Texas Swagger in a Tiny Saltbox

For a California couple, a dilapidated 1,000-square-foot Hill Country farmhouse proves the perfect spring antiquing score.

- By Shaila Wunderlich

sattbox swagger

METAL-ROOF PORCH

Once an enclosed, three-season utility space, the home's wide-open front porch now lives more like a room in Texas's year-round warm temperatures. Homeowner Linda Bradford upped the comfy quotient by adding black cushions to her antique wrought-iron sofa and cutting down a white kitchen table to coffee table height. The deep and inviting space is headquarters for morning coffee with the Bradfords' next-door neighbor, Karen, and her dog, Major (pictured here). The large flag is a favorite flea-market find. People can see it as they drive by-it gets a lot of horn toots, says Linda.

HOW CLEVER IS THAT? Makeshift “Closets

Having removed all the built-in closets to create more floor space, the Bradfords rely on antique furniture pieces to store, well, everything. In the living room, the TV and their wine collection hide behind the doors of a primitive cupboard, while by the entryway

The little farmhouse on Creamer Creek Road was known around La Grange, Texas, for two main reasons: Beneath its shabby façade, the early-1800s saltbox held loads of potential. And, it was for sale by an owner who repeatedly rebuffed offers. So, imagine the locals' shock when, at a dinner party one April, the owner offered the house to two out-of-towners she'd just met. “The room went silent, says homeowner Linda Bradford.