Photography by Jacqueline Hawthorne of Studio Jaki
Styled by Emily Baker
A second-generation picker fills her home with primitives, antiques and vintage Christmas décor to create the modern collected farmhouse of her dreams.
Emily Baker, a vintage/antiques dealer, and her family have lived in their Sharpsburg, Georgia, modern collected farmhouse for a little over 11 years. They moved there to have more space after their third child was born. “I was immediately excited about all of the square footage we would have—4,200 square feet to be exact—and over the years we have slowly taken the time to make the home ours,” says Emily, who blogs at myweatherhome.com.
From minor changes, like painting and adding shiplap and shelves, to major ones, like a full kitchen renovation and patio addition, they have transformed those 4,200 square feet from a house to a home—a modern collected farmhouse, to be specific.
CERAMIC COLLECTION. Earlier in the year, Emily found three of these old ceramic trees at an antiques mall for a steal. “It was a moment of finding an ‘instant collection’ of sorts and I thought they would really pop inside this white cupboard,” she says. “Sadly, I am unable to plug them into an electrical source while they are in here, but I think that they shine all on their own anyway!”
“When we moved into this larger house back in 2011, I went to antiques shops and thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales and estate sales to look for furniture to fill it.” Emily says. “We didn’t have a lot of extra money at the time, and I was so excited to have found a way to furnish it the way that I wanted to.” She continues that approach to this day; now it’s her “modern collected farmhouse” filled with special pieces found on junking trips.
Boxed In. Old crates speak to Emily’s flea-market-loving soul. Since she intentionally seeks them out, she has several—and this was the perfect one to add to the front porch during the holidays because of the graphic and subject matter. Polar is perfect for those cold December days.
Nostalgic Noel
During the holidays, the farmhouse gets a festive adornment as Emily brings out her beautiful Christmas-themed items. “Vintage Christmas décor is my favorite,” she says. “It reminds me so much of my grandmother and spending Christmas with my family as a child.” Emily seeks to capture that nostalgia for her own children and hand down to them the feeling and magic of Christmas as an heirloom, just as it was to her.
Mixed Greens. Emily uses a wide variety of natural and faux greenery each holiday season. Though she prefers to use real greenery, it can be hard to keep alive, especially when you start decorating before Thanksgiving like she does. Emily finds that keeping greens well-watered and using a mister on garlands and stems helps maintain their longevity. “In this washtub, I have a mix of real and faux trees, and I keep the real ones nestled in terra-cotta pots so that I can easily water them as needed,” she says.
Emily was raised to be a picker. “I’ve been going junking, thrifting and antiquing since I was a small child,” she says. “My parents’ home is filled with antiques, and I grew up shopping with them.” Her memories are full of visiting extended family in Canada and coming home with antique chairs tied to the top of their two-door Volkswagen Rabbit. She didn’t enjoy it at the time. “I remember being so bored as my parents would shop for just the right piece of pottery or jug for their home,” she says.
However, when she turned 13, she grew to love the experience. “As a teenager, my dad and I would go thrifting in Atlanta on the weekends,” she recalls. “We would go to all sorts of thrift stores, and we would make an entire day out of it. I looked for ‘cool clothes’ and ‘cool things for my room’ while he looked for bottles and baseball cards.” Fast-forward to the present, and Emily and her dad still go out picking together. “It’s such a blessing to reconnect with him in that way as an older adult,” she says.
Branching Out. In September, Emily found this unique “door tree” at a local antiques/crafts fair and wanted to create a little rustic Christmas area for the front porch centered around that tree.
Over time, Emily has honed her modern collected farmhouse style, learning that she’s drawn to primitives. She doesn’t call herself an interior designer, but she has worked on refining what she likes and has found she loves the challenge of using beautiful vintage pieces to create an artful ‘moment’ in vignettes and curated collections. This translates to unique holiday décor in her modern collected farmhouse.
“There’s nothing like the nostalgic feeling that decorating for Christmas evokes in me,” Emily says. “I get so excited to pull out our Christmas decorations every year.” She decorates in two stages: the Family Decorations Stage that involves the family and then the Vintage Decorations Stage. “Most importantly, I want to make sure that my kids have the same sort of wonderful Christmas memories that I have,” she says. Every year, they get a live tree and festoon it together as a family with Christmas carols blasting in the background.
The kids also help with placing wreaths, garlands, holiday lights and decorations around the house. Then Emily moves into the Vintage Decorations Stage. “I take out my vintage collections and sprinkle them around the house,” she says. “One thing I love is coming up with new and creative ways to show off these collections that I have gathered over time. I tend not to decorate with vintage items the same way every year and that makes it fun for me.” Antique utilitarian items like wooden butter molds and lettered boxes intermix with whimsical vintage holiday décor and both live and faux greenery to create an earthy, cheery environment that transports you to cozy Christmases of years past.
Through her special traditions and modern collected farmhouse style, Emily captures the Christmas spirit from her childhood and passes it down for her sons to enjoy. It’s a beautiful inheritance they won’t ever forget.
