Montana Farmer's Union Slide Presentation by Joellyn Clark—February 2018

I grew up on a farm, but I left home after high school and set out to have a career in design. 10 years and 3 kids later, my husband and I left our full-time careers in the city favor of the the lifestyle farming offered. I brought my design business back to the farm with me and started working for myself. It is a great compliment to being a farm wife and stay-at-home mom and I can still enjoy my creative outlets.

Great question. A lot, actually. There are few careers that center around the home as much as farming does. Home is the hub of activity and our haven of rest. Why shouldn't be a place we love to be?

When we moved back to the farm, we were able to move into what used to be my Grandparent's house. They had built this house in 1971, and it still had many original features that included orange shag carpet in the bathroom. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited about adding our own touch to this house.

Over seven years later, we have renovated nearly every inch of this house. 

The best part of this house is looking from the deck away from it. The view over the prairies to the Highwood Mountains and Square Butte is incredible. 

Of course, if you pan out you see what our view is really like. Usually full of farm equipment. 

As many farmers can relate, living in the country does have it's downside.

Surveying the land

Reviewing the plans

Digging the Foundation

Framing the walls. Did you notice a common thread with these pictures? Yep, the shop was built first. How many farmer's wives can relate to this? The house is secondary to the farm operation. 

Inside the house, you can see a glimpse of my Grandma's style. She was a California girl and quite stylish in her 70's modern ways. I love that my Grandma cared about building a home that pleased her own   sense of style. This house was the family center for a lot of years and many memories reverberate within these walls.

The point is, your home is a worthy investment. You might be able to recoup your investment in resale dollars, but having a nice home does add to farm's value. More importantly, it adds to your LIFE'S value. Do you live to farm or farm to live?

Many farms sell direct to customers. If you have customers coming directly to your door, it is even more important for you to show that you have your act together. But this isn't just for customers. Your loan officers like to visit and see that you are maintaining your properties and business well!

Your entry is your first impression. Spend some time making it a lovely greeting for your guests. Don't take your guests or customers through your mudroom, garage, or back door.

Take your image to the next level and hire a professional designer (ahem.... shameless plug here :) to create a farm logo for you. You can plaster it everywhere from a beautiful sign at the head of your driveway to your Shop entrance and farm trucks. A cohesive brand enhances your entire farm property. 

Farmers often spend their money on tractors and tools and don't have much left to spend on their houses. Sound familiar? This is no excuse. There are many low-cost ways you can still enhance your home. 

Who knows what this is? Or how to pronounce it? 

HYGGE is all about bringing warmth and coziness into your home, especially during those long, cold winter months we endure here in Montana. Learn how to enjoy your home.

Yes, decluttering is decorating. It makes a bigger difference to how your space feels that the colors on your wall and the furniture choices in your room. 

Many of us inherit all the tchotchkes and knick-knacks from our parents and grandparents, and this is a familiar scene. Now is the time to face up to your sentimentality and let a few things go. Take a photo of it to remember it by.

Items we keep should be either useful or incredibly beautiful—they should bring us joy, or they are just clutter. You don't need many decorations, but for those you do keep, try to mix in a few larger pieces. Try to keep them to a consistent color scheme, and leave plenty of white space on your walls and shelves. 

You might enjoy the shabby chic look, but it can quickly go more shabby than chic. Eliminate a few things and mix in some modern accessories. Don't try to fill every surface. Let your space breathe.

Gallery walls are popular, but they can look busy too. The same rules apply. Edit them down, mix in larger pieces, and keep a consistent color scheme.

Even better, instead of a gallery wall, chose one large and bold piece of artwork. 

Many of us have fallen into the trap of having collections. You know how it goes. You mention to a friend that you really like owls, and pretty soon, everyone gives you owls for every birthday and Christmas. Pretty soon you have a sentimental collection of owls that you couldn't bear to part with because each one was given to you with love.

Collections can be lovely if they are edited and displayed beautifully. 

Edit your collection down to just the few items that mean the most to you or serve the look you are going for. Or, choose only one or two things to keep and mix them in your other displays.

One of the best tricks for decorating on a budget is to use vintage or used furniture and decor. This can take a practiced eye and some serious patience, but it can pay off with a space that has a lot of character looks like it was curated over time.

One of my favorite sources for vintage pieces is Craig's List, and I have found many many pieces for my own home this way. 

Other items in my home were already in my possession, but they needed a little love to fit in with my aesthetic. I refinished this dining room hutch and recovered this chair. 

My daughters rooms both feature vintage beds. The old suitcases and chandelier come from Craig's List. You can keep your spaces looking modern by mixing in lots of new items as well.

