How the antique store Back Porch Gatherings had me rethinking renovating my barn into a house
Over in Ripon there is so many delightful shops in their downtown to make a day of visiting. I’ve featured Patina Vie and recently shared a few ideas from Hart Mercantile. But another must stop is the always unique Back Porch Gatherings.
The real fun about these shops is that between the three of them they all have their own identities. Each store isn’t trying to “do it all” or be a one stop shop. While they may appeal to the same type of client they benefit from their own curated vibe that enriches your shopping experience by making it feel like you are visiting a collection of stores.
And if I was impressed by the pink brick wall the moment you walk into Patina Vie-
Then I would be amiss to tell you how I am repeated stunned by the stone wall at Back Porch Gatherings-
Even between these two pictures you can instantly see that you have entered a different environment. And while some items would be at home in both stores, the presentation makes them feel vastly different. While Patina Vie has me picturing a life in a small loft over a European bakery, Back Porch Gatherings makes me want to reconsider a grand renovation to make my barn into a house.
How else would I be able to make this headboard the centerpiece of my dream bedroom?
It’s mass and height are too grand for my simple ceilings. This is a piece to build a room around (or renovate a barn for). And while it evokes the classic and elegant architecture of a window frame from a Cathedral, it is humbled by the limestone wall that is back lit by a pair of paint splattered pieces of scaffolding, brilliantly turned into one of a kind lamps.
The big open space of this shop is what most retail settings have in common with the interior of a barn. To convert the square footage for practical living, and in this case to make rooms to help customers visualize the furniture in their own homes, it helps to create cozy divisions that still allow light to spread throughout the area.
I mean, how great are these vintage doors as a partition?
This is the exact old garage door look I was scouring Marketplace and Craigslist for when we were building the interior divider wall for our workshop. My options at the time were limited and so I ended up going another route, but the application here is genius! It offers a more formal paneled look to a wall that could be temporary between rooms and frosting the glass would add instant privacy without blocking light.
As long as we are on the topic of wall textures and letting the light shine through- this room was probably the only space that could pull me away from daydreaming about that stone wall.
I know the obvious focal point here is that corrugated and galvanized steel- that is so very feed silo- but I was eyeing something else. Something I have in my barn right now. The light fixtures that look like they could have been made out of the iron rings off old barrel planters or the leaf springs from a heavy duty truck. I’ve saved a handful of these for a future project just like this.
On the other side of the room you have everything else I love! Classic leather sofa, pheasant feather wreath, chippy wood windows as a partition between spaces…they are even designed to include what I interpreted as a faux transom filled in with old tin.
The texture it adds is brilliant. A slightly reflective quality, a charming patina and an arched pattern to lend softness to the otherwise straight lines of the windows and framing.
And what do we have here, at the end of the sofa?
Why, it is a galvanized feeder turned into a side table! I also have a few of these hanging out in my barn from the previous residents of our little homestead. In my current house, even though it is “reclaim and re purpose friendly,” I don’t think I could quite make this work. But if I lived in my barn! These would be fantastic!
And before we leave this room, let’s just pause on these gems you might have missed under that long table.
Old pulleys always have a special place in my heart and I have been collecting my favorites for years. While I currently leave them out as accessories, I have many ideas for future projects. All of which I am sure would be quickly expedited if we were to suddenly take up residence in our barn.
I enjoyed every nook and cranny of Back Porch Gatherings. Enjoyed the glimpse of old doors and weathered wood that more than likely came right out of some salvaged barn somewhere and found themselves here.
Found themselves here, a part of this store. A backdrop for provincial finds like antlers and rust mixed with treasures inspired by the contents of a long forgotten hope chest- candlestick holders and gilded picture frames, spools of ribbons and worn books… the best of both worlds- the imagery of items that were once very valuable and at the same time sentimental.
That balance is what puts a history and a magic in time worn pieces to which new merchandise can’t compete.
I am no where near ready to start a renovation as expansive as turning our barn into living quarters but it is always fun to imagine the possibilities. Lucky for me, I am still very much in love with my 1906 farm house and all the ways we have made it ours. Back Porch Gatherings might be giving me hunting-lodge-farmhouse-renovate-a-barn vibes but on a smaller scale it also reminds me to create that “hope chest” feeling with my decorating. The feeling that you are being invited in to share someone’s story- to see their favorite and most precious possessions, ones that have been collected and carefully saved for their dream home.
Start the collected home look in your interior-
Shop all of Ripon’s great main street establishments!
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