Blueberry Brooke

Artistic vision and vintage style transforms an old farmhouse into a dream house

Located on an organic blueberry farm on Van Hyning Road in Deansboro, New York, Blueberry  Brooke was only a frame when Virginia Palusky's dream began. With her father's guidance and direction, the 1860's farmhouse was reworked from the ground up into a spectacular world class Bed and Breakfast  located right here in Central New York. 

Virginia and her father, Brooke, designed Blueberry Brooke around a collection of antique doors and repurposed structural pieces which became the foundation for this artistic endeavor.  "I had a dream of having a place where people could come and be restored, a place where people could come and work on their art, or just be.  I imagined a safe and inspiring place to work and this idea just danced in my head for years," Virginia says.  

The ambience of the home is reflected in Virginia's design choices.  She achieves a vintage aesthetic by using a mixture of fabrics and fineries which she had collected over the years such as french silk and tapestries. Many of those one of a kind fabrics became upholstery and window dressings throughout the house.  Her keen eye for the perfect fabrics can be found everywhere especially in the five sumptuous bedrooms.  In one of the bedrooms, named Midsummer's Night Dream, she used a peach tapestry damask to create a headboard extending to the ceiling and a copper valance which she found at the Madison Bouckville Antiques show.  Additional bedrooms are Under the Tuscan Sun, Once In A Blue Moon, Artist's Dream and Fleur de Provence,  each with it's own unique setting. The magical quality of the home is obvious, even in the kitchen. Inspired by an old hutch, the kitchen gets additional charm from a rustic chandelier and a mantel surrounding the oven.  With it's bright blue ceiling beams and distressed cabinetry, when you walk in you feel as though you have stepped into an enchanted cottage. 

The entire home is filled with enchantment and delight,  from the antiques and the artwork, to the fireplace made from a Victorian door hood with a tile facing created by Virginia and her husband Bob.    "After the structure was built, the most important thing to my father was his collection of antique doors," Virginia says. "The doors were all in stacks and the ones my father seemed to love the most were the most worn and damaged".  These doors give Blueberry Brooke it's old world charm as they appear as relics from a long lost era.  One door that is most unusual is mounted with a collection of photographs, keys, mirrors and clocks. "My father loved this door so much," Virginia says. " He has the ability to see the beauty in the ordinary, and since this door was so important to him I decided to decorate with very special objects to honor him." Creating a feeling of love throughout this home was not difficult for Virginia. "You don't have to be an expert at design, all you need to do is collect beauty, layer beauty upon beauty and the beauty will create itself."

For more information on this central NY treasure, visit www.blueberrybrooke.com

Virginia's style tips for creating your own beautiful space:

*Select an inspirational starting point.  For example, choose a great piece of antique furniture and then carry elements from it throughout the room.

*Find key elements to help you tell a story, like a rustic chandelier 

*Use color and texture in bold strokes.  More is better!

*Use architectural salvage in creative ways. Repurpose!

*Collect beauty everywhere you go. If you see something that touches your spirit, don't hesitate to acquire it!  

*Allow whatever you are working on to tell you what to do next.  Allow spontaneity in designing your decor.  Everything can be done over so play, have fun with it!

*Go with what you love, what brings you joy, what makes you happy!