Chip and Joanna Gaines from HGTV's Fixer Upper have really popularized the look of mixing vintage pieces into your home. They do a wonderful job of mixing old with new.

However, learn the difference between authentic vintage and reproductions. If you just go down to the local Real Deals or HomeGoods store and buy these reproduction pieces of the shelf, your home can begin to look a bit one-dimensional. Using a reproduction now and then isn't a sin, but make sure to use them sparingly. 

Be a picker. Vintage will cost you much less if you pick from your junk shed instead of an antique store. If someone else found the treasure first, you will always pay more for it. The Picker Sisters and other shows have popularized the idea of finding junk and turning them into creative pieces of furniture: think coffee tables, vanities, light fixtures, etc. You can often find old corrugated metal or reclaimed wood to use in your decor as well.

For a long time my husband hated the shallow roof over our house and kept talking about changing the roof line and vaulting our ceilings. These sorts of changes can cost a ton of money. Work with your home style and don't try to make your home something it is not. 

If your favorite home style is traditional craftsman and you are stuck with a mid-century modern ranch house, you might be in trouble. But it can really help to research your home style and look at what other people have done to update their homes in that style. If you can learn to love the style of your home, it can save you a lot of money.

Labor costs are often more than 50% of the cost of the project. Most farms have an off-season. Learn to do some projects yourself and you will stretch your home-renovation dollar so much further. 

You may design a little different on a farm than you would in a city. Following are some things you might consider.

While farm animals inside your house might not be your reality, most of us at least have pets. And LOTS AND LOTS of dirt and mud. Whatever you do, CHOOSE DURABLE MATERIALS. 

Tile is a very durable surface for farm floors. I choose the tile in my own house because I like that it mimicked the look and color of concrete. However, what I didn't realize is that the finish was a little too smooth and the color a little too even. It shows muddy prints a little too much. Unless you want to mop your floor every day, choose something with a little texture and color variation.

The same goes for wood floors. Dark and shiny finishes are the enemy of mud and dirt. Choose a matte finish with lots of rustic character. 

Real is (usually) better. There is a place for wood-look tile, man-made quartz composite countertops, etc. and some of those materials wear very well. However, when you can afford it, real is almost always better. Wool carpet wears better than nylon or poly. Stone counters, real wood floors (without manufactured finishes), slate floors and so on, generally wear very well. Marble is controversial because it stains, but there is beautiful centuries-old marble all over Europe for a reason. It wears and patinas beautifully. 

Bring the outside in with decor inspired by your work. Cows are very trendy. This sign was made by one of my uncles and was hanging in our shop for years. I cleaned off the bird residue and brought it inside for a little vintage quirk.

The fabric for these pillows was designed by a graphic design friend of mine for her senior thesis project. She sold the prints on Spoonflower. 

Wheat makes a great vase filler.

Livestock artwork is trending and you can find it everywhere.

Modern Farmhouse Style is a very popular trend. Learn the hallmarks of how to achieve this look.

Modern Farmhouse Style is a very popular trend. Learn the hallmarks of how to achieve this look.

Modern Farmhouse Style is a very popular trend. Learn the hallmarks of how to achieve this look.

Modern Farmhouse Style is a very popular trend. Learn the hallmarks of how to achieve this look.

Choosing colors for your home can be intimidating, but it will be less so if you can learn to spot color undertones.

White is white, right? Not really, and that is why paint companies have many different white options to choose from. If you take each swatch and lay them all out (in a room well-lit with daylight), you can start to spot the differences. Most whites will have undertones that trend more yellow, more pink, more blue, or more gray, or some combination of those (like green). 

The other elements in your room (like your flooring for example) will have similar undertones, so its important to choose colors that don't have clashing undertones.

All neutral colors have undertones. Have you ever painted a Beige wall, only to find that it always looks pink? 

When choosing a neutral, like gray, pick several swatches and pay attention to the undertones. Some are more neutral, some more cool (blue undertones) and some more warm (yellow undertones). 

Even black and other really dark colors have undertones. 

I am a fan of neutrals. I love to keep the basic items in a room neutral: flooring, walls, furniture, etc., and then add color through accents like throw pillows and art. If you are a color lover, you may be tempted to paint your walls a bright color for maximum color impact. 

If you do, it can be helpful to know that colors become more intense when covering a large area. Often a color is much more pleasing on a wall if you use a de-saturated version of the color. Meaning, pick a color you love and then find a version of that color that has a lot more gray in it. It can also help to go a tone or two lighter than what looks good to you on the swatch. 

There is color inspiration all around us, especially in our beautiful state of Montana. The next few slides show you how you can take color inspiration from your environment and bring it into your home.