Inside a soulful, Cali-cool Ellicottville farmhouse

Much like me, my house isn’t perfect. The kitchen floor is sloping, the paint is chipping and the window frames aren’t so square.

But houses with soul break rules. They’re comfortable, flawed and feel like they’ve evolved over time.

I wasn’t necessarily in the market for a 19th century farmhouse, but when I first walked into this one-of-a-kind gem in the rough, its soulful energy was enough to have me signing on the dotted line a week later.

I’m originally from Salamanca and moved to Los Angeles to be a television writer after graduating from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School. I always dreamed of buying a vacation home in Western New York but figured I’d have to wait for retirement since working in TV is extremely demanding. But, like so many others, the pandemic fully tipped my life upside down. I lost my job, my relationship, my dog and my mind. It was dramatically disorienting.

Then this Ellicottville farmhouse appeared on Zillow like a Botticelli angel, and I knew it was a sign.

I saw through the cobwebs and dingy yellow paint with a vision for flipping it into something unexpected. I call the style “farmhouse chalet with a Cali twist.” I wanted to pay homage to the house’s period but infuse some “California cool” so it felt layered and casual, yet curated (and by curated I mean Craigslisted). I kept many of the previous owners’ pieces, rearranged layouts and updated most of the fixtures.

Reimagining the farmhouse, along with both my personal life and work, was no easy feat. But the house, as cheesy as it sounds, has become my friend. She welcomed me right in, never got sick of me blasting Sade’s Diamond Life, connected me with so many wonderful people, graced me with a sky full of stars and reminded me that you don’t have to be perfect to be loved.

I’ve spent two years bringing her back to life, and she did the same for me.