Vessel Vision. There is no rhyme or reason to which vessels Emily uses during the holiday season. Her motto is simply: “Just put a tree in it.” She coordinates the vessels with the vision she has for that space. Here, all these vessels work to create a cheery Christmas area.
Mirror, Mirror. The upstairs living room is one of Emily’s favorite spots in the house during the holidays because it’s where her vintage Christmas tree is located. The tree is packed full of colorful old ornaments, so she keeps the mantel simple so as not to compete beside the tree. “I decided to work off the old antique mirrors I already had on the mantel and to stick with gold tones in this room,” Emily says. “This space is simple yet elegant and it doesn’t detract from the beauty of the tree and its vintage ornaments.”
Outstanding Ornaments. Emily hunts for beautiful antique and vintage ornaments all year long. She has found them in many places, from yard sales to high-end antiques malls. “My favorite are the old German ornaments, but those are getting harder and harder for me to find in my area,” she says.
Memory Tree. Trimming the tree is a special time during which Emily gets to revisit the special memories associated with each ornament. The memories are twofold: There’s the memory of discovering the ornament out in the wild and the memories of enjoying it at Christmas.
Find Your Style. As Emily’s kids get older, she reminds them to always embrace their own style and fill their spaces with things that they love. “The jury is still out as to whether they will love these old things like I do, but I am hopeful. In the end, if they see beauty and appreciate the things around them, I will be happy,” she says
Golds & Greens. To coordinate with the mantel, Emily decided to fill this cabinet in her upstairs living room with golds and greens. Luckily, those colors worked well with the pieces she already has in the room, like the crocks and the wicker-wrapped bottles. “I added in just a little extra vintage touch with a variety of vintage angels,” she says. “My favorite are the angel Gurly candles.”
Sleigh All Day. While many of Emily’s designs contain several elements, she often enjoys highlighting one item as well. “Many times you can make a big impact with a single item, like I did here with this old metal sled I found years ago at an estate sale,” she says.
Make the Cut. Emily usually looks for cutting boards that have interesting shapes and are timeworn. “There’s nothing like imagining all the different things that have been on these boards throughout the years,” she says.
Cabinet Members. A while back, Emily decided to put this little cabinet inside her bigger cabinet, and she loves the way it allows her to display items on the back side of that area now. “For the holidays, I decided to pop little bottlebrush trees into a few small crocks,” she says.
Creative Collections. “I am always trying to be creative with the way I display my little vintage Christmas collections,” Emily says. “I try to showcase them in a way that is appealing to the eye. Here, I decided to share my little Santa-boot collection in tapering sizes. I feel like it was a jolly way to organize them on these shelves.”
Santas Gather Here. Since she wanted to do something that she’d never done before, Emily gathered old Santas of various shapes and sizes and put them all in one space. “Because I have been hunting for and collecting vintage Christmas for more than a decade, I have a lot of experience knowing what to look for,” she says. “After deciding which pieces I wanted to incorporate, I layered them onto the white shelves.” She carefully placed these Santas in small groupings. “It was as if I was making little Santa vignettes inside one large vignette,” she says.
Maiden Voyage. Emily finished sanding this cabinet right before the holidays and was so excited to decorate it for Christmas for the first time. “I decided to stick with pretty neutral colors because it sits right next to our downstairs family Christmas tree,” she explains.
Maiden Voyage. Emily finished sanding this cabinet right before the holidays and was so excited to decorate it for Christmas for the first time. “I decided to stick with pretty neutral colors because it sits right next to our downstairs family Christmas tree,” she explains.
Tiny-Tree Trimming. Each holiday season, Emily picks up a mini tree (or two) at a local home-improvement store. She stumbled across a basket of these mini bowling pins and immediately knew they would make the perfect little ornaments for the mini tree. “There I was, literally standing in a field full of junk, and the idea hit me. It’s whimsical and unique, and came out so well,” she says.
Sweet Snowmen. Little snowman candy containers are not very easy to find in Emily’s area, but she’s been lucky over the years. She does not like shopping online, despite the convenience it offers. Instead, she embraces the thrill of the search, but adds that if you can’t find any in your city or town, then check the online resellers.
Simply Serene. Things are kept simple in the primary bedroom. “Just a pillow or two and a cozy blanket is all we do,” Emily says. “Oh, and a little garland up top to make it a little extra special.”
Sweet Retreat. This is in the sitting area of the primary bedroom; the couple use this space as a retreat after a long day. “The little peg rail is something I picked up at a flea market for $5,” Emily says. “I painted it white, and it makes the perfect spot to hang a stocking or two.”
Cherished Creches. A beloved collection of creches used to belong to Emily’s grandparents who lived in Northern Canada. This piece is very special to Emily, and she filled it with her collection of old stoneware bottles. She loves the shape of these bottles, their unique coloring and how they fit perfectly inside the cabinet. Clearly, it was meant to be!
Feeling the modern collected farmhouse vibes? Don’t miss this year’s upcoming holiday special issue! You’ll be able to order your copy here. Meanwhile, you can get to work on some holiday DIY crafts such as DIY Wine Glass Cloche and Upcycled Paper Scrap Gift Tags. Or you can peruse the 2021 Santa Stopper gallery. Of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for more updates and flea market inspiration.
