the back of the barn. “The ‘L’ was given as a gift for our last name — painted green of course — along with some other gifted metal chickens appropriately facing the chicken coop,” Jennifer says.
There is an outhouse that the couple refer to as the “garden bathroom.” They kept it for the whimsy it adds.
“It’s such a fun tiny structure with a slate and copper roof … adorned with a collection of pitchfork heads,” Jennifer says.
“It’s such a fun tiny structure with a slate and copper roof … adorned with a collection of pitchfork heads,” Jennifer says.
Jennifer loves the sculptural quality of the pitchfork heads in all different shapes and sizes.
“This was a doghouse we picked up free off the side of the road,” Jennifer says, “We added the little cupola and a few architectural elements. We call it the ‘cat house,’ as the cats use it and we have no dogs.”
Hanging above it is a well-used bird feeder.
Hanging above it is a well-used bird feeder.
The main structure of the chicken coop was already on the property. It was used as a storage shed previously. “We had to add the screened-in areas and make it chicken-ready inside, along with egg-laying boxes and perches, as well as making it fox-proof,” Jennifer says.
There was part of an old stone foundation on the property. To cover it up, they added gravel and framed in the pergola in this space themselves. “We added benches for seating and a ‘floating’ table held up by chains, inspired from the film Mutiny on the Bounty, as when the table sways, the liquids in your glass move with it so they don’t slosh! Plus there’s no table legs to wick up moisture and cause the wood to rot,” Jennifer says.
They dug up grapevines from the woods and planted them on the arbor along with hops and wisteria.
They dug up grapevines from the woods and planted them on the arbor along with hops and wisteria.
This area was originally part of the barn that they cut back to make a porch. An Adirondack bench that they received as a gift holds an archery target that Jennifer loves for is graphic look, as well as some lilac branches Dick will use in his shop for tool handles.
The large terra-cotta pots outside this entrance to the barn were purchased at a yard sale. “They were new at the time but I couldn’t resist the size,” Jennifer says, “A few years outside has produced a green mossy exterior on them. The small lantern hangs from an iron hook and is electrified.”
The couple added the sliding barn track and the overhang covered in copper, which has mellowed to a nice patina.
The couple added the sliding barn track and the overhang covered in copper, which has mellowed to a nice patina.
On this side of the barn they had to cut away much of the bottom part of the wall, as it was quite rotted. Then they added stone and new siding.
“Dick dry-laid the stone on the small barn, which we dubbed the ‘milk house’ — though, to our understanding, the small structure was brought here from a different property,” Jennifer says. “We also added some of the windows to add more natural light to the interior.”
“Dick dry-laid the stone on the small barn, which we dubbed the ‘milk house’ — though, to our understanding, the small structure was brought here from a different property,” Jennifer says. “We also added some of the windows to add more natural light to the interior.”
On the house’s front door are toy farm tools Jennifer picked up at an antiques sale. “I love the smaller scale for decor,” she says. “The wheelbarrow is left out year-round. In the winter it gets pine boughs.”
The rock wall at the front of the house and the gate to the front walkway were added by previous owners.
“We added the iron chain and ball for the gate — a period piece that helps the gate swing shut on its own,” Jennifer says.
More: My Houzz: Layers of Patina and an Artist’s Touch in a New York Colonial
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“We added the iron chain and ball for the gate — a period piece that helps the gate swing shut on its own,” Jennifer says.
More: My Houzz: Layers of Patina and an Artist’s Touch in a New York Colonial
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style:
Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Jennifer and Dick Lanne
Location: Ballston Spa, New York
The couple did the majority of the work themselves. They started with the larger barn, where they cut away most of the bottom half and put in new stone by hand. They then installed new barn doors and tracks, windows and sills and gave the building a fresh coat of paint.
“We also did a lot of work on the yard and gardens,” Jennifer says. “Dick had to scythe down most of the property by hand, as it was so overgrown. Luckily, there were a few rosebushes, hosta and ferns to work with.”
Their favorite part of the yard is the area seen here, as it provides a natural private sanctuary surrounded by the larger and smaller barns. This is also where their farm pets reside.