Inside a Family Farmhouse in Pascoag
A cozy rural home provides a serene setting for a growing family.
The main bathroom features a soaking tub with a magical view on snowy days. Photography by Angel Tucker
Some homes come with a little extra something for new buyers: an inground pool; stunning perennial beds; a garden-shed-turned-studio.
Jennifer Barone’s new digs came with six chickens.
“We became instant chicken owners,” says the Burrillville resident. “I was over the moon.”
Barone, and her husband, Nick, bought the saltbox in 2013, cementing their dream of living in the country. Jennifer wanted an old home; her husband did not. The house was the perfect compromise: It was built in 2008, a reproduction of a period Colonial, and looks like it was plucked straight from the 1800s and placed onto their spacious twenty-two-acre lot that abuts the George Washington Wildlife Management Area.
Now, they and their four children — three sons and a daughter — along with black Lab Puka, Thackery the cat, seven chickens and five ducks share the homey space, which Jennifer decorates in a sweet and eclectic farmhouse style. She mixes found treasures, family heirlooms, folk art and Brimfield and Salvation Army finds to create a cozy family haven.
Jennifer Barone in her farmhouse chic kitchen. Photography by Angel Tucker
“Almost everything is thrifted, antique or found on the side of the road,” says Jennifer, who initially studied art history before becoming a nurse practitioner.
And, of course, there’s always a space for the kiddos to play. In the basement, a vintage 1929 sink (a $50 score from Brooklyn Restoration Supply in Connecticut) decorated with pieces of copper cookware shares space with a large, open room where the boy were busy playing hockey the day before. (They wore socks for maximum gliding effect.)
“Our house is very lived in,” she says with a laugh.
Jennifer’s copper collection surrounds a vintage 1929 sink. Photography by Angel Tucker
During the pandemic, Jennifer showcased the four-bedroom house on her Instagram channel, (instagram.com/rural_rhodey_saltbox) amassing an impressive 35,000 followers. She’s since slowed down her posting schedule, but you can still find her putting on a cinnamon simmer pot for visitors and showcasing her gift for seasonal decoration when time allows.
The original homeowner sourced much of the wood used in the post-and-beam construction from an old factory in East Providence. As such, most rooms have wooden beams throughout and soaring, exposed ceilings, which you can often find Thackery perched upon.
Wood from trees on the property make up the kitchen and dining room floors. Photography by Angel Tucker
The living room fireplace was crafted from bricks salvaged from Boston’s Big Dig project — a nice nod to the couple, who met while attending college (Simmons for her; Tufts for him) in the city.
One of Jennifer’s favorite spaces is the treehouse room: a tidy guest nook tucked into the eaves that she loves to decorate — especially for Christmas — with twinkling lights, strings of garland and a Charlie Brown-sized Christmas tree.
The ducks love to roam the twenty-two-acre property. Photography by Angel Tucker
“My guests just love it,” Jennifer says. “It’s so cozy.”
They added a master bed and bath suite and an adjoining mudroom/laundry room in 2020. The bedroom and bath replicate the home’s soaring ceilings, but with a more modern feel than the rest of the space. Pale whitewashed walls let the grain shine through, and plenty of windows let in ample light. It’s especially lovely to sit in the soaking bath during a snowstorm, Jennifer says, watching the flakes fall outside.
Glass doors open onto a back deck and fire pit space, and the mudroom has lockers to hold everyone’s belongings. Jennifer, who grew up in a 1910s farmhouse, recreated a Dutch door she had fun playing with as a child. It became a smart barn-red door that separates the bedroom suite from the mudroom, and her children play with it just like she once did.
A new mudroom features a washer and dryer and lockers for everyone’s belongings. Photography by Angel Tucker
She loves that they’re growing up in such a serene, quiet area, and that they get to run free on all those acres.
“Sometimes I miss the convenience; Providence isn’t far, but it is a ride,” she says. “But we like the privacy, and I love that my kids are growing up with chickens and duckies. I think they’ll reflect back on their childhood fondly.”
The home also has a three-season room. The mudroom and bedroom suite addition is at right, below. Photography by Angel Tucker
